alanajoli: (Default)
Okay, not really. But for the Browncoats out there, remember that convention panel where someone suggested that Joss do a Firefly musical and Summer Glau totally lit up before someone else on the panel shot it down? When Max Gladstone pitched Avengers as an opera, that was the very first thing I thought of.

Max's entry compares the use of music in a Mozart opera to the use of combat in a superhero movie with hysterical results. As you can see here:

The battles throughout the movie never pit the same group of characters against one another twice, and are careful to pit all the characters against one another at least once, even when (as in the Iron Man-Thor fight scene) the fight makes little sense in context. We don’t care, watching, because we want to see these characters, with these specific styles, fight–in the same way that even if there’s no real reason for the bass and soprano to be singing together, we won’t frown at an excellently-composed duet. In fact, it’s these duets that show us the true quality of our characters, and illuminate the tensions between them–tensions which simmer under the surface when they’re in the same room and can’t use violence and action to communicate.


If you've not seen Avengers yet (unlike some ungodly proportion of us who saw it opening weekend and sent Joss Whedon skyrocketing into household namedom), you should. It's not a perfect movie, but it is awesomely good fun, and it may be the best superhero movie since The Incredibles (which still tops my chart, followed by Iron Man -- the Dark Knight movies have actually been a little too deep for my full enjoyment and endorsement, though I fully acknowledge that they're quality films). I'll have to see it again to be sure; this time I'll be ready for that quintessential Joss Whedon moment where someone gets impaled (yes, I knew it was going to happen, and I should very well known who it would be who got impaled, because it so perfectly fit Joss's pattern, but I didn't, and I cursed the name of Whedon right there in the theater) and won't be pulled out of the story by its occurrence. But if it's anything like The Muppets, I'll like it more each time I see it.



One quick announcement -- tune in tomorrow for an excerpt from Jennifer Estep! Her new Mythos Academy book is out at the end of the month, and you can read the first in a series of blog tour excerpts right here!
alanajoli: (Default)
We've been going through a lot of kids' movies from the library here at Casa Abbott, as Bug enjoys a little bit of screen-time to settle down when she's getting sleepy. It typically takes three or four days to make it through a regular cartoon movie (unless I finish it after she's gone to bed), since we watch it in spurts, which is not an optimal viewing experience for me -- but it does give me the excuse to catch up on the cartoon movies I've missed over the past few years. I'd missed Disney's Meet the Robinsons, for example, which I think was pretty poorly branded and misrepresented by the trailers. (I ended up thinking it was pretty cute.) We've seen Tangled (which I loved), Ratatouille, and we're in the middle of The Tigger Movie now. We also picked up Megamind, which I decided was not really a kids' movie after all, and so finished on my own.

If you're not familiar with the story (and it's a familiar one), Megamind is one of two aliens that get sent off in small space pods from their dying worlds to live on earth. Metro Man has all the super powers you'd expect, while Megamind has a big blue head, a minion that's a fish, and can make crazy mad science inventions (but otherwise doesn't seem too inherently bright). He also ends up being very good at escaping from jail. They go to the same school as children, where Metro Man is the popular one, and Megamind is always picked last for everything. Naturally, they become rivals, with Metro Man as the hero and Megamind as the villain. The story ends up having this great feel of the hero and the villain completing each other in a fluffy bunnies version of the Batman/Joker relationship, but it takes awhile to get to that realization.

In the mean time, I started wondering just what has happened to heroes lately.

I admit that I'm behind on some of the great super-stories that have come out lately, so I can't speak to the trend in its entirety. (I even own Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittredge and haven't read it yet; I'm super excited to get a hold of Carrie Vaughn's After the Golden Age as well.) But here's what I've noticed based on a few recent samplings of the spin-the-super-story genre. The hero? Not really the good guy. Megamind is a prime example of this: despite the fact that Megamind is all about being the villain, he ends up being the character the audience really identifies with -- and, no real spoiler here, he ends up turning a new leaf by the end of the story. (Thus, it may actually be a kids' movie after all.) Better still: Doctor Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Metro Man ends up having some redeeming qualities; Captain Hammer's only redeeming quality is that he's played my Nathan Fillion -- otherwise, he's a complete jerk. Even in Austin Grossman's Soon I Will Be Invincible, the villain, who is a mastermind (also the common thread here), is extremely compelling as a sympathetic figure.

Now, take a look back at the uber-superhero: Superman. Apparently he can sort of be a jerk in some of the early comics, too -- but not at the expense of a nerdy rival. No, Supe's secret identity *is* the nerdy guy. Originally created by a couple of pretty nerdy guys, Supe was a fantasy that bought into the whole Charles Atlas mentality of self-improvement: even nerds could have awesome body-builder style strength. (Of course, Superman was even more awesome than just a strong man -- but still, he's a fantasy that nerds were supposed to identify with, rather than despise.)

And Clark Kent isn't the only super-nerd. Let's wander into the Marvel-verse. Take Spiderman. Peter Parker: total nerd to start with. Reed Richards? Actually makes a name for himself as a nerd -- who cares that he can go all bendy as Mr. Fantastic when we need his super brain? Even Tony Stark has some serious nerd cred (though, granted, he never really embraces the nerd lifestyle, and no one ever gives him crap for being smart, unlike the other heroes I've mentioned).

So, nerd has always equalled good in the comics world -- but strong has not always equalled jerk. I'm wondering if this trend of the super-strong hero-as-villain trend has to do with embracing geeks-as-overlords. (That's mostly tongue in cheek -- but, as Alec Hardison on Leverage says: "Age of the geek, baby. We rule the world.") The thing is -- I get the geek-as-hero trend (see: Chuck as an example). But this geek-as-villain thing? Is this a subversive, refusing to work for the man thing? Is it supporting the idea that we who were picked on for our nerdiness as kids are out for revenge (rather than being willing to save our tormentors)? Clearly, Doctor Horrible doesn't end up happy with his career choice, and Megamind converts to the side of good... but still. What is going on right now to make the supervillain nerd anti-hero a popular trope?

I would love to hear thoughts on this that don't come from inside my own head. :) In good news, the whole thought process inspired a quick short story, which I drafted in one day and Max Gladstone has already gotten me crits for. Hooray for creative contemplation resulting in actual word count!
alanajoli: (Default)
I use Google Chrome here at home, and about 50% of my bookmarks bar is Web comics that I read (followed by blogs, followed by a few links for my freelance work). So it's amazing that I forget about MySpace Dark Horse Presents -- which is currently featuring not only a Buffy-verse comic by the fabulous Jackie Kessler, but is also featuring part 2 of a new series by Mark Crilley, who you might remember I raved about back when I reviewed Miki Falls for School Library Journal. The story, Brody's Ghost, which appeared in the last issue of MySpace Dark Horse Presents with part one is Crilley's new project, and is scheduled to be a six-volume Dark Horse series. Sign me up!

I feel like I've been getting by mostly on links lately -- in part that's because I've been so busy with the whole work/other work/pregnancy classes & appointments schedule that I don't have much brain for blogging. As it is, I think we are officially done with our pre-baby purchases as of today -- everything we don't already have can wait until later (except maybe some minor, medicine-chest type things we have on a list in a folder somewhere that's surely in the house, but is not where I looked for it before our shopping trip). Bug is growing so big that I have no idea where she's got left to expand -- the doctor at my appointment last week guestimated she's already at seven pounds five ounces, and she's still supposedly got three and a half weeks left before she's due.

I know I posted about my grandmother's rainbows here. I don't remember if I posted that I did get two prisms from Twostripe for Christmas, and they've been giving me rainbows nearly every morning. Lately, I've been making sure that Bug gets in on the rainbow action:



And that's life around here lately. There have been a few great mythic D&D games (featuring one in which I made a character Originally Participate, Barfieldians -- so. much. fun! in the evil DM sort of way), and I'll try to write a little bit more about those in the future.
alanajoli: (Default)
Kelly Meding had me at "A Coupla Throw Pillows and a TV News Reporter." That's how she started her introduction thread at the League of Reluctant Adults, and between her obscure references to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (did you catch it?) and her obvious love of things Whedon (especially my favorite, Firefly), it was instant fandom for me. Nevermind that her debut novel (Three Days to Dead) hasn't debuted yet -- you can pre-order it at all your friendly local bookstores! Only four days 'til publication!). Kelly impressed me with her awesome over at the League and then at her blog with some of the coolest trivia contests ever to be seen on the Web. I knew that when the time came, I wanted to have her guest blog to promote the novel. And luckily, she felt the same way!

So without much further ado, I present Kelly in her own words, writing about one of her favorite fairy tales, complete with an excerpt from Three Days to Dead. If you (like me) just can't wait the next four days to get your hands on her book, you can read some free fiction set in her new world at Suduvu, where a five part serial will be posted over the next ten days. And now... Kelly!

--

Books and stories have been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. As a child, many of my favorites were fairy tales, legends, and nursery rhymes. I had a book of Mother Goose tales and a cassette tape that read the tales aloud as I followed in the book. One of my favorite things to watch on television was Shelly Duvall's Faerie Tale Theater.

Urban fantasy has a wonderful tradition of taking those old stories and putting new spins on them. Sometimes they remain recognizable, and sometimes they don't. But what is fiction, if not a chance to take an idea and explore it?

In developing the world of Three Days to Dead, I had a wealth of information and choices at my fingertips. Some folks don't like the "kitchen sink" idea. They prefer a narrow slice of the paranormal. I wanted to toss in as much as I could without bogging down the book. Beyond the staples of vampires and shifters, I wanted Fey and trolls and gremlins and gargoyles, but I had to make them my own.

One of my favorite folk stories is that of the Three Billy Goats Gruff. I can't possibly say why that story sticks with me, but it does. Simply, it's the story of three goats who wish to cross a bridge and feast on the grass on the other side of a stream. Under this bridge lives a terrible troll who wants to eat the goats. The first, smallest goat crosses safely by telling the troll his brother his larger and a better meal. The second, middle goat does the same. When the final, biggest goat crosses, he has big horns and gores the troll to death, allowing the three goats to feast and grow fat.

This evil thing that lives under bridges and demands a toll for crossing is what my mind has always first associated with a troll. I wanted to use trolls in TDTD, but I wasn't sure how to do it. So I Googled.

Google is a wonderful tool. I found hundreds of images, but one in particular really stuck with me—the Seattle Bridge Troll. If you've not seen it, it's an amazing work of art. As soon as I saw it, I knew there was a character in it. I had found my troll. He would still live under a bridge, but he doesn't charge a toll for crossing. In fact, his actual role in this world came out a bit later in the book and surprised even me.
And so was born Smedge, the Bridge Troll.


Excerpt from "Chapter Five," Three Days to Dead, by Kelly Meding

Copyright 2009

"Are you sure he's going to recognize you before he decides to pound on us with a big, gravely fist?" [Wyatt asked.]

"Bridge trolls are blind, remember?" I stomped my foot again. "They don't rely on five senses like humans. He'll know me."

Sure enough, the solid concrete began to vibrate. Slowly at first, like the gentlest shiver. Then it built to a roar, and what was once solid began to run like quicksand. It drew inward, gathering like a miniature tornado beneath the bridge. I raised my hand against the wind, as every bit of dirt was drawn toward its center.

An arm reached out from its whirling vortex, a hand uncurling and dividing into four fingers. Those fingers splayed against the ground by our feet. Wyatt stepped back, but I stood my ground. A second arm joined the first, and then a head pulled out, forming from the dirt and sand and stone, as large as my entire body, with pronounced eyes that couldn't see and a mouth that couldn't taste. A neck and shoulders grew last, until Smedge the bridge troll appeared to have pulled himself out of a giant hole in the ground, only to lounge beneath the bridge, perfectly at ease.

Sounds rumbled deep within his throat, as he remembered how to communicate with other, more verbal species. Bridge trolls were part of the earth itself and communicated through tremors and vibrations of the crust and core, rather than of wind through the larynx. Some of the largest earthquakes in recorded history were because of troll wars--something no one taught kids in geology class.

"Him," Smedge ground out. His voice came across like sandpaper against metal--harsh and unpleasant. "Not…welcome."

"I'll make sure he behaves," I said. "Smedge, do you remember me? It's Stony."

Sandy eyes made a show of looking at me, but I knew better. Air circled me like a cyclone, caressing my skin with fine particles of sand. He was smelling me in his own way, making sure I was telling the truth. I only hoped his unusual senses could "see" past my new appearance and identify his friend.

"Yes, Stony," Smedge said.
alanajoli: (british mythology)
Three years ago, when I was the teaching assistant on the trip to Ireland, I mentioned Firefly, because it was quotable (and because I often reference it). Only one of the people on the trip -- a group of seventeen students and three chaperons -- had seen it. This eliminated a good chunk of my referential humor (since that had been one of my main staples at home) and counfounded me some. How had they missed that show?

This year, in the airport in Boston, a passenger with the first name Kaylee was paged over the loudspeaker. The conversation went something like this:

Mark (the myth prof): Everyone with the name Ceilidh ought to be required to break out into song and dance on request.
Cody Jones (student): I think anyone with the name Kaylee should be required to know how to fix my starship.

And on it goes. Several of the students on this trip are familiar with the works of Joss Whedon (I was able to give them the good news about Dollhouse, which I still haven't seen, and they told me the good news about Chuck). We talk a lot about collective representations -- the given understanding of what something is or means that's common in a group of people -- on these myth tours, and I think it's delightful that Joss Whedon has changed a collective representation here and there. It's been fun to see that pop culture understanding evolve with a very similar group of students over the past three years.

The students in this group are, no surprise, brilliant and interesting people who are much quicker to think Big Ideas and have Deep Thoughts than I am, in part because they're in so much better practice. I do think that the big benefit of being in an academic setting the majority of your time, particularly in fields like philosophy and myth, is that you don't have so much practical business getting in the way of thinking on things like Knowledge and Being and the theories of Existence. (All starting with caps, because I think often when thinking big, deep thoughts and conversing on the nature of the universe, capital letters are warranted.) I imagine I'll catch up reasonably well by the end of the trip, but in the mean time, I'm just enjoying basking in the conversation that's flying back and forth and the ideas swimming in the air around me.

We went to the British Museum today, in large part to see the Lindow Man, the body of a corpse, possibly the victim/subject of a ritual murder/sacrifice and discuss the implications/meaning of his death and the way he was killed, not just from a modern perspective, but from the hypothetical perspective of the people involved in the whole affair. Moving around the museum trying to see artifacts from that perspective -- trying to imagine what they might have been -- is both a good thought exercise and a good writing exercise, but is always challenging. The layer of glass between you and the objects can be frustrating -- it reminds you that you're in a museum, and that you're far separated from the people at whose objects you're looking. So much to my delight, the British museum had four stations in the building devoted to letting you touch old objects (and when I say old, I mean a stone hand axe dating back to, well, the stone age). Of the objects I touched, the most impressive were an idol from the UK, a small, copper figure of a god that weighed in the hand like a worry stone might, as though its weight was designed as a comfort; several silver dinari, worth, in their day, about 30 pounds each, from the varied reigns of Claudius, Hadrian, and Antonius Pius, who put his son on the same dinari that his head was on in order to insure proper succession, and who put his wife on a separate coin, opposite a peacock, in his efforts to make her a goddess after her death; a chunk of a vessel from a burial chamber from the Babylonian city of Ur; and a piece of wall brick inscribed with cuneiform that proclaimed it built by Nebuchadnezzar. It is a qualitatively different experience to touch pieces of history than it is to simply see them, and the British Museum has won itself an even bigger fan than it had before. Any time I return, I'll look first for the places where I can touch small pieces of history, and imagine those before me who held these pieces in their hands when they were new.

Tomorrow we're leaving London for Salisbury, where I may or may not have internet access. In the mean time, I'm taking pictures and reading books. No writing progress to report thus far (aside from the class exercises and this blog entry), but I anticipate having more done on my goal list when next I write!
alanajoli: (Default)
I just have to say: you livejournal people are far too interesting and difficult to keep up with. I had far more concrete writing plans for today, but spent a good chunk of the day reading other people's ljs instead.

Note: I am still not entirely caught up. But I think I'm as close as I'm going to get.

Today is a link day, in part because there's contests that require linking (and I'm a sucker for that) and in part because there were some fun Joss Whedon articles that got tossed around on my mailing lists, and dutiful Browncoat that I am, I must share them.

So, first, the Whedon:

WGA magazine has an article about Joss as a writer (and mammoth-drawer, were he a Cro-magnon) and about the Dr. Horrible phenomenon.

[livejournal.com profile] caitrin posted news about Joss's movie, Cabin in the Woods, which will apparently star Bradley Whitford. I didn't know anything about this project, so it's a nice head's up. (It's not Goners, though, which is somewhat disappointing.)

For contest number one, the Urban Fantasy Land Readers Choice Awards need your votes! There are so many good books up for awards that it's tough to narrow it down: [livejournal.com profile] devonmonk, [livejournal.com profile] blue_succubus, [livejournal.com profile] antonstrout, [livejournal.com profile] mdhenry, [livejournal.com profile] rkvincent, [livejournal.com profile] frost_light, [livejournal.com profile] blackaire, [livejournal.com profile] melissa_writing, [livejournal.com profile] stacia_kane, [livejournal.com profile] katatomic, [livejournal.com profile] ilona_andrews, Jes Battis, and Carrie Vaughn are among the nominees. The polls close on the 30th, and if you also link to the blog, you're entered for a $25 amazon gift card. Who doesn't need one of those?

And finally, the Deadline Dames (including [livejournal.com profile] devonmonk and [livejournal.com profile] rkvincent) are hosting a number of contests on the new blog, which launched on the 19th. Devon's involves setting goals--and one of mine is to post on livejournal at least twice a week. (The unreasonable expectation? Every day.) So, we'll see how I do!
alanajoli: (tuam face - celtic mythology)
Back in October, I contributed to Flames Rising's Halloween Horror Creatures series--and since I missed blogging for that whole month, I never mentioned that it had gotten posted! I did a piece on hounds of the Morrigan, using bits and pieces of real Celtic lore mixed with what I thought would be a fun monster, which is accompanied by a cool image from artist Jeff Preston.

Via Barbara Vey's Beyond Her Blog, the Carolina Romance Writers are hosting an online writing workshop using Firefly as the course material. It runs from January 5 through 30, and the cost runs $20. (I don't know what online writing workshops usually charge, but that sounds pretty reasonable to me.) If I thought I could actually commit to the online course structure, I'd definitely be there.

This one's interesting for web comic writers and artists--uclick is not only putting comics into format for iPhones, they are considering creating original content. Cell phones have already had an impact on the comics industry in Japan--whether the industry here will see a positive or negative spin if this catches on, we'll just have to see. And hey, this could be the next Zuda...

In other news, my new first reader (joining prior solo first reader Arielle), [livejournal.com profile] violet_whisper, did an awesome job going over "Rodeo in Area 51" with me. It clocked in at just about 7500 words after an edit I did with her notes. The most exciting part about it, though, was that she really got what I was trying to do. Since I knew from the beginning what the story was about and how it would end, I wasn't sure if all the ideas would come through--they were so clear to me, would another reader pick up on what I was doing? So talking to her about the piece and hearing her thoughts on what the story was all about was a great experience, because it meant that it worked as a whole.

I also just finished reading [livejournal.com profile] mindyklasky's Girl's Guide to Witchcraft. I'd already read Sorcery and the Single Girl, the second book in the series, without realizing I'd started in the middle. Having now read the first two, they actually work pretty well as stand alone novels; some series you have to pick up and read in order or you'll be lost. Klasky's seem to be enhanced by reading the other volumes, but also independent enough that they're still enjoyable out of order. They're both a lot of fun--I'd recommend them to folks have read and enjoyed [livejournal.com profile] shanna_s's "Katie Chandler" series. Both series are good, light-hearted contemporary fantasy without the grit of most urban fantasy or the described-in-detail romance scenes of paranormal romances. And they're fun.
alanajoli: (Default)
Awhile ago, I talked about the learning curve I was experiencing with Meljean Brooks's paranormal romance series, because there was too much ongoing plot for a straight romance, but too much romance for a straight paranormal. Between then and now, I've been reading (somewhat voraciously) Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series, which has many of those same qualities, and, encouraged by how much I was enjoying those, I went back and got the first book in Brooks's series. This time, the series clicked for me. Whether it's because I started at the beginning or just hit my learning curve, I'm not sure. Whichever the case, however, I wanted to be sure to report that I have, in fact, gotten a better hang on how to read this side of the paranormal romance spectrum. (Many paranormals read more like urban fantasy or straight romance--but Singh's and Brooks's are smack in the middle.)

It occurs to me, having just read some really insightful entries from Erik Scott de Bie and Jim Hines on reading shared-world fantasy that paranormal romance isn't the only genre that requires learning how to read it. I suspect that if you don't start reading shared-world fiction before you realize it's a whole sub-genre all to itself, you bring to it some kinds of assumptions about what it means. The author hasn't created their own setting--so obviously they *couldn't* do so, and their writing is sub-par because the world isn't unique to them. This, of course, is not my opinion--but it's one that I've heard many times. Shared-world fantasy, particularly game fiction, has long been the looked-down-upon step-child of the fantasy genre.

But here's what I've observed, both as a reader and a writer in shared-world fiction. There are people who do it well and people who do it really badly. Some of those people who botch shared-world fiction are writers who do perfectly well in their own worlds, and even win awards and critical acclaim. But when it comes to writing in a shared-world setting, particularly one that requires use of the same characters, they miss the boat. Why? Because they're writing too much like themselves--and not enough like the characters. They change the world rather than enhancing it. Their work doesn't feel *genuine* the way a good shared-world writer's work does. The real challenge in shared-world fiction is writing something that makes that shared-world *more real* to an audience that carries a lot of expectations to every book it picks up.

If you're not keen on a setting, of course, you might be turned off by all the fiction, no matter how good it is. Despite my interest in the Living Forgotten Realms game, I've never been a huge fan of the Realms. There is way too much content to know--and as the best shared-world books have the setting deeply ingrained, from slang to deities to insults that only matter to people familiar with what's being insulted--so it's easy for me to get lost. I have enjoyed some Realms fiction, but the setting itself isn't enough to draw me. Some of the particular writers, like Erik, are the draw instead. I feel roughly the same way about the X-Men; I like them all right, but I bought the series written by Joss Whedon.

In settings that have a lot of appeal for me, I eagerly read the books due to the same things that frustrate me in settings I'm not keen on: they use slang, enhance my understanding of the world's deities, banter in ways that only make sense if you're in on the details of the setting. And then, there's more. Not only are these books marketing tools (and make no mistake, the companies that publish them are trying to sell their games and, in the case of Star Wars and other TV tie-ins, DVDs or other content, as much as they want to sell the novels). The books have the chance to also be great fantasy novels on their own. They can explore concepts like mortality, theology, ethics, and philosophy. They explore very human relationships between people who aren't always human. And they do all of this while maintaining a particular tone that reflects everything that has come before them.

Learning to read shared-world fiction and appreciate them for what they do may be the same kind of learning curve that I experienced with paranormal romances. Once you see what they're doing, not only in terms of story but in terms of enhancing a setting created by other authors, it's hard not to admire what these writers are doing. In my own work, I tried to think of the setting as a character in its own right, and I hope that when people read my novels, they see that as much as they see the characters and plot I created on my own.
alanajoli: (Default)
I always forget that Joss Whedon is of the Stephen Sondheim school of storytelling when I'm in the thick of the story. The I remember, and I think, "Yup, Joss, you caught me again."

That's my non-spoilery review of Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. Go watch it.

Links!

Mar. 17th, 2008 09:58 pm
alanajoli: (scc-writers-strike)
Several fun/interesting links today.

First, Jennifer Estep, who is the author of Karma Girl (which I blogged about) and Hot Mama (a semi-sequel), is having a contest on her blog to give away copies of the books and t-shirts. She's also now on [livejournal.com profile] fangs_fur_fey, and will shortly be taking over the world. Just in case you wanted to prep for that.

PW blogger Rose Fox wrote an interesting post today about the weakening divide between YA and adult fiction, particularly in SF/F. She also quotes [livejournal.com profile] janni's recent rant about adult authors who are shocked by YA topics. If you've been following that conversation (or [livejournal.com profile] sartorias's recent blog on the same, which was also quite good), it's definitely worth the read.

I don't know that the boundaries are shrinking so much as that they were a little artificial to begin with. Many of the books that were shelved in the YA section I grew up with (which I loved and was very lucky to have) were probably originally marketed to adults, and many books about teens are shelved in adult fiction. I don't know that the distinction between the two needs to be bolder--but I think adults should make the realization that a lot of YA fiction might also appeal to them, which might make them less shocked at the content (or might help them understand modern teens a little better)...

Courtesy of Neil Gaiman's blog, we have a report from The Onion about the Novelists Guild of America strike, which has apparently affected no one. (It's a bit scathing in its satire, but funny none the less.)

Lastly, Stacia Kane posted a wonderful conversation with her six year old daughter that is just about the epitome of geek parenting on League of Reluctant Adults.

As for me, I got done with this round of editing my Serenity adventure for Margaret Weis (whose changes were all dead on--I only disagreed about one, she countered with reasons why it wouldn't work, one of which was roughly "Joss is boss," and I was convinced). Tomorrow, on to some Steampunk Musha work I've been putting aside for months (I'm still working on it Rick!) and some overdue reviews that I've been meaning to turn in. But for now, I'm going to go finish By Venom's Sweet Sting.
alanajoli: (heroes-writers-strike)
I was out of town and then down with the flu, so I've been away from the computer. (Most of the time I've been in bed, asleep, so I've been missing a lot of what's going on lately.)

One thing that I haven't missed is the WGA screen-writer's strike, and how brave all the folks are who are out there doing that. If you read just the New York Times, (a paper I normally love, by the way), you might get the idea that writers aren't, in fact, workers. That writing isn't work. Well, the writers among us know that this is bunk, and when the screen-writers are asking for something like nine cents per DVD sale and a minimal percentage of online sales regarding the work they've done--it's not like they're asking for a lot. So if you're in LA of NYC and believe that storytelling is important--and that writing is work!--show your writer friends some support for what they're doing. I hear that they appreciate pizza delivered to their strike locations.

So, the quote of the day comes from one of the strikers, Joss Whedon, in his blog entry on Whedonesque:

"We’re talking about story-telling, the most basic human need. Food? That’s an animal need. Shelter? That’s a luxury item that leads to social grouping, which leads directly to fancy scarves. But human awareness is all about story-telling. The selective narrative of your memory. The story of why the Sky Bully throws lightning at you. From the first, stories, even unspoken, separated us from the other, cooler beasts. And now we’re talking about the stories that define our nation’s popular culture – a huge part of its identity. These are the people that think those up. Working writers."
alanajoli: (Default)
"Not that we were above a cheap laugh. But it was always an in-character cheap laugh."

-Joss Whedon, on Angel
alanajoli: (Default)
Several of my regular periodicals are now posting links to various blog engines in an effort to get readers to link. So, here I am, following my whim and linking in advertisement of Buffy Season Eight. Publishers Weekly printed this article interviewing Joss Whedon about his plans for the season. This isn't new news to anyone who has been following the comics, but it did clue me in on some factors I'd missed--namely that Season Eight actually starts eighteen months after the show left off.

If [livejournal.com profile] jenlyn_b is reading this: are you guys getting these in England?
alanajoli: (Default)
On recommendation from [livejournal.com profile] jenlyn_b, I picked up I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You by Ally Carter. This is like the teen-spy-girl-school version of Harry Potter, if that makes any sense. At its core, it's a prep school book, which I figure is about as close as we can get in America to a British school book. It's also a teen love story, a story about relationships with parents and friends, and a book with so many gadgets it puts Batman to shame. (Who'd have thought that Nicotine Patches could inspire sticky tranquilizers called Napotine Patches? Brilliant!)

But here's the thing I noticed most in this book, and to some degree in [livejournal.com profile] jenlyn_b's work as well: many of us young writers in our twenties have had our language shaped by Joss Whedon and his writing staff. I knew [livejournal.com profile] jenlyn_b was a Buffy fan before I read her first novel, so the quirky whedonesque language use didn't surprise me. It was pretty clear early on that Carter was a fan, too, but I didn't actually stop in my tracks and notice the language until the narrator is agonizing over what candies/snacks are safe to eat at a movie on her first date.

"Junior Mints--of course! Minty chocolate fun with none of the dangerous side effects."

This makes me wonder if those of us who are devotees of Whedon's works purposefully emulate the writing style on his shows (I know I did in one of the manners of speaking I use in Into the Reach). Or has the quirky language has become so ingrained in our minds that we use it without even realizing it? We loved the way it sounded when it wasn't ours, and love it just as much when it is.

At any rate, kudos to Carter for a great, fun novel, and kudos to Whedon and his writers for shaping American dialogue. :)

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Alana Joli Abbott

November 2023

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