sholio | (no subject)

naye and I have cracked 40,000 words on our Big Bang story!

... too bad we're nowhere near done. *g* In fact, we haven't even made it to the plot point that was supposed to be the start of the story.

I've been reading "Science Fiction in the Real World", a collection of columns by Norman Spinrad, which I bought after reading his fantastic, thought-provoking essay "The Emperor of Everything" in an old issue of Asimov's that we found at the dump; this is the book in which that piece is collected. As much as I enjoy literary and fannish meta, I also think most literary criticism is elitist and very often completely full of shit, which Spinrad certainly exemplifies a lot of the time; but then he'll point out something about contemporary science fiction and cultural mythology that goes "Click! Oh, wow!" in my brain. Incredibly smart guy with whom I disagree on a whole lot of stuff, but then there are moments of genius. The "Emperor of Everything" essay ought to be required reading for every aspiring science fiction and fantasy writer; it draws fascinating parallels between Star Wars, Orson Scott Card, The Hero With a Thousand Faces and Hitler's Third Reich, as bizarre as all of THAT sounds, and it deconstructs the local-boy-saves-the-world trope in a way that may have seriously impaired my ability to read fantasy quest novels ... but in a very beneficial-to-me-as-a-writer sort of fashion.

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I think I remember reading the Emperor of Everything...something about the usual 'average joe becomes king of a fantasy world' escapist story being a power fantasy.... I may still have that Asimov's out in the garage in a box.

That's the one! Although one of his big points is that the fundamental trope of "ordinary guy makes good" is one of THE key themes in all of literature; it's the way it ultimately ends up -- with the hero emerging triumphantly victorious or basically sacrificing himself -- that is the defining difference between adolescent power fantasy and the mythic archetype that it's based on.

I remember being a little bothered by it...and now it's going to drive me crazy...I think in that article or a related one there's a review for a book that sets up the usual fantasy trope of a family falling into another dimension and having horrible things happen to them...enslaved, raped, killed...but I can't remember the title.

Well, one of Spinrad's recurring themes is "Hello! This literary trope/book you've enjoyed since childhood is actually shallow/vapid/immoral/contributing to the downfall of the novel as we know it/a metaphor for Naziism!" Making readers uncomfortable is one of his goals. And sometimes I want and need that little jab ... but sometimes I don't, nor do I blame someone else for not wanting it either.

Heh, yeah. It's important to look for hidden motivations and unintended meaning, but sometimes escapism is just escapism.

Well, perhaps more to the point -- a lot (probably most) escapist literature is bad on various levels. That doesn't make it invalid. Spinrad might read everything with a novelist's eye, but that doesn't mean that I have to be highly attuned to every nuance when I just want to curl up with a fun book and get out of my own head for a while. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with not throwing the book across the room because the characters are kind of flat or the plot has a few holes or there's a scientific error on page 271.

Oh, dear. This story, it is special. I don't know whether to be terrified or thrilled by the wordcount combined with where we're at with the plot. Maybe I'll do little of both? (Apparently, they can both lead to fainting in goats!) *g*

.... and authors ... *faints*

Hey, fainted authors can't write! This is a problem... *pokes*

Oh, wow, that word count is awesome! It inspires both awe and mayyyyybe a tiny bit of word count envy in me (but that's okay, I need a good kick in the pants). 40K in and you're not at the start of the story? I'm not sure what that means for the eventual final word count, but I'm bowing down to the awesome either way.

And hrm... that article sounds intriguing and intimidating at the same time. Probably something I'll want to read in the distant future, when my original stuff is closer to a finishing (or maybe even starting) point.

(Forgive the icon, it's the closest I have to a "Holy carp!" as I've got at the moment.)

"Holy carp!" was pretty much my reaction, too. I'm still slightly terrified by how much we've written -- especially since we're doing multiple stories for Genficathon too. Though I'm frankly a lot MORE terrified by how much we still have to write ...

(Maybe that icon is a little closer to "Holy carp!")

Multiple stories? As in more than two? I'm not sure if you're crazy or daring... although "doing"? Are you crazy kids still writing? *whistles innocently*

I will wave pom-poms in your general direction though, I'm sure the Big Bang one will work out. Maybe even before you break 100K. (Kidding, kidding...)

In fact, we haven't even made it to the plot point that was supposed to be the start of the story.

Heh. That more or less happened to me last year. My story was supposed to be just the set-up, no more than about 5,000 words, 10,000 max. Yeah, that went well. *g*

Unfortunately, we don't have that option because if we don't make it to THE plot point, our story won't actually be using any of the Big Bang prompts. Sadly. I'm actually starting to think the story might be stronger if we *didn't* use that plot point, but, er, it's not an option, at least not if we want to officially participate.

Ooh ooh ooh - which issue? I have a huge old stack from my dad that I've been meaning to get around to reading. I would love to read an essay like that.

It's the January 1988 issue. And definitely well worth reading.

Yay for you and naye cracking 40,000 words in your Big Bang story! You guys are awesomely the best!
Love, max

Thank you! :)

Congratulations on your story! I'm looking forward to it, I love both yours and Naye's work :-)

Thanks for the rec on the article... it sounds exactly like the type of dissection that one of my professors would love. I have no idea where I could find it, though (now I'm really curious about reading it), since I know for a fact that said professor would not have it, and I don't know any other who might... And Uni library has never had an Asimov subscription.

How long is the article? I'm a little leery of buying the whole book just for one essay.

It's, oh ... ten pages or so? So far, the book is interesting but I think that essay is the only one I found compelling enough to make it worth buying. Maybe you can find the book itself at the library if it has a good sci-fi collection?

40,000 words. I wish I could write that much in a day, or at least in a week. :D

Glad you're story is coming along. Me: also can't wait to read it. I bet it'll be a good one between you and Naye's writing it.