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This week: Anathem Edited by: Waltz Invictus  
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The science fiction approach doesn't mean it's always about the future; it's an awareness that this is different.
-Neal Stephenson
I think visual literacy and media literacy is not without value, but I think plain old-fashioned text literacy and mathematical literacy are much more powerful and flexible ways to organize your mind.
-Neal Stephenson
As far as culture and politics are concerned, the important theme is long-attention-span vs. short-attention-span thinking. I'm sure that your readers can think of any number of ways in which having a longer attention span can be useful. But I'll name one. Bankers with long attention spans don't lend money to people who can't pay it back. If we had more bankers who adopted a long-term view of their responsibilities, we might not be in the middle of a financial crisis that is blowing away 150-year-old investment banks.
-Neal Stephenson |
| ASIN: B01MQP5740 |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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A Plug and An Apology
First, the apology:
I have, in the past, had words to say that were not very complimentary about authors (both published and not) who make up more than about a half dozen words in the course of their story. I think that, in general, it's a gimmick that detracts from, rather than adds to, the flow of the story; and unless it's pulled off perfectly, it ruins the story --- for me. Note that it's my own personal opinion about what I like; clearly, some of these authors are doing something right because they're published and I'm not.
I gave certain authors a pass on this: Tolkien, because he was, after all, a linguist, and it added to the tapestry he built, for example. And because he's Tolkien.
And to be clear, in general, my advice is still: Don't do it, because unless you know what you're doing, you'll lose the reader. My example has always been something along the lines of that if your story starts out with some variant of "Flarg retted the despits until they greckled," you've lost me forever.
But - and here's where the apology comes in - there are exceptions.
If, for example, over the course of the first few paragraphs/chapters, you clearly define who Flarg is, what retting is, what a despit is, and what greckling is, and then throw in that line - well, then, as it turns out, I start to think (for this is still My Opinion Only and there are plenty of fantasy readers who will disagree) that I'm sharing inside information with the author. And then if I throw in those words in conversation, I've made a connection to another of that book's readers. Like if I say something about "sharper than a yendi's tooth," or "I don't give a teckla's squeal," anyone who knows what I'm talking about is sure to be a Steven Brust reader, and then we have something to talk about, because there's still not enough of us.
So the apology is this: I'm sorry I wasn't clearer, before. There are ways to do it well, and if you want to know one way, read Steven Brust. Hell, read him anyway. In fact, why are you still reading this when you could be going over to Amazon and checking his books out?
That's not the plug, though.
This is the plug:
| ASIN: B003BVK47E |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
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You can read about the book at the above link, so I won't repeat what's already there.
What I will say is that this somewhat jaded science fiction and fantasy fan was impressed by Anathem - to the point where I'm doing what I've never done before, plugging an individual book in this newsletter.
I haven't had that reaction to most of Stephenson's work. In fact, I gave up on his previous offering (The Baroque Cycle) about halfway through because I just wasn't following it. I really liked his Zodiac and Snow Crash (what's not to like about a book whose main character is named Hiro Protagonist?), but some of his other stuff just doesn't do it for me.
And I know that Anathem isn't going to "do it" for everybody, but I think it's an important read for any author of speculative fiction, because it introduces certain important concepts with a fresh perspective - an otherworldly perspective; which is, of course, one of the reasons to write science fiction or fantasy in the first place.
Besides, this is one of those books that does a great job with throwing in new words, names and concepts, and allowing the reader not just to know their definitions, but to internalize them. (Don't worry; there's a glossary at the back.)
Which is what prompted the apology, above.
All that, and it's also one of the best-plotted novels I've ever read.
So... your turn. Read any good books lately? Tell me about it in the comment field below, and maybe I'll be able to share it with the other readers.
And we'll be closer to having a common language. |
Now that I've plugged a book that maybe doesn't need plugging, here's some plugs for you:
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| ASIN: B01MQP5740 |
Product Type: Kindle Store
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Amazon's Price: $ 4.99
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Last time, in "Fantasy Newsletter (May 12, 2010)" , I talked about - and highlighted - longer-than-short-story works of fantasy and science fiction.
Loreli  :
Thank you so much for mentioning Stephen Brust in your newsletter. I haven't met many other people that have actually read him and he's one of my all time favourites.
If you are talking about stories of stories and people who keep writing, I ask you to look at another of my favourite fantasy authors, Robert Asprin. Thank you
Yes, we Brust fans are a scattered but hardcore lot - see above. And certainly, Robert Asprin is a talented writer - and very, very funny.
LJPC - the tortoise  :
Great newsletter, Robert. I never thought about the origins of SF and Fantasy before. Thanks for pointing out those longer items that have a hard time finding readers.  -- Laura
The "origins" of both actually go 'way back; I was more concerned in last month's newsletter with the beginnings of what I'd call the modern era of SF/F - from 1940 through the present.
A thinker never sleeps :
Thanks for including my submission. Much appreciated.
My pleasure. Anytime you have something you want highlighted (anyone reading this, that is), use the submission form below - no guarantee it'll be included, but at least it'll get our attention!
sarahreed:
Up until last November, I had only written short fantasy stories, but that was because I was only writing short stories. Tackling NaNoWriMo showed me a whole new world that was possible with a longer body of work. So now I have a draft that I'm revising, thinking that I have a great little novel until one day, it hits me - the plot for the next book in the series... There really is something about fantasy stories being naturally long journeys. lol.
Yes, absolutely! I think a lot of authors of fantasy would come to a similar conclusion. I have a fantasy short story in my port that's been begging me to turn it into a novel. One of these days...
Krish D. :
You talked about short versus longer stories, and mentioned trilogies. With my story, I'm planning on at least 4 books, where each book shows a glimpse of the world from the perspective of the next main character's son.
Do you have any tips for creating a timeline that might help organize my thoughts for each book?
Thanks!
The important thing with creating a timeline, in my opinion, is the same as for doing any of the other myriad background work for your story; that is, find a way to do it that works for you, and be consistent with it - and, for the most part, keep it to yourself. What I do is create a separate document, one which will never be made public, have it open while writing, and keep timeline notes in it (I do similar things with character sheets). Fill it out from your plot outline. If your outline changes, or if you don't use one, edit the timeline whenever you complete a scene or chapter. Backstory time shoud be included as well, of course. At the beginning of Anathem, Stephenson includes a timeline for his world leading up to the beginning of the story - this is helpful for reader comprehension. You can do something like that if you want, but if you do, keep it short and touch upon the highlights only - details should be filled in over the course of your novel(s). That's my opinion; I welcome others to present their thoughts about it as well!
Pyper working hard on project :
Do you think that the fantasy genre has too many clichés?
I think that one person's cliché is another person's comfort food. Is a gun a cliché in a murder mystery? Is a bare-chested man a cliché in a romance novel? Some of what goes on in a fantasy story is what makes it fantasy: magic of some sort; the struggle of good versus evil; the main character having to save the world; etc. While it's bad form to pepper your writing - of any genre except maybe comedy (and then only for comic effect) - with clichés, I think one needs to separate the effect of expressions such as "waiting for my ship to come in" from the use of tropes that are endemic to the genre. In short, I think that's a good question, and one that each of us should keep in mind as we write.
Lothmorwel [commenting upon a previous newsletter, "Fantasy Newsletter (April 14, 2010)" ]:
My favourite author is Robin Hobb/Megan Lindholm. Her books are fantasy, with a fantasy setting and a fantasy plot. However there tends to be a strong romance also, either little trysts or a long-running thing. I wouldn't class her as romantic-fantasy I'd just say it was fantasy with some romance involved. I'd say a romance novel is one solely devoted to romance with the plot pointing towards each person and the end goal, with lots of thoughts and feelings. To distribute those throughout a different genre I think adds to the storyline. I am a bit of a romantic female, but wouldn't specifically read a romance novel, but I do like romance when it combines with other genres.
Now, see, I didn't even know they were the same person - that's how out of touch I am with female fantasy writers. Perhaps one of the other Fantasy newsletter authors (mostly females) can set me straight on these fine points
And that's it for this time - remember, please send me your favorite authors/books using the link below so I can feature them next month! Until then,
DREAM ON!!! |
| ASIN: 0910355479 |
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Amazon's Price: $ 13.99
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Fantasy: June 09, 2010 Issue [#3780]
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