Fourth NaNoWriMo Update

I have a reprint out. "War of the Roses" (first appearing in Nature) is in the first issue of a new ezine, Comets and Criminals. They focus on Science Fiction and Crime/Mystery, among others (it's all in the name).

NaNoWriMo

One of the issues of doing shorts is some days, there isn't a starting point. At least with a novel, you know you can start where you stopped the day before. I wrote drips and drabs of things, but nothing seemed to be coming together. Then one evening, I wrote a whole story draft for a surreal thing about roads.

There isn't long to go now and I'm sure the stats are already laughing at me. However, I have stories, and my critique partner managed not to drop out this year. He's actually doing a novel, like sensible people.

I'll be finished on January 8, 2012.

Nebula Reading

Last week was flash fiction, so it's to the other extreme this week... novels (though one of the book I brought is in another category. It'll make sense when you get there). Most of my work was behind-the-scenes, as I've been reading novel extracts and looking for recommendations. I have a pile of new books to read before nomination time comes around.

These are a few I've finished and liked:

Akata Witch - Nnedi Okorafor (Novel / Norton) - Twelve-year-old Sunny feels out of place in Nigeria, both because she was born in America and she's an albino. Then she finds out she's a Leopard Person - someone with magical powers - and life gets even more complicated.

(Though it may sound it from the description, it doesn't fall into the magical albino trope. People's powers are influenced by their mind/body, but they're not created by them. Sunny is magical and albino, not magical because she's albino.)

Wolf at the Door - J. Damask (Novel) Jan Xu, a member of a werewolf pack in Singapore, has family issues to deal with and the repercussions of being a vigilante as a teenager. Then her sister Marianne returns, re-opening an old rivalry between them.

High Society - Paolo Chikiamco [author] and Hannah Buena [artist] (Short Story) This is a mythic steampunk ebook comic. In 1764, the Spanish have been driven from Manila in the Philippines, and place the blame on the British selling clockwork automatons to the locals. But the truth is closer to home.

The eligibility is more complicated here. It's an electronic publication available in the US, so should count as if published in the US. The word count makes short story the logical category (it's about 24 illustrated pages long, so short both ways).

I've either mastered the Nebula rules or not, but either way, I recommend the comic.

Steampunk at Waterstones

A local Waterstones added a steampunk shelf a little while back. It started out as a few books on a special stand, and has slowly mushroomed into a much bigger stand and a table. Last week when we brought a steampunk book*, one of the staff said they'd be launching the steampunk section this week.

No one in the family had any goggles, but we head out anyway. We had to edge past the evil elves** in Santa's grotto, but made it to the bookstore unharmed. The event was attended by the Hastings Steampunk Society in steampunk costumes, and there were displays of steampunk gadgetry. The itinerary said they'd be tea duelling*** later, though I wasn't around for that part.

The only thing I do wish is the bookstore had spread it out a bit. They could have cleared one of the display tables for a few hours, to spread the steampunkiness around (which would have make it easier to browse the steampunk books).

Just to prove steampunk really did invade the bookshop, here are some pictures:

One of the Krampus's minions. Note the pickaxe.

Steampunk stuff with some of the books on display.

Mechanical closeup. I don't know what it does either.

Goggle fashions. I'm not quite sure how you see wearing those, but they're nifty.

Steampunks from the Hastings Steampunk Society.

One thing I've been asked is what books they're stocking. I took photos this time, and have created a masterlist! (I may have missed some, and some books that were there in the last few weeks had been sold, but it's a snapshot in time. Or something like that.) Though it's not a bad list for finding steampunky books, I'd note some series didn't have all the books present (probably because they'd sold some). Some may be more Victorian fantasy than steampunk, but don't shoot the messenger... they were on the shelf****.

Novels

• Captain Nemo - Kevin J. Anderson
• The Martian Ambassador - Alan K. Baker
• Phoenix Rising - Pip Ballantine and Tee Morris
• Blameless - Gail Carriger
• Heartless - Gail Carriger
• The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters - G. W. Dahlquist
• The Difference Engine - William Gibson and Bruce Sterling
• Anno Frankenstein (Pax Britannia) - Jonathan Green
• Native Star - M. K. Hobson
• The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man - Mark Hodder
• The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack - Mark Hodder
• Johannes Cabal the Necromancer - Jonathan L. Howard
• Johannes Cabal the Detective - Jonathan L. Howard
• The Court of the Air - Stephen Hunt
• The Kingdom Beyond the Waves - Stephen Hunt
• The Rise of the Iron Moon - Stephen Hunt
• Secrets of the Fire Sea - Stephen Hunt
• Morlock Night - K. W. Jeter
• The Osiris Ritual - George Mann
• The Immorality Engine - George Mann
• Ghosts of War - George Mann
• The City and The City - China Mieville
• Anno Dracula - Kim Newman
• Whitechapel Gods - S. M. Peters
• The Anubis Gates - Tim Powers
• Boneshaker - Cherie Priest
• Dreadnought - Cherie Priest
• Ganymede - Cherie Priest
• Necrophenia - Robert Rankin
• The Mechanical Messiah and Other Marvels of the Modern Age - Robert Rankin
• Retromancer - Robert Rankin
• By Light Alone - Adam Roberts
• Swiftly - Adam Roberts
• Heart of Iron - Ekaterina Sedia
• The Alchemy of Stone - Ekaterina Sedia
• The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson
• The Bookman - Lavie Tidhar
• The Time Machine - H. G. Wells
• Retribution Falls - Chris Wooding
• The Black Lung Captain - Chris Wooding
• The Iron Jackal - Chris Wooding

Other Fiction

• Steampunk! - Edited by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant
• Boilerplate: History's Mechanical Marvel - Paul Guinan and Anina Bennett
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Volume 1) - Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (Volume 2) - Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill
• Grandville - Bryan Talbot

Non-Fiction

• The Emperor's Will - Compiled by John Blanche (Warhammer 40,000 art book)
• Steampunk Style Jewelry - Jean Campbell
• Steampunk: The Art of Victorian Futurism - Jay Strongman
• Steampunk Sourcebook (Dover Pictorial Archives) - M. C. Waldrep

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* I say 'we', but one of my other family members brought it. I plan to steal it. So it's both our book in a way.

** They were probably minions of the Krampus! (Oddly on Twitter, the people in #steampunkchat didn't appear to know about the Krampus. Whereas in Second Life's steampunk communities, he's a regular feature of the winter season. The subcultures have subcultures!)

*** I've never tea duelled, but my understanding is contestants dunk biscuits in tea and try to eat them without them falling apart.

**** I also find it best to stay well back from genre classification arguments, as they can be scary, scary places. I know at least one of the books I'd call steampunk, the author created a brand new genre for their book. It didn't catch on.

NaNoWriMo the Third: Ducks!

NaNoWriMo

I started the week with ducks. Someone on a forum asked a question about ducks. It wasn't anything really to do with the story I wrote, other than containing ducks (though judging by the direction the thread took, I suspect some commenters may enjoy my fantasy ducks). This is my story for polishing this week, though it's actually pretty much there already. Some stories just come out that way.

I also wrote more of the second story set in my steampunk world. This one focuses less on the technology (though it's still present) and more on science. The steampunk stories will need a lot more editing.

Overall, my word count is still behind, which isn't a surprise. I have warned people in the past that I'm the NaNo friend you can point and laugh at for a low word count. I'm progressing though, so I don't have any complaints. NaNo says I'll be finished on January 7, 2012 (I hope the apocalypse holds off for a few days).

Nebula Reading

I focused on reading flash fiction venues this week, but I do have one longer recommendation:

Attack the Block (Bradbury) A British science fiction film, which also had a limited US release. Sam is mugged on her way home, but makes her escape when a meteor strikes nearby. The gang is attacked by an alien from the meteor and they kill it. Soon, other aliens arrive and head for the block, forcing the gang to defend their home.

Well paced, with a focus on character development. It captures a number of the classism and racism issues on council estates, without approaching it like a lesson to be taught. It's more that the knowledge informs the direction of the story.

Now for the flash fiction. Here are some stories of 1000 words or less that caught my eye (all listed as short story, as there's no Nebula flash category):

The Girl-Shaped Jar - Camille Alexa (Short Story) It all starts with a forward about square watermelons.

Banshee Lullabies - Chazley Dotson (Short Story) About being a banshee in the modern world.

The Universe Reef - Tobias Buckell (Short Story) Life after the reef.

The Problem with Aquaman

Aquaman can talk to fish, breath underwater and swim really well. This is all fine and dandy when he's in his own story. The plot will centre around underwater happenings and all will be well.

The problem is when he's in a team of land-based superheroes. Most of their problems are on the land. The villains have bases on the land. This leads to increasingly ludicrous situations. "Oh no, the enemy's underground base has been flooded!" "Wait a minute, we can ask the victim's pet goldfish for information." Without these sudden contrivances, Aquaman ends up trailing along behind, his fish-talking swimming powers rendered useless by the villain setting up in the desert*.

Aquaman stands as an example of why some characters do better on their own, or in a team of similar characters (such as an underwater division of heroes). On his own, adventures in mysterious underwater kingdoms are awesome! In a team, it requires a tendency for places to flood or for the villains to decide they'd like a sea view. That isn't good for the plot or Aquaman.

Some characters were just designed to go it alone.

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* Not that the desert is fishless, but it's not exactly known for abundant numbers of fish.

Poem at Strange Horizons and NaNo Two

Poems and NaNoWriMo

My poem "Missed Connection: Lizard in the Dog Park" is up at Strange Horizons. Yay!

In less yay, I spent most of the weekend asleep. Humbug on colds. I did get a blog post up, and I did some reading and writing, so it wasn't a total loss. But I have some catching up to do.

The original robot pony story is almost done. Contrary to how potentially silly the idea of worldbuilding around brightly-coloured robot ponies sounds, it's actually a serious story. Somehow, I ended up destroying London, but that's an occupational hazard with steampunk. I have a second story draft set in the same world, though I think robot ponies will be my polish-for-submission story of the week.

I'll be done by December 28, 2011, so the finish is getting nearer where it should be.

Nebula Reading

It was pointed out that giving people so much reading might hinder them in their completion of NaNo. This is true, but I'm unrepentant! Following the steampunky vibe for this week, I read Steam-Powered: Lesbian Steampunk Stories. A lot of the stories didn't really catch my interest and I didn't finish all of them. But there were a couple that stood out to me.

To Follow the Waves - Amal El-Mohtar (Short Story) Set in an alternate Syria, where the industry of dream crafting is being developed. Hessa struggles to craft a dream for her latest client, but gains inspiration after a chance encounter with a beautiful woman. An interesting technomagic premise, with some unexpected outcomes. (The link is for the Podcastle version)

Suffer Water - Beth Wodzinski (Short Story) In a post-apocalyptic wild west, Annie - a bounty hunter enhanced with clockwork parts - goes after the biggest bounty of them all.

(Though the book came out in January 2011, at least one of the stories is a reprint. As far as I could work out, these two aren't reprints. The Kindle edition has some formatting issues, so worth keeping that in mind if you're buying.)

Music Videos: Created Partners

Created partners are a classic of speculative fiction. Usually a person hurt or disillusioned with relationships creates a new partner. The theme stems from a fantasy of having the perfect romance with the perfect partner. But unlike a romance novel, there's a whole layer of creepiness in creating a perfect partner. It raises questions about free will and slavery. The reality may not turn out quite the way people were hoping.

'Coin-Operated Boy' - The Dresden Dolls

Music Genre: Dark Cabaret

Video Genre: Dark Cabaret

About the Band: The Dresden Dolls consists of Amanda Palmer and Brian Viglione.

About the Video: The lyrics and video sum up the creepiness of the created partner trope. The coin-operated boy (Brian) is the wish-fulfilment partner who won't hurt Amanda, but he's also "just a toy" who doesn't get a say in anything. It has a stage theme, with exaggerated stage makeup and scenery like a stage set.

(Being coin-operated seems like a hassle to me, as you kept having to unlock his coin compartment to get them out. And he'd rattle. But maybe I'm overthinking this...)

YouTube Links:

Coin-Operated Boy

'The Girl and the Robot' - Röyksopp featuring Robyn

Music Genre: Pop

Video Genre: Science Fiction

About the Band/Singers: Röyksopp is a Norwegian musical duo. Robyn is a singer from Sweden.

About the Video: There's nothing idealised about this relationship, either in the visuals or the lyrics. Flashbacks to the first meeting show a relationship that started well, but grew cold. The robot is not under Robyn's command, and decides to spend all day working instead of spending time with her. The images of Robyn at home and the robot at work share visual elements, which pulls it together nicely.

Also unusually for the created partner trope, the robot is not designed to look attractive. He's your usual blocky humanoid robot.

YouTube Links:

The Girl and the Robot (YouTube) - I believe this is the official one, but it's region locked and I couldn't check it.

The Girl and the Robot (Daily Motion)

'Robot Girlfriend Song' - Rhett and Link

Music Genre: Comedy

Video Genre: Geek

About the Band: Rhett and Link are comedy duo Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal.

About the Video: This video pokes fun at the robot girlfriend idea, and the male geeks who dream of such a girlfriend. One day, they'll realise that dating a female geek is a better solution (even if she doesn't come with built-in Solitaire and may steal your comic books).

YouTube Links:

Robot Girlfriend Song

'Busy ' - Olly Murs

Music Genre: Pop

Video Genre: Fantasy

About the Singer: Olly Murs is a singer from England.

About the Video: For those who like the romantic (if still creepy) side of created partners, this video has Olly creating a dream girlfriend (Rose) out of papier mache. His life with Rose is shown, in a very 70s world (possibly the only time when vomit yellow was fashionable). They hang out reading books, pretending to go for drives and eating popcorn. This one is speculative, but it takes a little while to get there.

YouTube Links:

Busy

NaNoWriMo and Nebulas: Update One

I hope everyone had a great Hallowe'en! We got new decorations this year, including an inflatable ghost and glitter spiders. And Tinkerbelle napkins, which weren't quite so scary, but they're magic.

This is the first of my NaNoWriMo updates, and will include ramblings on how I'm doing - both writing updates and how my reading for the Nebulas is going (as I'm also doing that during Nano... reading is good for inspiration). I'll be posting one update a week, and there will be non-NaNo stuff inbetween, so it won't be too much for non-Nanoing types.

NaNoWriMo

There's not much to say yet, as it's the first day. I've written 508 words as I write this blog, but I expect to have a full story draft done by the end of today. It's a short and somewhat strange piece about Mondays. One issue I did hit is Nano reset my timezone, so check your timezones!

My critique partner is also attempting Nano this year. He hasn't done it since the first time, when he dropped out and I did the professional writer thing.

I like the new stats feature saying how long it'll take to hit the target. I'll be done by February, 2012...

Nebula Reading

These are a few highlights of my search for things to nominate so far. I don't guarantee the eligibility of any of them. Nor do I guarantee I'll actually nominate them (as it depends how many things I end up with for each category... some nifty stories might not make it in). If you want to suggest things that I should look at, there's a previous post where you can offer suggestions.

Staying Behind - Ken Liu (Short Story) Set in the world after people upload themselves into computers, it's a melancholy story about those who chose not to upload.

Held Close in Syllables of Light - Rose Lemberg (Novelette) Vendelin has to travel overseas to complete a trade. But it's complicated when her friend, Taemin, stows away on the ship. This is a young adult fantasy adventure.

Widows of the World - Gavin J. Grant (Novelette) The Granny lives in a future where people can upload themselves into houses and other bodies, and send parts of their mind out to work while they're doing other things. The result is a surreal and layered story, of humans living lives very different to ours. But underneath it all, the basic motivations turn out to be not so different.

Becoming Human - BBC Three (Nothing, but was Bradbury) It's an offshoot of the BBC series Being Human. Becoming Human follows new characters. Adam, a forty-something vampire in a teenaged body, armed with poor social skills and outdated pop culture references. Christa, a reclusive werewolf. And Matt, the ghost of a murdered student. Together, they investigate Matt's murder.

This was serialised into short web episodes, with other clues posted inbetween (such as newspaper clipping, videos, photos and more).

I now think this isn't eligible, because I found out the videos were region locked (to the UK). Though it can be viewed via proxies and on YouTube, I suspect that doesn't count. Which is a shame, because I would have nominated it. However, there may still be English-language awards without that restriction, and I still think it's worth watching.

(Or if you're not in the right region, do a search on YouTube for 'Becoming Human', avoiding the evolution series of the same name).