tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-64127680318561237772024-03-07T14:01:35.428-08:00FictionauticsAn erratic journal of an aging fictionaut's explorations, discoveries, and creations in the realms of literature.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.comBlogger54125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-73729451735707912502015-10-24T05:53:00.003-07:002015-10-24T05:53:53.255-07:00Back to Writing in 2015After a year at my new place of employment, it's time to get back to writing fiction.<br />
<br />
Also: should do my best to encourage more people, especially the talented people at my place of work, to write more and submit to online markets.<br />
<br />
It's like a new beginning, reminding me of the old beginning -- Philippine Speculative Fiction v01.<br />
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<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-52056029420260616132012-06-03T06:42:00.001-07:002012-06-03T07:09:15.781-07:00A Short, Sharp, Start<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t8cd42edB1LlBKZBTtZ2JPOqcutSZ-mZN8nXFX0h656SxS1mcQu_-0peAbFWgCTMwgj6QunrY6U2jEE_Lx9Tx8zLRDtlBFy6OwLb_vZc-7AheXCLqg5QWpMrxbQLhNLKuKCqYuG1bzY/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5t8cd42edB1LlBKZBTtZ2JPOqcutSZ-mZN8nXFX0h656SxS1mcQu_-0peAbFWgCTMwgj6QunrY6U2jEE_Lx9Tx8zLRDtlBFy6OwLb_vZc-7AheXCLqg5QWpMrxbQLhNLKuKCqYuG1bzY/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
I'm restarting the posts to this blog to better help me keep track of my interests and initiatives in Fictionspace. Here are my posting plans so far:<br />
<br />
<b>Written Fiction (Critiques, Reviews, and Ruminations)</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Short Stories</li>
<li>Novellas</li>
<li>Novelettes</li>
<li>Novels</li>
</ul>
<b>Other Fiction (Critiques, Reviews, and Ruminations) </b><br />
<ul>
<li>Comic book issues and series</li>
<li>TV episodes and series</li>
<li>Movies</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Genres (Definitions, Explorations, Theories)</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>Speculative Fiction</li>
<li>Science Fiction</li>
<li>Fantasy</li>
<li>Horror</li>
<li>Mystery</li>
<li>Lots more </li>
</ul>
<b>LitCrit (Reading and Writing Techniques)</b><br />
<br />
<b>On the Industry</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Authors</li>
<li>Editors</li>
<li>Critics</li>
<li>Publishers</li>
<li>Publications</li>
<li>Markets</li>
<li>News</li>
<li>Calls for Submission</li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>Inspiration</b><br />
<ul>
<li>News: Philippines</li>
<li>News: Science</li>
<li>News: Gaming</li>
<li>Non-fiction: mythology</li>
<li>Non-fiction: history</li>
<li>Non-fiction: science</li>
<li>Images</li>
</ul>
And let's just see where that takes us.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-16269381817115733892012-01-03T04:41:00.000-08:002012-01-03T05:43:53.890-08:00Philippine Speculative Fiction 7 (PSF7): Lineup Announcement(Reposted from <a href="http://wishcatcher.blogspot.com/">The Wishcatcher's Blog</a>)<br />
<br />
Over a hundred stories were submitted, with roughly around 400,000
words in total. It took us one whole month to read (and reread, and
reread) the stories. Another week was spent arguing, negotiating,
deciding and then re-deciding which stories would be included in this
year's anthology(it was a tough process; aside from the fact that our poetics are vastly different, the stories submitted were all of a
certain quality that it was literally like pulling teeth to get us down
to 24); and another month for Katento get all our rejection and
acceptance letters out. But after what seemed like a loooong time, we
finally (finally!) have the PSF7 lineup!<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>PSF7 stats and trivia:</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
14 males / 10 females</div>
<div>
23 of the 24 will find its first home in PSF</div>
<div>
1 story was written after an author realized she was broke (we have faith she that she has recovered since then, folks!)</div>
<div>
1 story is the last leg of a troika of erotica (it rhymes!) written over a period of 3 years</div>
<div>
3 stories are from first time fiction authors</div>
<div>
1 story's idea was stolen from a pastor's sermon</div>
<div>
1 story is the last short fiction the author will be writing until he finishes his novel</div>
<div>
0 stories were from time travelling Filipino Vikings (darn it, we were hoping with the numbers we would have at least 1!).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Philippine Speculative Fiction 7: Lineup!</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
1. All That We May See by Kenneth Yu</div>
<div>
2. All the Best of Dark and Bright by Isabel Yap</div>
<div>
3. Bastard Sword by Nikki Alfar</div>
<div>
4. Chasers by Chris Mariano</div>
<div>
5. East of the Sun by Dean Francis Alfar</div>
<div>
6. Faith in Fiction by James Constantino Bautista</div>
<div>
7. Mother of Monsters by Philip Corpuz</div>
<div>
8. Never Land by Mo Francisco</div>
<div>
9. Oblation by Paolo Chikiamco</div>
<div>
10. Pet by Kristine Ong Muslim</div>
<div>
11. Sarsarita Time by Melissa Sipin</div>
<div>
12. The Call of the Chained God by Dariel Quiogue</div>
<div>
13. The Changes by Benito Vergara</div>
<div>
14. The Commute to Paradiso by Charles Tan</div>
<div>
15. The Day Nostalgia Swept Over a Town by F. Jordan Carnice</div>
<div>
16. Dragon's Orb by Vincent Michael Simbulan</div>
<div>
17. The Likeness of God by Crystal Koo</div>
<div>
18. The Little Things the Datu Did by Andrew Drilon</div>
<div>
19. The Love Spell by Julian dela Cerna</div>
<div>
20. The Nature of Apocalypse by Joseph Anthony Montecillo</div>
<div>
21. The Scrap Collectors by Arlynn Despi</div>
<div>
22. username: tanglaw by Eliza Victoria</div>
<div>
23. What the Body Remembers by Tin Lao</div>
<div>
24. What You See by Ian Rosales Casocot</div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-indent: -0.25in;">Now,
if any of you can guess by title alone (well, and what little clues I
have given), on which story is which based on the trivia above, I will
believe that you have some secret mind power; or, at the very least,
that you have secretly hacked my email. Seriously, if you can, by the
power of your gut feel, guess which one's which, you can win a copy of
<i>Philippine Speculative Fiction</i> vol. 6 (PSF6) which I will give during
the launch. Send your guesses to kate.osias at gmail.com :)</span></div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>PSF6 News</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The
anthology has garnered positive reviews, with several bloggers /
editors / writers voicing their opinions and favorite stories in the
antho. (RocketKapre keeps track with a number of them; go to this
website if interested www.rocketkapre.com). The most recent news bit was
from GMA News Online (by Mean Ortiz), which named <i>PSF6</i> (along with <i>
Alternative Alamat</i> edited by PSF contributor Paolo Chikiamco and
<i>Heartbreak & Magic</i> by PSF contributor Ian Rosales Casocot) as one of
the notable books of 2011. Yay! :)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And... that's it for now folks. Tune in for more updates on the launch! :)</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-54886680199469612262011-09-05T06:34:00.000-07:002011-09-05T06:34:43.947-07:00Writing as a LitCritterSince one of the advocacies of the LitCritters is Speculative Fiction, we are occasionally forced to think about our poetics and how they are reflected in our body of work. Having been writing for a while now -- not as long as some other authors, but enough to get out of the "writing for writing's sake" phase -- there are some questions that buzz around in our heads when working on the latest story.<br />
<br />
Dean's most recent core LitCritter lecture listed some of these questions. They are:<br />
<ol>
<li>Why write <i>this</i> story?</li>
<li>Why write this <i>type</i> of story?</li>
<li>Why write this story <i>now</i>?</li>
<li>Why write this story <i>in this way</i>?</li>
<li>How does writing this story <i>challenge</i> you as a writer? How does writing this story <i>improve</i> you as a writer?</li>
<li>How is the completed story an expression of your poetics as a <i>speculative fictionist</i>? How is the completed story an expression of your poetics as a <i>filipino</i>?</li>
<li><i>Why bother</i>?</li>
</ol>
A lot of these questions stem from the realization that our completed stories (which will hopefully be published and hopefully be read) are the only possible physical manifestation of our writerly poetics.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-26728397794549617542011-06-06T02:47:00.000-07:002011-06-12T20:44:37.046-07:00Explaining Why The Author Is Dead for Face-to-Face Sessions<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Ghostwriter_%28Season_1%29.jpg/150px-Ghostwriter_%28Season_1%29.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/0/05/Ghostwriter_%28Season_1%29.jpg/150px-Ghostwriter_%28Season_1%29.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My sister loved this show. It<br />
was the first thing I thought of<br />
as an illustration for this topic.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>In my previous post, I mentioned that we adopt the stance that 'the author is dead' when doing critiques in our face-to-face litcritter sessions. This practice probably runs counter to the approach some of us were taught in school -- the one where we take into consideration the author's personal history, and the circumstances surrounding the writing of the text itself.<br />
<br />
The reasons for the approach stems from the "writers who read / readers who write" philosophy. As writers, we cannot stand over the shoulders of the authors we submit to, defending or expanding their understanding of our text as they read what we've submitted. Unless you're a well-known author (and sometimes, even if you are), your text stands alone, bereft of any help other than the editor's personal intelligence, knowledge, experiences, preferences, and agenda. Therefore, as readers we apply the same sort of rigor to the nominated texts.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, we can't exactly tell writers: "The reason this story worked is because the author has this type of personal history and because it was written in this environment -- so go out and have a similar personal history and cultural environment."<br />
<br />
We're after writing techniques that can deliver (more or less, based on the audience, which is a whole other blog topic) the effect that the author intended, sans author or lengthy background or even Cliff's Notes or Wikipedia research.<br />
<br />
Are there instances where this doesn't work? Yes. One type of story where this doesn't work is one where the cultural mores of the story are so alien / different from our own experience. For example, when we try to apply our own modern sensibilities to stories set in the Victorian era, we have to enter that story keeping in mind not only that it was a different time, but also that there were different expectations and ways of doing things back then. This is actually why we tend to read more modern stories than older classics.<br />
<br />
Are we saying that this is the only way -- the proper way -- to read texts? No. Of course not.<br />
<br />
Are we saying that a writer should therefore assume that readers may not be privy to every little bit of knowledge we do should therefore explain everything to death? Are we espousing the reduction of in-jokes in stories, asking that writers write for the lowest common denominator, or criticizing authors who write for narrow audiences? Again, of course not.<br />
<br />
<br />
But we are also saying that the approach is illuminating in a different way -- in a group of readers with different ages, different experiences, and different preferences -- to see how each one responds to a given text. We learn how some people who love Science Fiction react to Science Fiction stories differently from the Fantasy or Historical Romance crowd. We're exposed to the tolerances for action, love, violence, fear and justice that different readers have and file it away in our minds.<br />
<br />
And when we write the next time, hopefully, it is with an insight into how our ideal readership (and the rest of the readership) may react to our writing techniques.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-88406863062262034102011-06-03T08:33:00.000-07:002011-06-06T02:19:24.090-07:00All the things you need to remember for the LitCrit Face-to-Face Sessions<div style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">LitCrit Session: Primer</span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
<span style="color: orange;"> LitCritter Manifesto (Draft)</span></span><br />
<br />
We believe in several key principles that are the foundation of our approach towards writing, reading and critiquing. They are:<br />
<ol><li>To be a writer, you must read; critical reading of texts helps improve awareness and implementation of writing techniques.</li>
<li>To be a writer, you must write, and write for submission to any number of markets open to your texts.</li>
<li>Speculative Fiction is a valid and vibrant form of literature that deserves equal emphasis in the reading and writing of texts.</li>
<li>Everyone is entitled to their own well-informed and well-expressed opinions.</li>
<li>When a text is critiqued, it is an evaluation of the text and not an evaluation of the character or behavior of the author.</li>
</ol><div style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">Guidelines for Critique</span></div><ol><li>Read each story at least twice – once for pleasure (if possible), once with a critical eye</li>
<li>When reading the texts for critique, keep the following philosophies in mind</li>
<ol><li>The Author is Dead</li>
<li>Ask yourself</li>
<ol><li>What is the story about?</li>
<li>What literary techniques were used to tell the story, and did they succeed?</li>
</ol></ol><li>If there are any things that you liked but don’t know why, try to articulate as best you can.</li>
<li>If there are any things that you didn’t like but don’t know why, try to articulate as best you can.</li>
<li>Jot down notes for the face-to-face critiques; it’s easy to get carried away with the flow of the discussion, and you might forget something important to you.</li>
</ol><div style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some Guiding LitCrit Philosophies</span></div><br />
The following list of phrases is not necessarily in order of priority, but they are important to keep in mind when reading with a critical eye, LitCrit-style:<br />
<br />
<b style="color: orange;">The Author is Dead. </b>While the author may or may not be dead in reality, when we use this phrase, it refers to the critique philosophy that the text has to stand on its own. The author’s intent, personal history, and other works do not enter into the critique (as much as possible).<br />
<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Learn to Articulate. </b>We don’t expect everyone to know official or unofficial literary terminology when performing critiques. We do expect everyone to try to articulate how they felt certain storytelling techniques were used in stories. We believe that the terminology will come easily enough once the ability to identify and evaluate techniques has been honed. And the best way to bring out that ability is by practice.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Best Practices Not Rules. </b>There is a belief in business that argues there are no rules or guarantees for success, just best practices. These are techniques that have emerged over the years as being superior to other techniques, but are by no means the only ways to success. Almost any ‘rule’ in writing can be broken, if done spectacularly – and this has been done by many authors in the past, often establishing new literary technique in the process. If something ‘counter-intuitive’ works for some reason, say so.<br />
<br />
<b style="color: orange;">Read, Write, Rinse, Repeat. </b>We believe that by reading critically our ability to write improves. We also believe that by writing, our ability to read critically improves. As writers who read, and readers who write, we therefore hope to improve our skills in both areas. While critiquing a text, keep an eye out for techniques that you may wish to use on your own writing.<br />
<br />
<div style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">Incomplete List of LitCrit Terms and Slang</span></div><br />
Some of the items below are actual literary terms, others are literary terms that aren’t used the traditional way, and others are just terms that we appropriated from other areas of knowledge or just plain made up:<br />
<ul><li>Text</li>
<li>Story</li>
<li>Discourse</li>
<li>Character</li>
<li>Plot</li>
<li>Structure</li>
<li>Setting</li>
<li>Subject </li>
<li>Theme </li>
<li>Telling Detail</li>
<li>Fast Time</li>
<li>Slow Time</li>
<li>Dialogue</li>
<li>Conflict</li>
<li>Stakes</li>
<li>Tone</li>
<li>Exposition</li>
<li>Word Choice</li>
<li>Lyricism</li>
<li>Emotion</li>
<li>Genre</li>
<li>Trope</li>
<li>Mindscape</li>
<li>Authorial Intent</li>
<li>Badong</li>
<li>Surrealism</li>
<li>Minimalism</li>
<li>Does He/She Deserve It</li>
<li>Play Fair</li>
<li>Seeding</li>
<li>Flashback</li>
<li>Flashforward</li>
<li>1st Person POV</li>
<li>2nd Person POV</li>
<li>3rd Person POV – Limited</li>
<li>3rd Person POV – Omniscient</li>
<li>Decentralized Intelligence</li>
<li>Pacing</li>
<li>Resonant Thud ending</li>
<li>Ambiguous vs. Vague</li>
<li>Lacuna</li>
</ul><div style="color: orange;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ye Olde LitCrit FAQ </span></div><b><br style="color: orange;" /><span style="color: orange;"> What do the LitCritters do?</span></b><br />
<br />
We are basically a bunch of Filipino writers who are trying to improve our craft by doing literary critique. This isn't anything close to the intensity of Russian Formalism or American New Criticism, though we do borrow tools from them – close reading, treating the text as separate from the author, etc.<br />
<br />
The upshot: we read about 4 short stories a week (each ranging from as short as 1500 words to some of the rare 10,000 word monsters) and get together and critique them - saying what worked, what didn't work, finding out the literary terms for some of these techniques, making up academically blasphemous terms for some of the others, and generally mining the stories for techniques that we can use in our own writing.<br />
<b><br />
<span style="color: orange;"> How did the LitCritters get started?</span></b><br />
<br />
We started off as a group of six people who did this in person (and we still do), helmed by Dean Alfar. The other original members were Nikki Alfar, Kate Aton-Osias, Andrew Drilon, Alex Osias, and Vincent Michael Simbulan. Then LitCritters Dumagete started in Dumagete through Ian Casocot (another Palanca-winning writer) and began stirring up things "literarily" in their corner of the Philippines.<br />
<br />
After that, we did a series of face-to-face sessions in different locations: A Different Bookstore in Libis, A Different Bookstore in High Street, and in Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Ortigas and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Robinson’s Galleria. We went on hiatus for a while, but now we’re back.<br />
<b><br />
<span style="color: orange;"> Where did the term "LitCritter" come from?</span></b><br />
<br />
LitCritters evolved out of a need to refer to the members of the early LitCrit group. Nikki was the one who formalized the term "LitCritters", Ian was the one who explained it, and Dean was the one who used it a lot on his blog, popularizing the original use.<br />
<br />
Retroactively, it makes sense for it to be derived from "literary criticism" and therefore "literary critics". But, also, it could simply be less ivory-tower and simply be the truncated form of "literary creatures" or such. As a label, it strives to be more inclusive rather than exclusive, so that anyone who reads lots of short stories, discusses them, learns from them and writes them is a LitCritter.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-27716949151509737352011-06-02T07:05:00.000-07:002011-06-02T07:05:52.847-07:00Announcement: LitCrit Manila SessionsHi All,<br />
<br />
LitCrit Session Dates (Last Saturday of each month at 2:00 PM):<br />
<br />
Jun 25, 2011<br />
Jul 30, 2011<br />
Aug 27, 2011<br />
Sep 24, 2011<br />
Oct 29, 2011<br />
Nov 26, 2011<br />
<br />
Venue: Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf (mostly at Robinson's Galleria)<br />
<br />
Readings will be posted soon.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-37699854744291180452011-05-30T05:09:00.000-07:002011-05-30T05:20:54.337-07:00Call for Submissions: Philippine Speculative Fiction - Volume 7People are still basking in the afterglow of the successful book launch of PSF6 (you can read about it <a href="http://www.rocketkapre.com/2011/psf6-launch-photos/">here</a>, <a href="http://sungazer.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/philippine-speculative-fiction-6-book-launch/">here</a> and pictures <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/63494885@N06/sets/72157626712396039/">here</a>), which makes this the best time to open our virtual doors for the next volume: Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 7 (PSF7), to be edited by Kate Osias (my beloved wife and fellow writer) and some guy name Alex Osias, is now officially open for submissions.<br />
<br />
Please read the guidelines below. Don't be afraid to email or message us if you have questions.<br />
<br />
On a related note, PSF6 immediately sold out last Saturday. We are thinking of doing another print run, so if you want a copy or several, drop us a note so that I can forward it to our publisher, Dean Alfar.<br />
<br />
___________________<br />
<br />
Editors Alex and Kate Osias invite you to submit short fiction for consideration for <i><b>Philippine Speculative Fiction -- Volume 7</b></i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Philippine Speculative Fiction</i> is a yearly anthology series, which collects a wide range of stories that define, explore, and sometimes blur the boundaries of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and all things in between.<br />
<br />
The anthology has been shortlisted for the Manila Critics’ Circle National Book Award, and multiple stories from each volume have been cited in roundups of the year’s best speculative fiction across the globe.<br />
<br />
First-time authors are more than welcome to submit; good stories trump literary credentials any time.<br />
<br />
<b>Submissions must be:</b><br />
<br />
1. speculative fiction—i.e., they must contain strong elements or sensibilities of science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, alternate history, folklore, superheroes, and/or related ‘nonrealist’ genres and subgenres<br />
<br />
2. written in English<br />
<br />
3. authored by persons of Philippine ethnicity and/or nationality<br />
<br />
<b>Submissions are preferred to be:</b><br />
<br />
1. original and unpublished<br />
<br />
2. no shorter than 1,000 words and no longer than 7,500<br />
<br />
3. written for an adult audience<br />
<br />
In all cases, these preferences can be easily overturned by exceptionally well-written pieces. In the case of previously-published work—if accepted, the author will be expected to secure permission to reprint, if necessary, from the original publishing entity, and to provide relevant publication information.<br />
<br />
<b>Submission details:</b><br />
<br />
1. No multiple or simultaneous submissions—i.e., submit only one story, and do not submit that story to any other publishing market until you have received a letter of regret from us. We don’t mind if you submit to contests.<br />
<br />
2. All submissions should be in Rich Text Format (saved under the file extension ‘.rtf’), and emailed to kate.osias at gmail.com, with the subject line ‘PSF7 submission’.<br />
<br />
3. The deadline for submissions is midnight, Manila time, September 30, 2011. Letters of acceptance or regret will be sent out no later than one month after the deadline.<br />
<br />
<b>Editors’ notes:</b><br />
<br />
1. Please don’t forget to indicate your real name in the submission email! If you want to write under a pseudonym, that’s fine, but this can be discussed upon story acceptance. Initially, we just need to know who we’re talking to.<br />
<br />
2. If you’d like to write a cover letter with your brief bio and publishing history (if applicable), do feel free to introduce yourself—but not your story, please. If it needs to be explained, it’s probably not ready to be published.<br />
<br />
3. We advise authors to avoid fancy formatting—this will just be a waste of your time and ours, since we will, eventually, standardize fonts and everything else to fit our established house style.<br />
<br />
There will be compensation for selected stories, but we’ve yet to determine exactly what. In previous years, we’ve provided contributor copies of the book, as well as small royalty shares, but we are considering shifting Philippine Speculative Fiction to digital format, so we may be shifting to outright financial payment as well.<br />
<br />
Please help spread the word!<br />
<br />
<br />
Thanks,<br />
<br />
Alex and Kate Osias, co-editors<br />
<br />
Dean Alfar, publisherAlex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-16012698278562396902011-05-25T17:35:00.000-07:002011-05-25T17:35:45.744-07:00Rocket Kapre interview of the editors of Philippine Speculative Fiction 6Well, that's really it! Some interesting statements about submissions and rejections, and poetics.<br />
<br />
Check it out <a href="http://www.rocketkapre.com/2011/nikki-alfar-and-kate-aton-osias-talk-psf6/">here</a>.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-42706200682529137702011-05-22T07:10:00.000-07:002011-05-22T07:10:36.690-07:00End of the Plotting Cycle: ReflectionsThis last batch of stories (for the LitCritter plot-focused activity) taught me several things:<br />
<br />
1. plot provides the muscle and bone for robust stories;<br />
2. plot alone can extend page count, and -- in conjunction with other techniques -- can extend a story to novel length;<br />
3. too much plot -- especially unnecessary plot details -- can overwhelm a story (know what your story is);<br />
4. tried and true plots can be saved by other storytelling techniques;<br />
5. it helps to write the 'outline/story' on a single layer or two before fixing and fleshing out.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-35692525394157505132011-05-17T23:09:00.000-07:002011-05-17T23:09:26.988-07:00Existents: Naming thingsAside from naming people, I tend to want to find slick / common use names for things in the fantasy or science fiction short stories I write.<br />
<br />
The logic behind this is that:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>folks who have to use certain terms on a daily basis will probably find ways to shorten the names for things and still remain clear (hence acronyms and other devices);</li>
<li>a different time and place will have a different set of terms and criteria for what is cool or interesting or funny or acceptable.</li>
</ul><div>The former comes from my experience in the computer industry and business, while the latter comes from the subcultures of geekdom AND being from the Philippines (where people think it's funny to name your kid Edgar Allen Pe, or name a store "Cooking Ng Ina Mo").</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-42873496988294991352011-05-06T18:07:00.000-07:002011-05-06T18:07:24.602-07:00Transmissions from the Border: An excerpt from the new Bordertown anthoHere's the Cory Doctorow story -- "Shannon's Law" -- from the new Bordertown anthology <i>Welcome to the Border</i>: [<a href="http://www.tor.com/stories/2011/05/shannons-law">Tor.com linky</a>]Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-70835569296997994002011-05-05T17:12:00.000-07:002011-05-05T17:12:28.902-07:00Inspiration: The Vidocq Society<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8g-8pUAw45sUD5vGFRh5hX9K9B4m9hQhQ6yz7xB3QcnPobUSZ0tHALn09t_BMMBJbB3zx6oPhQZKuZmBkmM92LlShxYM420BEmKXa4-RwdzKY_-bbxfWY2VRQN5EjgMRQEU9M9r0haE/s1600/the-murder-room200_custom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8g-8pUAw45sUD5vGFRh5hX9K9B4m9hQhQ6yz7xB3QcnPobUSZ0tHALn09t_BMMBJbB3zx6oPhQZKuZmBkmM92LlShxYM420BEmKXa4-RwdzKY_-bbxfWY2VRQN5EjgMRQEU9M9r0haE/s200/the-murder-room200_custom.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>Happened onto this by checking out <a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_19178_9-absurd-movie-premises-that-actually-happened.html">one of Cracked.com's lists</a>, then following a link and voila! Modern day consulting detectives.<br />
<br />
There's a book out called <i>The Murder Room</i> by Michael Capuzzo that details the history and present of <a href="http://www.vidocq.org/who.html">The Vidocq Society</a> -- an organization of crime specialists who meet once a month to review cold cases and maybe solve one or two of them.<br />
<br />
They're inspired by Eugene Francois Vidocq, a former criminal who devoted his life to solving crimes and -- with a band of other former criminals as associates -- eventually ended up getting paid for it by Scotland Yard.<br />
<br />
It's an inspiration (as many non-fiction books are to me) because it manages to provide more telling detail on what consulting detective work might be like -- not being present at the crime scene itself necessarily, but able to piece things together from clues that diligent forensics experts and persistent police detectives have collated.<br />
<br />
Perhaps with this, I'll be able to cobble together my own Philippine murder mystery story.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-33821314461496468652011-04-28T15:50:00.000-07:002011-04-28T15:50:51.251-07:00Philippine Speculative Fiction 6 Book Launch on May 28th, 2011Here's the latest from the publishers!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0ijBPyYaBMjod-_Lx6xbmEu0iNVCl0IIsxVS4xBVqKGk-wFdsV8eIPrmdUkZaiwFy0nGfpD0SWiqbx8B-V_u_7bGow5FwO3dJJ7-3yDGJoIyttybFWOAy_2X2g7VyjG4IDXDPWbkmBA/s1600/cover+PSF6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0ijBPyYaBMjod-_Lx6xbmEu0iNVCl0IIsxVS4xBVqKGk-wFdsV8eIPrmdUkZaiwFy0nGfpD0SWiqbx8B-V_u_7bGow5FwO3dJJ7-3yDGJoIyttybFWOAy_2X2g7VyjG4IDXDPWbkmBA/s200/cover+PSF6.jpg" width="135" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Hello Beloved PSF6 Contributors!</span><br />
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">After resolving some unexpected issues (a big round of applause for Dean, our publisher, who did all the obstacle-slaying), I'm very happy to announce that <b style="font-style: italic;">Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 6 </b>will finally have its book launching. <span style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Arial;">The launch of PSF6 will be on <b><u>May 28, 2011, Saturday, 5PM at the UView Theater, Fully Booked</u></b> at the Fort :)</span><div><div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">Please invite your family and friends to come. The PSF launches are legendary for being informal, interactive, and more importantly, fun! :) In the unfortunate event that you, yourself, cannot pick up your book, please do send someone who will stand in for you, or, as we have done in the past, we will pick from one of the hapless audience members to represent you and provide relevant speeches, all in good fun of course. (Seriously though, please email me so that we can make other arrangements, if necessary. And, seriously as well, we have done the pick-a-random-person to receive the book for a contributor.)</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">If you plan to buy a ton of books, please let me know in advance so that I can reserve those books for you, since we have a limited run of PSF6. Otherwise, just come as you are, bring your camera, your imagination, and sense of humor with you, and be ready to meet a good chunk of the specfic community.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;"><br />
</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="border-collapse: collapse;">On behalf of Nikki and Dean, thank you again for your wonderful stories. See you on the 28th! :)</span></span></div></div></div></div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-71018247336750053102011-04-10T07:12:00.000-07:002011-04-10T07:20:32.970-07:00At long last, PSF6 is coming! Cover!Hi,<br />
<br />
So I made it into Philippine Speculative Fiction (volume 6), and I was recently e-mailed the front and back covers.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0ijBPyYaBMjod-_Lx6xbmEu0iNVCl0IIsxVS4xBVqKGk-wFdsV8eIPrmdUkZaiwFy0nGfpD0SWiqbx8B-V_u_7bGow5FwO3dJJ7-3yDGJoIyttybFWOAy_2X2g7VyjG4IDXDPWbkmBA/s1600/cover+PSF6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO0ijBPyYaBMjod-_Lx6xbmEu0iNVCl0IIsxVS4xBVqKGk-wFdsV8eIPrmdUkZaiwFy0nGfpD0SWiqbx8B-V_u_7bGow5FwO3dJJ7-3yDGJoIyttybFWOAy_2X2g7VyjG4IDXDPWbkmBA/s640/cover+PSF6.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZHEwjaAxMDqGmVa6W7FC-hirC1teeIXybvmohfnDtpd7K_12qaoXQ_FXrPS5wfrbmtb1Y35AowCoMG2fy0ByCusNh906MI46Eo1pdQrthEvChYSRDIWIqtOfg4NRYutfFvv2udz4ESI/s1600/PSF+6+back-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZHEwjaAxMDqGmVa6W7FC-hirC1teeIXybvmohfnDtpd7K_12qaoXQ_FXrPS5wfrbmtb1Y35AowCoMG2fy0ByCusNh906MI46Eo1pdQrthEvChYSRDIWIqtOfg4NRYutfFvv2udz4ESI/s640/PSF+6+back-cover.jpg" width="432" /></a></div><br />
It's hard to believe there've been so many of these already, but I'm happy to be part of them.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-53937289238767517062010-10-01T07:48:00.000-07:002010-10-01T07:51:31.523-07:00Book on loanIn the process of prepping for moving, I've decided to share some of my books with friends. The following books are out:<br />
<ul><li><i>Starship Troopers</i></li>
<li><i>The Stainless Steel Rat</i> omnibus</li>
<li><i>When Gravity Fails</i></li>
<li><i>A Fire in the Sun</i></li>
<li><i>The Exile Kiss</i></li>
</ul><div>Enjoy them, friends!</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-38415514243385262742009-11-11T20:14:00.000-08:002010-10-01T07:50:22.993-07:00Writing About Asians<a href="http://images.amosias.multiply.com/image/g4yp42Wm0Yqio7DUj7inEw/photos/1M/300x300/65/AsianChopsticksPrawn.jpg?et=tzek5LVtBadI6xn9dUr%2BRA&nmid=0" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="alignleft" src="http://images.amosias.multiply.com/image/g4yp42Wm0Yqio7DUj7inEw/photos/1M/300x300/65/AsianChopsticksPrawn.jpg?et=tzek5LVtBadI6xn9dUr%2BRA&nmid=0" /></a>During the many workshops and LitCritter sessions that I've been a part of -- especially the ones where poetics and personal writing patterns were discussed -- I've mentioned that I wanted to write more fully realized depictions of Filipinos (and I guess that extends to many marginalized minorities in general).<br />
<div><br />
</div><br />
<div>One of the traps you fall into is second guessing yourself. Is this character a stereotypical minority or worse, just a walking cliche?</div><div><br />
</div><div>That's why, even if I don't start out thinking "I'm going to write a story that will redefine Filipinos in the eyes of the world", it's useful to have a list of pitfalls NOT to fall into so that I can double check my initial draft against it.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I found one on the <a href="http://www.manaa.org/asian_stereotypes.html">Media Action Network for Asian Americans</a> site. Naturally, these are biased toward an American audience, but they could be extrapolated for local applications.</div><div><br />
</div><div>A quick summary of the high points:</div><div><br />
</div><div><div><b>Stereotype: Asian Americans as foreigners who cannot be assimilated</b>. Because they are racially and culturally distinctive from the American mainstream, Asian people have been widely seen as unable to be absorbed into American society.</div><div><b><i>Stereotype-Buster: Portraying Asians as an integral part of the United States</i></b>. More portrayals of acculturated Asian Americans speaking without foreign accents.</div><div><b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i><br />
</i></span></b></div><div><b>Stereotype: Asian Americans restricted to clich�d occupations</b>. Asian American professionals are depicted in a limited and predictable range of jobs: restaurant workers, Korean grocers, Japanese businessmen, Indian cab drivers, TV anchorwomen, martial artists, gangsters, faith healers, laundry workers, and prostitutes.</div><div><b><i>Stereotype-Buster: Asian Americans in diverse, mainstream occupations: doctors, lawyers, therapists, educators, U.S. soldiers, etc</i></b>.</div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><b>Stereotype: Asians relegated to supporting roles in projects with Asian or Asian American content</b>. Usually, when a project features Asian subject matter, the main character will still be white.</div><div><b><i>Stereotype-Buster: More Asian and Asian American lead roles</i></b>.</div><div><blockquote>Comment -- I did the opposite in my short story "Gunsaddled", haha.</blockquote></div><div><b>Stereotype: Asian male sexuality as negative or non-existent</b>. Although Asian women are frequently portrayed as positive romantic partners for white men ("Sayonara," "The World of Suzie Wong," ad infinitum), Asian men are almost never positively paired with women of any race. Consequently, Asian men are usually presented either as threatening corrupters of white women or as eunuchs lacking any romantic feelings. For example, in the action movie "Showdown in Little Tokyo," the Asian villain forces himself upon a white woman and murders her before threatening the Asian female love interest. Predictably, the white hero kills the Asian villain and "wins" the Asian woman--while the hero's Amerasian sidekick is given no love life at all.</div><div><b><i>Stereotype-Buster: More Asian men as positive romantic leads.</i></b></div><div><blockquote>Comment -- Hold on now! My man Brandon Lee didn't get Tia Carrere in "Showdown in Little Tokyo", but he did portray a very integrated and modern Asian American. He came off as a fun, likable, and competent, and he had some great lines in there.</blockquote></div><div><b>Stereotype: Asians who prove how good they are by sacrificing their lives</b>. In the "classic" movie "Gunga Din" (1939), the Indian water-carrier of the title confirms his loyalty to the Imperial British army by warning it of an attack by nationalist forces. Gunga Din is killed in the onslaught. For decades afterwards, movies have portrayed "positive" Asian characters affirming their loyalty to the lead white characters--and thereby affirming their "goodness"--by sacrificing themselves so that the white characters may live.</div><div><b><i>Stereotype-Buster: Positive Asian characters who are still alive at the end of the story.</i></b></div><div><blockquote>Comment -- I'm all for this! By the way, anyone ever notice that the Philippine National Anthem ends with (roughly translated) "it is our joy, when someone is oppressing [our country] to die for it"? Maybe we should change "mamatay" (to die) to "magtagumpay" (to triumph).</blockquote></div><div>Lots of other thought-provoking stereotypes in the article. Check it out!</div><br />
</div><div class="multiply:no_crosspost"><br />
</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-56270933424094709072009-11-09T14:40:00.000-08:002010-05-02T02:16:52.805-07:00Writing WomenIt's no secret that I have difficulty writing female characters -- which should not stop me from trying. Now, I have no real conscious agenda about pushing women's issues in my fiction, but it does annoy me if my fictional females end up weak, stereotypical, objectified (and worse, all three).<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>So it amuses me to find some interesting articles concerning the state of female characters in fiction and movies and TV. One of the most interesting ones is the Bechdel test, which I found out about <a href="http://bechdel.nullium.net/">here</a>.</div><div><br />
</div><div>The rules for this test are as follows (taken straight from the site):</div><div><br />
</div><div><div>"1. It has to have at least two women in it</div><div>2. Who talk to each other</div><div>3. About something besides a man"</div></div><br />
<div>It's so simple, and yet surprisingly a lot of movies fail this test. </div><div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bechdeltest.com/statistics/images/years" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://bechdeltest.com/statistics/images/years" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
</div><div><span class="insertedphoto"></span></div>Jennifer Kesler mentions in her blog, the Hathor legacy, that she had temporarily accepted the Hollywood wisdom that "the audience only wanted white, straight, male leads" only to discover that "there was still something wrong with my writing, something unanticipated by my professors. My scripts had multiple women with names. Talking to each other. About something other than men. That, they explained nervously, was not okay."<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>The full blog entry can be found <a href="http://thehathorlegacy.com/why-film-schools-teach-screenwriters-not-to-pass-the-bechdel-test/">here</a>.</div><div class="multiply:no_crosspost"></div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-26997019601471315542009-11-08T13:50:00.000-08:002009-11-08T18:59:52.006-08:00Fiction Wishlist -- Nov 09, 2009In no particular order, I'm looking for the following books to read:<br />
<div><ul><li><i>Book of Secrets</i> by Chris Roberson</li>
<li><i>The New Space Opera (1)</i> by Dozois & Strahan</li>
<li><i>The New Space Opera (2)</i> by Dozois & Strahan</li>
<li><i>The Quiet War</i> by Paul J. McCauley</li>
</ul><div><i>Book of Secrets</i> involves a secret history, and pulp characters that seem to have been involved in major historical events. The New Space Opera 1 & 2 are primarily due to my interest in the sub-genre. <i>The Quiet War</i> is primarily a Space Opera / Military Science Fiction read for me.<br />
<br />
</div><a href="http://angryrobotbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/BookOfSecrets-front-crop-72dpi-185x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="alignleft" src="http://angryrobotbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/BookOfSecrets-front-crop-72dpi-185x300.jpg" /></a><img border="0" class="alignleft" src="http://www.sfsite.com/gra/0712/ns.jpg" /><img border="0" class="alignleft" src="http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0061562351.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SL200_.jpg" /><br />
<div><img border="0" class="alignleft" src="http://www.sfsite.com/grc/0901/qw.jpg" /><br />
</div></div><div class="multiply:no_crosspost"><br />
</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-31249884843758357012009-10-02T01:10:00.000-07:002009-10-02T01:10:24.134-07:00Welcome to... The Farthest Shore!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvfftvfNyMuIpRUu7kQcN2JO3wY-Y3AaTk3Vxgqac6CltCT7FY4e6Wtbp_opT6MuGcN-W_yyW8fKF0NAYW4pXCXZeGmxTgm5Qz31SN0rE_70pViM2shvW3CbFXgu1fS_dfRunkfLkKz4/s1600-h/Farthest+Shore+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBvfftvfNyMuIpRUu7kQcN2JO3wY-Y3AaTk3Vxgqac6CltCT7FY4e6Wtbp_opT6MuGcN-W_yyW8fKF0NAYW4pXCXZeGmxTgm5Qz31SN0rE_70pViM2shvW3CbFXgu1fS_dfRunkfLkKz4/s320/Farthest+Shore+Cover.jpg" /></a><br />
</div>From <a href="http://www.estrangheropress.kom.ph/">Estranghero Press</a> comes <a href="http://farthestshore.kom.ph/">The Farthest Shore</a>! From the site:<br />
<br />
<blockquote>What is The Farthest Shore? Why create an anthology of secondary worlds written by Filipino writers? But then again, why not? After all, the field of Philippine Speculative Fiction is still wide open so why not write something not necessarily of our world?<br />
<br />
Award-winning writer/editor Dean Francis Alfar and series editor Joseph F. Nacino are the brains behind this anthology to show the world the range and breadth of Filipino writers. This is also their paean to that subgenre of speculative fiction as well as Philippine speculative fiction.<br />
</blockquote><br />
Check it out!Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-77177162214801097542009-09-30T19:08:00.000-07:002009-10-01T19:08:49.910-07:00Writing Speculative Fiction: MarketsThe blog "Philippine Speculative Fiction" found at http://specfic.philsites.net/ has a very useful <a href="http://specfic.philsites.net/writing-markets/">list of short fiction markets</a> (Philippine-based and International).<br />
<br />
Go there and check it out!Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-9356806265559340132009-09-28T15:44:00.000-07:002009-09-29T00:49:27.117-07:00LitCrit Monday: Critique Session GuidelinesTaken from the LitCritter Google Group pages: a very brief summary of the philosophies and methodologies for LitCritter Critique readings.<br />
<blockquote>If you're planning on attending any of the LitCritter sessions this year, here's the current draft of the LitCritter Session Guidelines for newbies:<br />
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<b>Before the Critique Session</b><br />
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<ul><li><b><i>Read the text the first time purely for enjoyment</i></b> - Read the text like you would have before learning anything about literary criticism. Keep track of your reactions, whether they are "good" or "bad" but don't dwell too much on the reasons why just yet.</li>
<li><b><i>Read the text the second time using a critical lens</i></b> - Read the text looking for plausibility and consistency. Analyze which elements make or break the story: character, tone, plot, language, POV, etc. Take notes or write up your critique so that when it's your turn to speak, you don't fail horribly.</li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">During the Critique Session</span><br />
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<ul><li><b><i>Respect my authority!</i></b> - The moderator's job is to make sure that the text being discussed is thoroughly critqued, that everyone in attendance gets to speak their mind within the time constraints, and to prevent too much digression from to topic. Please be kind to the moderator, because some cruel day it could be you!</li>
<li><b><i>Everyone's entitled to their own enlightened opinion</i></b> - At LitCritter sessions, there is a mixture of newbies and old hands, a melange of readers who are narrow of focus and readers who are wide of vision, a cacophony of congruent and contradictory opinions. Remember that the goal of these sessions is to learn from one another, not to shoot down differing opinions. It often helps to ask questions and find out why your opinion differs from that of the speaker's.</li>
<li><b><i>If you never ask, you'll never know!</i></b> - if something's bugging you about a text, ask the group about it. If you think there's a literary term for something, but you can't remember it or don't know it, ask about it. If you hear a term that you're unfamiliar with or we reference a story or author you're unfamiliar with, ask about it. If you think we're just making up terms as we go along, ask about it.</li>
</ul><br />
<b>When Delivering Your Critique</b><br />
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<ul><li><b><i>You gonna hafta 'splain yerself!</i></b> - Avoid broad statements without clarification, such as "I liked it" or "I didn't like it". Explain why you liked or didn't like it, and try to use traditional (and non-traditional) literary terms during your critique. If people still don't seem to understand, other ways. The act of explaining things sometimes crystalizes our reasons for enjoying a text. And besides, rants are always more fun when they're longer than just one sentence.</li>
<li><b><i>Hey! Author! Leave that text alone!</i></b> - When critiquing a text, minimize discussion on the author's history, the author's intent (whether actually stated by the author or recounted by some other source), the time period that it was written in, etc. While these can be helpful in understanding the text, the LitCritter stance is that the story / the text must be able to stand on its own. Our own stories won't always have us available to explain to each and every reader, so if we want to learn to write stories that work without the author (or editor or fans) explaining things, we critique stories with the same philosophy. In literary speak, privileged reading trumps authorial intent.</li>
<li><b><i>Rules? Where we're going there are no rules!</i></b> - While some books may claim that there are certain rules to storytelling, we don't believe that; many stories have been criticized for being "formulaic" and "trite" and not just by us. Taking a page from business, there are no rules, only 'best practices'. So don't criticize a text for breaking the rules if it works, and don't stress over a text that does things by the numbers but fails to engage or entertain. Try to find out why.</li>
</ul></blockquote>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-52756727461661566082009-09-24T20:02:00.000-07:002009-09-24T22:58:05.554-07:00SpecFic Friday: Trope ExpeditionThere's a wonderful site on the Web called <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SpeculativeFictionTropes">TV Tropes</a>. It catalogs -- in an semi-organized and irreverent fashion -- many tropes that are found on TV shows, in fiction, in movies, and in anime/manga.<br />
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However, if you're thinking that tropes are merely a list of things to avoid in the interests of originality, think again. As the site itself says:<br />
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<blockquote>Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite". In other words, dull and uninteresting.<br />
</blockquote><br />
While there will be a longer discussion on the subject or tropes, reader expectations, genre conventions and that whole ball of yarn, this is the first of a series of short articles on tropes that are found in the three most well-known aspects/genres of speculative fiction: science fiction, fantasy, and horror. So let's get started.<br />
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<b>Science Fiction Trope: </b><b><a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StandardSciFiSetting">The Standard Science Fiction Setting</a></b><br />
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<ul><li><i>Time frame</i>: the far future.</li>
<li><i>Situation</i>: humans (or human-like aliens) are engaged in a war with a terrible enemy (usually alien).</li>
<li><i>Complication</i>: an even bigger threat -- long hidden in the depths of space -- has turned its attention to their corner of the universe.</li>
</ul><br />
Sound a bit like your planned space opera? Fear not; you're in good company.<br />
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<a href="http://www.b5tech.com/earthalliance/earthallianceshipsandvessels/earthcapships/warlock/warlockglory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image taken from www.b5tech.com" border="0" height="150" src="http://www.b5tech.com/earthalliance/earthallianceshipsandvessels/earthcapships/warlock/warlockglory.jpg" width="200" /></a>E.E. "Doc" Smith's <i>Lensman</i> series is perhaps the most well known example of this from the era when space opera was a derogatory term. David Brin's <i>Uplift </i>series has this, as does Dan Simmons's <i>Hyperion Cantos</i> series of novels. In other media, DC Comics's <i>Legion of Super-Heroes</i>, and TV's <i>Star Trek</i>, and <i>Babylon 5</i> are all sources of good to fantastic science fiction (marred by the occasional stinker).<br />
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So what are some key elements of this SF setting?<br />
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<ol><li><b>Easy Faster-Than-Light (FTL) Travel</b> - It takes around 8.3 minutes for the light of the sun to travel to the Earth at the speed of light, making the sun approximately 8.3 light minutes away from Earth. If you want to get to the nearest solar system to ours (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Centauri">Alpha Centauri</a>, as opposed to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proxima_centauri">Proxima Centauri</a> -- the nearest star), even at the speed of light it'll take you 4.4 years to get there.<br />
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Therefore if your science fiction setting involves you want star-spanning empires and the like, you need an FTL solution. However, invoking FTL has a host of consequences, not the least of which are time dilation and time travel paradoxes.<br />
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</li>
<li><b>Space Navies</b> - to help people really unfamiliar with space travel (including the authors), there's a tendency to make naval analogies to every element of space travel. Whether you consider your rocketships to be might space fleets complete with frigates, destroyers, battleships, and spacecraft carriers or more akin to submarines, there will be parallels to modern or historical blue water navies all throughout your setting.<br />
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The purpose of all this: to provide some semblance of the understandable to your reader, who's probably already floundering due their lack of understanding of the vast and hostile nature of space; to suggest that there's an infrastructure behind space travel and space empires; and to evoke the romance of the Age of Exploration, of clandestine submarine missions, of epic WWII Fleet engagements.<br />
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</li>
<li><b>Space Marines</b> - you can bombard ships and planets into nothingness, but if you want to secure them for your own use, you gotta send in people.<br />
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Assuming that you're portraying the military as reasonably competent (and not as cannon fodder), the purpose of these characters is to give some idea what the situation on the ship or at the ground level is like.<br />
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</li>
<li><b>Good Empire / Bad Empire</b> - some sort of star-spanning (or even galaxy-spanning) political entity that is analogous to a modern nation or union. Important if you want to enrich your setting with all the familiar problems of our modern world -- trade embargos, human rights violations, political ideologies, religious ideologies, bureacracy, factions galore, etc.<br />
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</li>
<li><b>An Element of Mysticism</b> - this can be front and center like the Force in Star Wars, or of questionable validity like the Minbari religious beliefs in Babylon 5. We refer to it as mysticism, since religion (with all its doctrines, mysteries, and dogma) tends not to be tackled in most space operas and science fiction settings.<br />
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The purpose: if part of the author's intent is to compare and contrast the power of hope, determination, and faith against the impartiality of science and technology, then you have quotes like Star Wars's "Trust your feelings, Luke." Sometimes, the mysticism becomes functionally magic, allowing the author to break certain laws of physics for dramatic effect.</li>
</ol><div>Explore the trope further for a wealth of interesting and often humorous observations about this meta-trope.<br />
</div>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-55076673978193172782009-09-24T01:56:00.000-07:002009-09-24T02:05:02.872-07:00Writing Science Fiction: A Toolkit of Links<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6VGk8m7mJ8JgzMqpU4_64QggE-bLclW6z5UOMd1D5VdcH5-BMIGjwJQ4XhwQNE6QvmvY0blC9aBgPRRttduei9cLq5i_0JsVIWmbX_PcWTxR7PadFD3A4ZJYjzaQ6TJ4whMiA1hj4d4/s1600/Ornithropter_BW_200pixwidth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC6VGk8m7mJ8JgzMqpU4_64QggE-bLclW6z5UOMd1D5VdcH5-BMIGjwJQ4XhwQNE6QvmvY0blC9aBgPRRttduei9cLq5i_0JsVIWmbX_PcWTxR7PadFD3A4ZJYjzaQ6TJ4whMiA1hj4d4/s320/Ornithropter_BW_200pixwidth.jpg" /></a>When you start to write a science fiction story, assuming that the <i>science</i> is important to you, it's often good to have some handy online references for your research.<br />
</div><br />
For example, if your story involves a star in the sky blowing up and a mad scramble for everyone to get to cover -- wouldn't it help to do some research and discover that the nearest star to the Earth aside from the sun is Proxima Centauri? And wouldn't it be good to know the distance (approximately 4.2 light years)? And that if you're seeing it in the sky, the event happened a little over 4 years ago? And that you shouldn't be describing the sound of the star's explosion because, not only does sound travel slower than light, it doesn't carry at all in space.<br />
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Even if you're nodding because you knew all this, you brilliant reader you, it doesn't help to double check right? Here then is this week's list of useful science fiction links.<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/">Wikipedia </a>- No brainer, right? And yes, I know that any one can edit this "free encyclopedia", so yes, one should take some of the data on this with a grain of salt. However, pertinent articles usually have good links to other reference sites, making wikipedia visits useful enough to mention.<br />
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<a href="http://www.kheper.net/topics/scifi/grading.html">Grading SF for Realism</a> - Not a science resource <i>per se</i>, but a useful page that helps explain what hard science fiction is, and helps define the degree of science "hardness". It helps authors grappling with the problem of plausibility by coming to terms with the level of scientific accuracy they'd like to achieve.<br />
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<a href="http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/index.html">Project Rho's Atomic Rockets</a> - A must read for anyone interested in writing about space ships and space combat in the science fiction genre (and perhaps even in the science fantasy genre). Aspects of rocketship science, design, and problems are explained clearly, with some occasional dips into heavy science-speak and mathematics.Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412768031856123777.post-89726773728593029852009-06-15T22:07:00.000-07:002009-06-16T02:12:35.622-07:00Time Dilation Hurts My HeadWhen trying to create a Science Fictional faster than light drive, even assuming that you can handle the "breaking physics as we know it" aspect, you normally still have to deal with time dilation.<br><br>It's a pain because it messes up logistics, which is key for things like -- oh say -- military planning. If time moves faster for people on the ship that people off that ship, or if two ships moving at different near-light speeds try to coordinate with people who aren't anywhere near light-speed -- ah, forget it.<br><br>Gotta come up with a cool name that sounds like "hyperspace".<br> <!-- multiply:no_crosspost --><p class='multiply:no_crosspost'></p>Alex Osiashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14851139031311819958noreply@blogger.com0