The second [story], “Beached”, takes place in the throes of ecological apocalypse. The protagonist, a skin-changer, is not the only cryptid in the story, but the story is hers. In the intersection of the hidden and the human, what happens when the boundaries shift? That’s what author Nicole Feldringer is asking, and the answers her creature arrives at may surprise you.” ~ Richard Dansky, guest editor

Portrait of Nattiq (photo by Brendan Kelly, NSF)

I used to claim my expertise in climate science didn’t influence my writing. I was clearly deluding myself. The premise behind this particular story was inspired by my colleagues’ research. They studied projections of snow thickness on Arctic sea ice, which is critical for the reproductive cycle of ringed seals. Lack of snowfall means that the seals are unable to dig dens atop the sea ice and keep their pups safe from polar bears. And I got to wondering how this particular climate change impact would affect mythological Arctic species, such as selkies and cryptids.

Here’s a press release from the University, if you’re curious about the science.

I drafted “Beached” while at Viable Paradise. Much about the writing exercise was not particularly my bag, and I’m a little embarrassed to think how much I must have groused to my roomies and neighbors (sorry, gang!). I probably produced one of the shorter student pieces. But for all that, I’m proud of the final product, and that it’s appearing at Wily Writers, under the delightful stewardship of Angel Leigh McCoy. Many thanks to Angel for the lovely narration as well.

I hope you enjoy the story.

Since I’ll be leaving Washington soon, I’m very motivated to say yes to everything, in spite of stressful dissertations. This time “yes” meant hanging out at a ridiculous house in south Puget Sound, with kayaks and indoor totem poles and outdoor hot tubs and grass-fed steaks from Idaho and pomegranate margaritas and most excellent company. Many thanks to Kath for organizing, and to Sara, Dawn, Mary, Mickey, Amy, and Anne for their creativity and camaraderie. I was very pleased with my progress over the weekend. The magic of the writers retreat strikes again!

Some pics:

Writers writing

South Puget Sound at our doorstep

Mutual admiration society reunion

Rainforest was fabulous, as it is. Patrick does a bang-up job organizing. The company is wonderful, and I loved seeing so many friendly faces and being able to converse for bouts longer than 140 characters. The trail running was so great that I went every day.

In addition to plenty of writing time, there were optional talks by pros. Here are some tidbits of advice I picked up:

• A strong character is individual, plausible, and active ~ Nancy Kress
• Inconsistency and lack of detail are the two most common worldbuilding problems. Politics, technology, geography, and economics need to be worked out in advance, in broad strokes at least. Details can be incorporated in later drafts. On second draft, focus on consistency and vividness. Show your characters interacting with the worldbuilding. In the beginning, it’s more important to be interesting than clear. ~ Nancy Kress
• Write to two themed anthologies, the second deadline about three months after the first. This keeps you from writing to the center of any theme, and your story is more appealing, more fresh, as a result. Also, write to the word count that intersects both calls. ~ Mae Empson
• Give yourself the opportunity to be both mean and kind to yourself ~ Mark Teppo
• If you’re unhappy with your tale, or stuck, it may be a symptom that your story and plot have diverged. When this happens, you have to decide which is most important to you to keep as is. When you know that, you can test the secondary elements in the tale to see if there’s an adjustment that both fixes the problem and makes you happy. If doesn’t work, try to put your finger on the point where the tale broke, and see, with the benefit of hindsight, if there’s any wiggle room there. Tweak non-load-bearing plot elements to make it work the way you want. Note, there may not be a solution. And maybe there doesn’t have to be, if your plot is so hell-on-wheels that people will love it regardless. ~ Susan Matthews (2012, because I found last year’s notes)
• Outlining can be a progression of questions. What does the character want and need? What happens next, why is this happening, what do they want? Whether or not the character gets what they want can have four outcomes: Yes, but; No, and; Yes; No. The first two make things worse and sets up new questions. The second two are endings, happy and sad, respectively. ~ Mary Robinette Kowal (2012, because I found last year’s notes). See also Wendy Wagner’s Inkpunks post and Episode 7.50 of Writing Excuses.

But that’s just Rainforest. There was also Kelly’s visit to Seattle (Fly Moon Royalty, Ravenna Woods, The Local Strangers, and Kithkin at a funky little art gallery in So-Do; some of my favorite watering holes like Fremont Brewery and Chuck’s Hop Shop), and my 24-hour academic bender in Boulder (the talk went really well, still waiting to hear back about the postdoc), and meeting up with Phoebe, who was in the neighborhood for her own writer’s retreat. Which was wonderful and random. We had teriyaki.

Related Posts

Quiet time in the Rainforest
Away at the Rainforest Writers Village

It’s not in Seattle.

I can’t tell if that sinking feeling in my stomach is just nerves over having to make a decision about postdocs and defend my dissertation and all of this compressed over the next couple of months, or if I should be legitimately second guessing my career plans and what I want from life. Probably both.

I realize this sounds ridiculous, but I’m crushed at the idea of having to leave my gym. I suspect “gym” is just code for “Seattle” in this case. But I’ve just found it, after a bit of a hiatus from martial arts, and of course the school teaches a style of kung fu that is taught nowhere else in the world. I’m falling in love with a sweaty room filled with punching bags, and with Seattle all over again.

I don’t have to make any decisions immediately, but they’ll come soon enough. Next week I’ll be giving an invited talk in Boulder (I have a postdoc fellowship pending there as well), and then I will rush back to Seattle and Kelly so that we can roadtrip out to the Rainforest Writers Retreat. I think I’ll be doing a lot of dashing, these coming months.

Somehow this will all get figured out, but right now I feel both excited and sad. It is nice to have an offer in my back pocket. I wish that offer came with a Space Needle and crummy weather.

Related Posts

Quiet time in the Rainforest
Away at the Rainforest Writers Village

Fast forward to 1:05. What I like about Mary’s advice is how simple it is. She asks readers to note the following: (1) things that bored them, (2) things that confused them, (3) things they did not believe, (4) things they thought were cool. Plus any stream-of-consciousness comments. That’s it.

Mary refers to this as Orson Scott Card’s Wise Reader approach (p. 121-124, How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy). Card also includes questions such as: What did you think about such-and-such character? What do you think will happen next? For a fragment of the novel, the answer to the second question tells you how you’re doing in terms of foreshadowing, setting up tension, and predictability.

Card (and Mary and Patrick) emphasizes that beta readers are first and foremost readers; whether or not they are themselves writers is somewhat beside the point. Reader reactions are valid because they are reporting their honest experience of the work.

I’m fascinated by the topic because I exchange beta reads with my fellow writers, and I spend a lot of time thinking about what kind of feedback is most useful. If you want more awesome writing advice from Mary (along with Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells), I highly recommend the podcast Writing Excuses. I’ve been listening to the podcast since its inception, long before Mary joined the crew, and find it to be a valuable resource.

Related posts

Ten tips to a valuable beta read by author Corrine Jackson

During an inversion, the sun is a distant memory. It’s a little extreme even for Seattle, and so on Saturday, Andrew and I decided to hike above the clouds where it was sunny and warm.

Hikers enjoying the view of Squak Mountain. Beneath the clouds, invisible, is the city of Issaquah.

Poo Poo Point via the Chirico Trail
Distance: 4 miles round trip
High Point: 1850 feet above sea level
Elevation Gain: 2200 feet
Highlights: Being above the inversion, sunshine, awesome clouds, Mount Rainier.
Low points: Ever since Jasper the Dog was attacked by an off-leash dog in our neighborhood, he’s been much more aggressive around other dogs … and there were a ton of dogs on the trail. Poor pup. Hiking used to be one of his favorite activities.

An inversion in the atmosphere occurs when temperature increases with height, or in other words the ground is colder than the overlying air. This configuration inhibits air from rising, because the cold air is very stable (not buoyant). Inversions can be caused by two mechanisms, both of which are tied to high-pressure weather systems. 1) Because high pressure is associated with clear skies, the ground can very effectively radiate heat to space, and so the ground cools. 2) High pressure is also associated with sinking air aloft, which leads to compression of the air and thus warming aloft.

So we have a situation in which moist, cold air is trapped near the surface, and that leads to epic fog. The inversion prevents air mixing in from above and dissipating the fog. To make matters worse, at this time of year and this latitude, the sun is weak; the fog won’t simply burn off. It lingers.

It can get a little depressing if you’re stuck under the cloud. But above, it’s glorious.

Mount Ranier

Excited! (photo courtesy of Goodreads)

It’s strange feeling to see a series writ so large across your personal history. And for the record, I understand The Wheel of Time has flaws. Many will point out the mid-series slump, the bloat, the tropes. Perhaps if I started the series today, it wouldn’t have the same effect on me. But I don’t care. Because I love it. And because it’s impossible for me to separate myself from something that has spanned more than two decades of my life. I wouldn’t want to. I am some 4-million-words devoted. Honestly I’m not convinced anything so bookshelf-sagging huge could be perfect, but as I’m trying to say, that’s not the point.

I’ve been prepping for A Memory of Light by reading recaps. I’m in awe of this world, and my head feels a bit full.

For the past couple of releases, I’ve taken a personal day when the book comes out, and this year is no different (though I’m a week or so late). But it’s even sweeter because I’ve been in high gear at the day job for the past several months, and I just now submitted my applications for all the fancy super-competitive postdoc fellowships. High five?

Andrew, eagerly awaiting treats at Macrina Bakery

But! Enough fretting. I’ve done all I can for now, and I have a book to read.

P.S. Random photos!

Rare photo of me with bangs and straightened hair, taken just before Viable Paradise (Oct. 2011)

Fingerless gloves. My friend Fran creates beautiful things. Thank you, dear! My hands are much cozier as I type away in my freezing uninsulated home.

What are your goals for 2013?

Published in 2012:

• “Feed the Meter” ~ 600 words, surrealism. Appeared in Comets and Criminals, May 2012.

Goals

Last year’s goals were to query agents with my YA science fiction novel, to start a new novel, and to write 12 short stories. The first two I accomplished, and then some: I have a zeroth draft (i.e. a very rough 50k, not yet fit for readers) of a space opera written. Progress on that novel came at the expense of short stories. I wrote 5, so a 42% success rate.

Writing goals for 2013

• Finish (first draft, beta readers, revisions) the space opera novel.
• Attend a non-local con.
• Develop an awesome idea for a new novel.
• Write at least one short story.

All of this may be overly ambitious, as other life goals for 2013 include defending my Ph.D. dissertation, finding a new job, and probably moving across a significant chunk of the country. But this is what I’d like to accomplish writing-wise in 2013, and I’ll try not to be too hard on myself if it doesn’t pan out.

Happy new year, folks.

Related posts:
Best books read in 2012
2011: The year in numbers

I started 53 books this year, seven of which went unfinished. At the bottom of this post is a super slick picture of all 53. There was a decent mix of science fiction, fantasy, and YA, with a couple of books on writing thrown in.

My top 10 books read in 2012, published whenever, and in no particular order:

“Private Bronwyn Hyatt returns from Iraq wounded in body and in spirit, only to face the very things that drove her away in the first place: her family, her obligations to the Tufa, and her dangerous ex-boyfriend. But more trouble lurks in the mountains and hollows of her childhood home. Cryptic omens warn of impending tragedy, and a restless “haint” lurks nearby, waiting to reveal Bronwyn’s darkest secrets. Worst of all, Bronwyn has lost touch with the music that was once a vital part of her identity. With death stalking her family, Bronwyn will need to summon the strength to take her place among the true Tufa …” The Hum and the Shiver is a contemporary fantasy set in the Smoky Mountains of Eastern Tennesee. The audiobook is beautifully narrated by Emily Janice Card.

As a teenager, Jacob has stopped believing in his grandfather’s tall tales about the peculiar children he grew up alongside in the orphanage. Until a family tragedy shines new light on Grandpa’s past, leading Jacob on a journey to a remote Welsh island in search of the fabled Miss Peregrine. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is all kinds of strange and lovely, and the inclusion of spooky vintage photographs throughout the text totally won me over.

The House of the Scorpion is the coming-of-age story of Matteo Alacrán, the clone of a Mexican(ish) drug lord. Grim, original, topical, and beautifully-written, this book should appeal to fans of Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. YA science fiction. National Book Award for Young People’s Literature (2002), Newbery Honor (2003), Printz Honor (2003).

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of my favorite authors. I love her science fiction. I love her fantasy. She has an exceptional range of expertise. In Paladin of Souls, Castle Porifors on the borderlands of Chalion is plagued by a preponderance of demons–nebulous forces that suck their hosts’ souls–and the god-blessed (or cursed) royal dowager must figure out how to put things right before the neighboring kingdom invades. As in previous works, Bujold does a masterful job drawing complex, compelling characters; in this case, the formerly mad Royina Ista. Deftly handled romantic elements, witty dialogue, fascinating theological/magical system … Paladin of Souls is deepened by having read The Curse of Chalion, yet is truly a standalone novel. Fantasy. Hugo Award for Best Novel (2004), Nebula Award for Best Novel (2004), Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel (2004).

Call me late to the bus on this one, but dang The Name of the Wind is a great book! I recommend it if you’re looking for an immersive, evocative fantasy read. It’s also a smart book with a logical magic system, and I suspect anyone who has spent too many years in a university setting or who geeks out over learning will get a kick out of it. In that sense, I saw similarities to Neal Stephenson’s Anathem. The Name of the Wind manages to capture both the sense of wonder that I associate with childhood reading, and a depth and complexity of character and world that really works for me as an adult. Fantasy.

The Sparrow was very quickly added to my “favorites” shelf. Jesuits in space, with aliens. The Goodreads synopsis is the prologue, and it’s brilliant. The book is structured as a mystery, as we slowly uncover what happened to the priest and sole survivor who returns, mutilated in body and soul, to late 21st century Earth. It’s a book about faith and god and first contact and moral ambiguity. Trigger warning for rape. Literary Science Fiction. Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel (1998), British Science Fiction Association Award for Novel (1998), James Tiptree Jr. Award (1996).

How do you subjugate a culture? You take away their name–quite literally, and with magic, in the case of Tigana. This book will appeal to fans of epic fantasy and heroic adventure, fascinating magic systems, and to those who enjoy realism in their fantasy. In particular, characters are so nuanced and place so well-formed that you believe this world must exist. I admit I found the first two chapters (Prologue and Chapter 1) to be rather boring. I do much better when I’m invested in a character from page one. However we get a protagonist in Chapter 2, so make sure to stick it out to that point. It’s well worth it. Fantasy.

“Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.” It’s Cinderella–of course the plot is somewhat predictable. But it’s a great twist on the concept, the cast of characters were very well realized, the stakes were both high and personal, and Meyer has a deft touch with creating believable relationships. This fairy tale retelling is a satisfying blend of familiar and different. YA science fiction.

This book knocked my socks off! Ship Breaker is the story of a boy who lives in poverty on the Gulf Coast, scavenging grounded oil tankers and trying to avoid his abusive father. After a hurricane, he finds a beached luxury clipper ship–with a single survivor–and must decide to steal her stuff and leave her for dead, or save her. The story that follows is both thoughtful and filled with adventure. The world is grim, but also hopeful in the tenacity and resourcefulness of the characters. It struck me as very authentic. YA science fiction. Locus Award for Best Young Adult Book (2011), Printz Award (2011).

“Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland – known as The Death Shop – are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild – a savage – and her only hope of staying alive.” YA Post-apocalyptic science fantasy with strong romantic elements.

Honorable Mention “Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out.” Daughter of Smoke & Bone gets my personal award for most mixed feelings evoked. When it was good, it was really good. But there was some weird structural stuff going on here–two books/timelines smooshed into one with all the pacing problems that entails. But dammit it was also unique and beautifully written. Conflicted! Go read it yourself and let’s talk about it. YA contemporary and secondary world fantasy.

What were some of your favorite reads of the year?

The field:

Follow me on Goodreads!

Cover courtesy of Goodreads.

I was impressed by David Brin’s eight, very distinct sapient species in Brightness Reef. I’ve also heard that C.J. Cherryh does a wonderful alien, and I intend to read Foreigner very soon. On the nonfiction side, I picked up Stanley Schmidt’s Aliens and Alien Societies for some tips.

The book was a decent overview, and I managed to pull together a further-reading list from the bibliography, based off my interests. It looks like I need to find a way to acquire back issues of Analog. [update: Mwahaha the University library has access to the e-journal. I am set!]

On Reproduction (p. 93)

Two sexes are enough to confer large evolutionary advantages, but some evolutionary lines may have more … On the other hand, some Earthly animals evolved from sexual ancestors have found ways to reproduce parthenogenetically–there are entire species of lizards whose members are all identical females.

My main alien character is female, but I pondered sex and pronouns quite a bit, and out of general interest I want to check out this article:

• Cueller, O., “Animal Parthenogenesis,” Science, Aug 26, 1977

On Really Big Civilizations (p. 131-135)

In addition to aliens, I’m using hyperspace to get my characters from point A to point B, with permanent jump stations modeled after Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga: each gate leads to a specific destination and you need a spaceship to go through it. Clearly, I have a strong interest in interstellar travel.

• Zubrin, Robert M., “The Magnetic Sail,” Analog, May 1992.
• Arnold, Roger, and Donald Kingsbury, “The Spaceport,” Analog, Nov/Dec 1979.
• Barlowe, Meacham, and Summers, Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials, Workman, 1979.
• Mallove and Matloff’s The Starflight Handbook, Wiley, 1989.
• Forward, Robert L., “Faster Than Light,” Analog, March 1995.

On religions and sciences (p. 114-117)

It seems fairly safe to say, though, that most [human] religions include rituals related to a belief in one or more powers higher than human, stories to explain the origins of world and life, and teachings aimed at inculcating and perpetuating a model code.

Good reminder! I need to do more worldbuilding on my alien religion.

On trade (p. 119-120)

• Salomon, Warren, “The economics of interstellar commerce,” Analog, May 1989.
• Barnes, John, “How to build a future,” Analog, March, 1990.

On custom, etiquette, social pressure, morality (p. 122-123)

Many social dictates of acceptable behavior involve such areas as reproduction (a society must control fighting over potential mates, ensure that children are raised acceptably, and so forth), eating and elimination … To make alien cultures live and breathe, you will want to give ample attention to details of custom, gesture, morality, and clothing; and you will want all of these things to grow out of your particular aliens’ nature and background.”

Schmidt recommends the novels of C.J. Cherryh for her skillful use of gesture and nuance to distinguish alien from human and alien from alien. On a related note, author N.K. Jemison recently wrote a blog post on worldbuilding and profanity.

What are your favorite aliens in fiction?