One of the favorite motifs of fiction is resurrection. Characters redeem themselves (or try to), the past catches up for better or worse, and there are phoenixes everywhere ascending from ashes. My own book is called Revived. History itself is given a legacy of resurrection, thanks to Christ rising from His grave.
Resurrection was also the theme of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. Even better than last year’s event, this was an unforgettable time to make new friends and meet with old ones.
To wit:
To the right is DeAnna Knippling, critiquing guru and author. On the left is Amber Benson, who played Tara on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and is a novelist as well. Both of these ladies are AWESOME human beings! Lots of fun to hang out with.
Libba Bray, being her crazy self. Hilarious, friendly, and just plain likable.
My friend Joseph Smits. I can’t think of many writers who make me laugh as hard as this gentleman. And Amber photobombs like a pro!
My good friend Rob Killam. Did I mention he writes zombies like no one else? This guy’s gonna go far someday. Guaranteed.
And here’s a picture of some chicken. Marriott staff took very good care of us. Which is good, since we writers are high-maintenance.
Aaron Michael Ritchey, Libba Bray, and Amber Benson led the way with keynote speeches. Inspiration filled the air like an inviting perfume. I got the sense of openness and fellowship that I’ve been missing for so long in my writing life.
Oh, and I should mention I pitched the fantasy novel, and the agent requested 20 pages. That’s always good news! [But I did realize I played up the sci-fi aspect of it like the book was a half-and-half blend of fantasy and sci-fi, when it's more like 2% sci-fi and 98% straight up fantasy. So I almost screwed up the pitch unnecessarily. Oh well. 20 pages is still good! ]
Thanks for your time, everyone! I’ve got a sequel to my sci-fi Kindle story to work on, and twenty pages to prepare for official submission. Carry on, and remember: It’s never too late to rise from the ashes.
Yep. Totally agree. He’s talking about abuse in churches in particular, but I’ve seen the terms “abuse” and “victim” getting tossed around every which way. Even in situations where it’s clearly not a case of victimization.
There is real abuse, and there are real victims. But I make it harder for them if I throw labels around like a troublesome student tossing paper airplanes in the classroom. And the real victims and abuses are cheapened, easier to ignore and marginalize, when everyone’s claiming to be a victim of abuse.
Chik-Fil-A, anyone? Don’t like their owner’s stance on gay marriage? Then don’t eat at their restaurant. By all means, complain. Write letters. Boycott. However, the owner’s opinions don’t translate to gay couples not being allowed to eat there, or being forced to drink from separate drinking fountains. Why slap the label of abuse onto his words?
I’ve also seen it a lot in talks of “sexist” or “racist” or “homophobic” content in fiction writing.
Do those attitudes sometimes pop up in fiction? Of course they do. Heck, H.P. Lovecraft still makes people shake their heads with the clear racism in his writing.
But a book isn’t racist just because all of its good characters are white. There are lots of white villains in Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, too. Remember? A lack of strong female characters in a TV show isn’t enough to charge the writer with chauvinism. (On a related note, it’s sad to see lots of people arguing who is or isn’t a strong female character on Doctor Who, but then writer Steven Moffat is accused of being a sexist pig. Cut it out.)
Maybe he/she just grew up around white people and they’re writing in a mode of existence that is “default” for them, or he/she can’t write strong female characters well, and they’re playing to their strengths.
Variety in fiction is a beautiful thing, and if political correctness has its way, authors will write books that all have the same feel, cater to the same hot-button topics, say the same things, seek to satisfy the same audience in the same way, and they’ll never be allowed to go anywhere unusual or dangerous.
If authors are frowned upon every time they take a risk, or we try forcing them to focus on aspects of life they don’t feel qualified to write about, are we really allowing authors to be themselves? I don’t think so.
But, back to the overall topic about abuse and victimhood making easy labels. Again, please be careful in saying who’s a victim and who’s abusing someone else. These trigger words have wrecked reputations and lives without adequate cause, and that…well, that does qualify as abuse.
Hey, guys. Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly say anything more on why fellow paleontology geeks need to loosen up on feathered dinosaurs, I had a couple of extra thoughts to contribute (or reiterate, in some cases). I don’t want to make a huge deal out of this again, except it seems others are bent on making a big deal out of the issue. I wonder if anyone else is going to call them out on it.
Not really a unified angry rant so much as it is a couple of thoughts bundled together. And I’m trying to be charitable and composed here. Honest.
Xiphactinus, on the other hand, isn’t. My thanks to Dinomemes.
One
Sometimes it’s hard to be charitable with other paleontology enthusiasts when they make such a big deal out of “OMG why aren’t the ignorant masses accepting feathered dinos?! We’re shoving the facts down their throats as hard as we can! Facts! Science! Argh!”
Maybe that’s the problem? Perhaps we can afford to back off from the battering ram? Entice people with the awesome fact that some dinosaurs had feathers (as XKCD does, quite admirably). Facts coupled with charity and grace will generate a greater impact. The problem isn’t that science is making dinosaurs less cool. The problem is that those with facts on their side are addressing the subject in such an adversarial manner that they alienate everyone else.
[One-B]
There’s a lot of derisive humor at the expense of outdated raptor depictions. Oh, so scaly raptors would have been pathetic and ill-equipped for survival…because they lacked feathers? A large, warm-blooded archosaur needs plumage (crocodiles and Carnotaurus notwithstanding), or else it’ll keel over and die? The muscles, intelligence, claws, pack hunting, etc. all count for naught? All righty then. Let me know when the cloned raptors are stalking you in Jurassic Park’s kitchen and immediately collapse because this essential tool of survival is not available for their use. Stupid geneticists. What do they know?
Two
Not everyone who’s less than ecstatic about feathered dinosaurs is anti-science, or a stick in the mud, or someone who’s overtly nostalgic for the scaly movie monsters of yore. Sometimes people’s aesthetic tastes (mine, for example) just lean more toward scaly raptors. I know they’re inaccurate. I am not contesting that. And if I ever design a painting of a Raptor for a museum exhibit, you can bet your Dinosaur Revolution DVDs it will have plumage in plenitude.
For crying out loud, I’m editing (well, I’m supposed to be editing) a fantasy novel that has dinosaurs in it, and I’m putting feathers on the appropriate species to keep the animals as accurate as possible. A fantasy novel!
But sometimes, people simply find the Jurassic Park Raptors awesome or frightening. Those people are neither lame, nor out of date, nor anti-progress. It’s a testament to the excellent work of Stan Winston and his animatronics crew, Steven Spielberg, and the CGI crew in bringing the movie’s versions of Velociraptor to life. Talking down to someone for appreciating a good movie monster doesn’t make you pro-science. It makes you look like a condescending jerk.
Three
The transition to feathered raptors being considered “cool” by the public will take time. Patience is required, but it’ll happen eventually. Here’s what I want to know: why is it so important that a Deinonychus with feathers be considered “cool” right now? What cosmic fate balances on the public’s awareness of the sort of body covering an extinct animal had? Normally I want animals to be accurately portrayed, or as accurate as possible. But I don’t scream for a boycott of adventure movies when the hero comes face-to-face with a “poisonous” jungle snake, and I can see it’s a harmless kingsnake or garter snake. I take the movie with a grain of salt, and enjoy it all the more when Indiana Jones encounters a real, live cobra.
Four
One large Tyrannosaur we know had feathers — Yutyrannus — doesn’t automatically mean all large Tyrannosaurs had feathers, too. The region where most of the known feathered dinosaurs lived — China and Mongolia — was, if I remember correctly, a colder region at the time, which would be conducive to feathered dinosaurs, at least when the feathers are being used as insulation against the cold (Note: please correct me on this and show your sources if I’m wrong!).
[Additional note: Yutyrannus is much more closely related to the other feathered Tyrannosaur we know of -- Dilong -- than it is to T. rex, so strutting around and pretending this is "proof" that T. rex had feathers is overreaching with the available evidence.]
T. rex and other large Tyrannosaurs, on the other hand, seem to have inhabited warmer climates, where they might not have needed any such insulation. Nothing to do with feathers that are used for display, of course. Tyrannosaurus rex may very well have had feathers anyway. I grant that. But it’s a plausible scenario, for the time being. Not knowledge. Until we can confirm it through physical fossil evidence, please don’t tell me we “know” T. rex had feathers. I don’t dread a discovery of T. rex having feathers, but I worry that it’ll be abused as another cudgel, wielded by OCD dino-nerds against those Ignorant Masses they love to rail against.
Five
So Jurassic Park IV isn’t going to put feathers on its raptors. Yes, I know it’s a huge fricking deal. Museums will have to close their doors. Paleoartists will be forced at gunpoint to strip their paintings and sketches of every quill and feather, because that’s how much people hate scientific accuracy. People will riot in the streets. Fossils will be smashed.
It’s a movie, guys. A movie that includes “Genetically engineered theme park monsters” in the words of Alan Grant. Dinosaurs that can change sex thanks to frog DNA being used to patch up their degraded genomes. Maybe they look a little different than the creatures from prehistory? It seems the OCD dino-nerd crowd is just hurt that the Jurassic Park franchise isn’t catering to their demands.
Consclusion
If I read one more of Brian Switek’s tantrums on this subject, I’ll need to visit my physician and request some blood pressure medication. I know, I’ve complained about him before. My apologies; I ought to be better than picking on one person. But I don’t like it when someone sneers at others who appreciate dinosaurs in a different way than he does, and I hate it when his fans join in with outright insults and ill will.
I am excited about paleontological discoveries. I’m grateful that there are surprises around every corner, that a new discovery can change our view of these animals completely upside down. But a smarter-than-thou attitude ruins the fun for everybody.
EDIT: I’m not sure if it’s Brian or me who’s doing the most whining, but I know one thing for certain: This has got to stop.
I have been doing a Worldbuilding of the Day series on my author’s page on Facebook, and decided to start putting up the information here instead. Seems like more of a fit here, aside from the Facebook policy of “What you type, we own. Forever.”
Anyway, here’s the entry about fairies in the world of The Wolfglen Legacy. I hope you enjoy it!
Social Influence
Rather than being reclusive people isolated from everyone else or hiding under garden toadstools, fairies are quite well-integrated in most societies. Many have positions of wealth or political power. Almost all large cities have groups of fairy apartments or homes, oftentimes perched on the roofs of other houses or even built into the walls of buildings, resembling large dollhouses. Occasional fairy ghettos or “nests” as they are called will consist entirely of these structures and are sometimes known to hold well over a thousand residents.
There are select roads in many cities with raised platforms, like broad stone railings, that are called “fairy-walks.” Inns and hotels usually have a few fairy-sized rooms available, and all will have appropriately sized cutlery, dishes, cups, and chairs for their pint-sized customers. Currency is an issue, but fairies often can barter gemstones or small bags of spices for meals and drinks, or they’ll have satchels over their shoulders that can hold a few coins.
An average fairy’s diet consists of fruits (particularly berries), sugary foods, and lean protein. Their bug-based cuisine is highly prized, even among humans. Butter-fried winged termites have been known to turn even the most insect-averse eater into someone who will eagerly snack on the little invertebrates.
Anatomy
The smallest of all the world’s races, the fairy stands 18-24 inches high, and possesses four wings. Each wing is framed by one long finger-like group of bones and has a leathery skin membrane, meaning it is structured like the wing of a pterodactyl, rather than like a bat or dragon. However, these are wings made for powered flight, not for hovering. Hovering is a rare art among fairies, which takes a lot of training and discipline.
Most males are slightly taller than the females. All fairies have a light and thin build, with heads the size of nectarines or large plums. When they give birth, the wing buds are either invisible or only show up as four tiny bumps on the baby’s back.
Their bone cells adopt a honeycomb structure, they can utilize body energy more efficiently than any other race, and they have large flight muscles on their back. This means a reasonably healthy fairy can fly for over an hour (at sea level — very high altitudes can cut that time in half) before he or she is too physically exhausted to do anything but walk.
Common Roles
Due to their small size and ability to fly, fairies can excel at espionage, scouting and reconnaissance, lookouts for hunters, message delivery, and prospecting. They don’t make good soldiers because of their frail and small bodies, but they can serve a military on the sidelines, such as delivering orders or looking for threats on the road ahead when ranks are mobilizing.
The darker parts of society have found them quite handy for pickpocketing (for small items they can fly away with, like jewelry), assassinations, and subtly whispering to passersby to advertise brothels or gambling dens.
Like all other races on this world, magic-workers are rare among fairies. When a fairy is a magic-worker, he or she doesn’t obey different rules or get the magic from some other source. The same principles (as outlined here) apply to them, except that they cannot control nearly as much physical substance with magic, due to their own small size.
I learned today that March 20th will be the 85th birthday of Fred Rogers. As I have said already, he is one of my inspirations and role models. No matter how dark things can become, no matter how strong evil seems to be, Rogers helped remind us all that there’s no reason to give up or give in. He showed us what “the faith of a child” looked like, and reflected the patience and goodwill of the God he served. If I can one day become half as genuine and kindhearted as he was, I’ll count myself blessed.
To make the coming week even sweeter, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will be out on DVD the day before. I love just about everything about that film, including its sweeping scope and exciting battles and marvelous creatures…but the quieter, more poignant moments (like the one below) brought tears to my eyes. And they still do, no matter how many times I watch them.
It shouldn’t matter that it’s not in the book. That scene feels very much like something Tolkien would write, doesn’t it?
Today I finally realized another reason this scene might hit so close to home for me: Gandalf seems to echo not only Tolkien, but Rogers as well. It shows the best of Rogers’s faith and philosophy, the kindness and empathy that I give up on all too easily.
The greatest heroes among men are not necessarily those who command massive armies or wield the loudest voices. Often they are the people who excel at the small things, the “simple acts of kindness and love” that every person can mirror and pay forward.
Happy early birthday, Fred. Thank you for reminding me and millions of others and showing us what unconditional love looks like. Thank you for being a leader in quiet humility. Thank you for being exactly who you seemed to be.
Well, it’s finally happened. I got a short story published on Kindle! Boo-yah!
“Escaping” — Science Fiction
Fleeing invasion on a damaged warship, a soldier and a reverend face the question of whether someone is watching out for them.
For a measly $0.99, it can be yours! Click the picture to take a look. (And if you read it, feel free to post a review!)
This cover art is temporary. I’ll find something better from a willing artist and post it as soon as possible.
It’s a science fiction tale I’ve had in the archives for a while, and decided to finish it and put it out there for the world to see. It’s only about 2,000 words long, but I will add other stories to my Kindle library in short order. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy this first entry.
Putting that Kindle story on hold for a moment, to share something much more important with you, dear reader.
The more I’ve gotten into the writing scene, the more amazing authors I have encountered. They are gifted with stories to stir the emotions — inspiration, humor, terror, tragedy, wonder, love, delight, and a thousand others. Imaginings are their pigments, the mind their canvas, and they work in miracles.
And now it’s time for me to introduce you to some of them. I’ll be glad to introduce more of them later. Most of the ones I’m going to mention here are attending my weekly writing workshop, but I’ll work in a couple of others I’ve had the privilege of meeting.
Please do check them out. We authors need all the help we can get.
First, my good friend and writer of character-driven zombie fiction, Rob Killam. His upcoming Apocalypse Springs novel has survivors who have to slay their own personal demons as well as the ghouls banging down their door. It’s got more heart and brains (heehee) than any other zombie-related work I’ve yet seen. You’d be doing yourself a favor in checking him out.
Next, Jason P. Henry has a funny way with words. A very funny way, and twisted in the best possible sense. Plus he sets up tension like nobody’s business when he decides to get serious.
Ashley Bazer is proof that it’s possible to be a stay-at-home mom and a novelist at the same time. Her science fiction novel Asylum: The Circeae Tales came out just last year, and though I haven’t yet read it, I’m impressed with the quality on display at the writer’s workshop we attend. Did I mention she’s a duchess?
Jackie Hames offers a ton of sound and friendly writing advice, and we’ve had a lot of productive discussions. Plus her defense of speculative fiction is worth some serious thought, and I’m quite enthusiastic to read her upcoming fiction projects.
Genuine rocket scientist and modern renaissance man Grant McKenzie applies extensive knowledge and forethought into each piece he writes. He’s working on historical fiction and a YA fantasy novel, plus he’s one of the few people I know who can create a good rhyming poem in ten minutes or less, and he has a great deal of thought to offer on how the relationships between characters can enrich your work.
A.W. Hartoin is getting quite popular these days, as a writer of mysteries and fairy fantasy who just got her first audiobook! She excels at getting readers invested in a character, and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Last but not least, Angel Smits has published five books, most of which are more of the romantic variety, including a couple of Harlequin Romances. She’s got a knack for good characterization and immersing the reader in a protagonist’s thoughts. Highly recommended.
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Quite aside from that, I have gotten an author’s page on Facebook that I confess I’m pretty happy with. At the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, check it out if you “Like.”
Ooh, and though I have encountered a couple of delays in getting my first Kindle story published, I’m still going to release it, and you’ll all be the first to know. Thanks for your time, everyone!
Semi-big announcement. I’ve come to a rather unexpected decision about my writing.
I’m going to self-publish a couple of short stories on Kindle. There will be other stories I’m trying to get published traditionally, and my novels will, if possible, “go traditional” as well. But I’ll have a few sci-fi and fantasy shorts up for purchase on Amazon, partly to get a little income and partly to get more of an audience. I do hope you’ll read and enjoy these works, and tell you friends about them when they reach the store.
The first one will be ready to buy for $0.99 within the next few days. I don’t have a title for it yet, but it’s a prequel to my novels. Here’s the pitch: Battle is only the beginning when a young soldier, Morent Wolfglen, develops a dangerous ability. It won’t be a very long story, but hopefully enough to get more people interested in the book when it finally comes out.
So, here goes. First things first, I just need to make sure I tell a good story. Of course, this little self-published portfolio will be added to as time goes on. I’m excited about this opportunity, and look forward to seeing how it plays out. Thanks for your time!
I recently noticed something about sensitivity training and political correctness. While the intent behind them is noble and good, they give us more of an excuse than ever to let our own lives be influenced by the opinions of others.
What does sensitivity training set out to do that good manners haven’t been telling us already? Manners are not only older, they’re better and healthier, because they encourage maturity. They encourage both sides of a dispute to be grown-ups. Manners are based on mutual respect. And don’t tell me “Well, people hardly ever have manners anymore” as if that ends the conversation. Manners are all the more important when few people follow them.
The newer laws of so-called etiquette are based on suspicion, and must inflate hurt feelings until they look like a social disaster. They cheer someone on for being hypersensitive. The offended is rewarded for not being mature enough to let go of a slur or insult. They are told they should always be worried what other people think and say about them.
Yeah. People have opinions about you, and about others who are like you. Not all of those opinions are positive. What is that to you? Keep on going. Keep living your life. If they aren’t telling you anything healthy, don’t listen to them or take their words to heart. Don’t stop, point and scream at the “bigot” or “monster” who bruised your self-esteem. You’re capable of much better things than that.
The longer you let a leech stick to your skin, the more it drains you. Don’t let it. Tear off the leech any way you can. Words can obviously hurt, but they only become landmines that ruin your life and traumatize you when you let them.
Long Live Chivalry. This is one of the best, most powerful articles I have read in a long time. It deserves to be read, because it tears away many of the half-truths, dismissals, sneers, and contradictory objections that have been leveled against even the idea of chivalry (when it comes to how men should treat women).
Whether it’s the historical instances of knights falling short of their calling, or the insistence that special respect toward women somehow amounts to talking down to them, I have never understood why so many people have said chivalry should die and stay dead.
The women I know are wonderful human beings, and fully capable of taking care of themselves. More power to them! And they absolutely should keep fighting for equality under the law, equal wages, and everything else that puts them on equal footing with men. But I want to be a man who holds the door open anyway, because I respect and value them. And I’m not going to stop reaching for that ideal just because a few women think it’s somehow chauvinistic and patronizing that some men act like they have a duty to treat them with special dignity.
Even if I can’t be an ideal knight, I can at least try to emulate a proper knight’s manners and sense of responsibility for how they should treat ladies.
@amber_benson Just sent in my 20 pages to the agent. Thanks for the well-wishing and encouragement! :) 1 day ago
And there it goes. At last, the first 20 pages of my epic fantasy have been sent to the agent. Fingers crossed! 1 day ago
@ColinFBarnes Also, why did I not type "possiblY" earlier?! I'm a writer. I should know these things, lol! 2 days ago
@amber_benson I've learned that lesson all too well. Best thing to do is keep up the kindness. 3 days ago
@ColinFBarnes Sadly unsurprising. Some folks feel entitled to their ideal version of "The Hobbit," not appreciating what Jackson pulled off. 4 days ago
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