Corset Progress

Wanna see how I'm doing on the corset? I've got pictures here. And I spent last night tailor-tacking and basting the three layers together. Tonight, the busk (tomorrow, the world. Or the Lucas Arts 4th of July picnic, to which I am not taking my sewing project, thank you).

And while we're not on the subject, but anyway, Happy Birthday to wild_irises. There will be cake!

Me at Readercon

Friday July 15
12:00 PM Writing Within Constraints. Scott Edelman, Elaine Isaak, Michael Aondo-verr Kombol, John Langan, David Malki (leader), Madeleine Robins. Whether it's writing on a theme for an anthology, writing on assignment or commission, or simply imposing rules to jump-start your creativity, writing within constraints can be an incredible way to defeat "the tyranny of the blank page." We discuss the rewards and challenges of starting with someone else's idea.

1:00 PM The Readercon New Fiction Book Club: Among Others. Suzy Charnas, Gwynne Garfinkle, Greer Gilman, Madeleine Robins (leader), Gary K. Wolfe. Jo Walton's stand-alone contemporary novel Among Others scatters several familiar fantasy concepts--the epistolary diary narrative, the British boarding school, countryside faeries, an evil mother, the magic of twins, and even a hint of Arthuriana--over a battered industrial landscape amid passionate paeans to classic science fiction and fannish community. The resulting tale has an almost slipstreamish unease; though set in the 1970s, it could only have been written in the early 21st century. We will discuss the ways Walton combines and contrasts these very disparate elements as well as the concepts of audience implied by the novel's thorough anchoring in a particular time and place.

6:00 PM Walking Through Mayhem. Madeleine Robins. Ever try to write a fight scene only to become hopelessly tangled in who-did-what-to-whom and wait-where-did-his-foot-go? Using techniques from stage combat choreography, Madeleine Robins will show you how to create a fight scene without accidentally dismembering the good guys or leaving body parts unaccounted for.

7:00 PM The Quest and the Rest. Greer Gilman, M.C.A. Hogarth, Kelly Link, Robert V.S. Redick, Madeleine Robins (leader). In a 1951 letter, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that Samwise and Rosie's romance, though understated, "is absolutely essential to... the relation of ordinary life (breathing, eating, working, begetting) and quests, sacrifice, causes." Works as varied as Lois Bujold's Vorkosigan series, Stephen King's Lisey's Story, and Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate novels overtly interweave speculative elements with themes such as love, marriage, parenthood, and holding down a steady job. Does the mundanity of responsible adulthood interfere with escapism, or are readers thrilled to have protagonists they can identify with? How do different authors and narratives handle the tension between the intimate and ordinary and the vast and mysterious?

Saturday July 16
12:00 PM Reading. Madeleine Robins. Robins reads from The Sleeping Partner, a new Sarah Tolerance novel.

2:00 PM Location as Character. Greer Gilman, Glenn Grant, Elizabeth Hand (leader), Michael Aondo-verr Kombol, Yves Meynard, Madeleine Robins. We can read certain authors whose mere invocation of a previously described location adds a level of depth to the story, such as Lovecraft's Innsmouth or Elizabeth Hand's Kamensic. The idea of fictional locations as characters in their own right is one that has been explored many times before, so let's talk about the techniques and reasons for doing so. The reasons for an author to re-use a locale seem fairly obvious, but are there reasons not to do so? What are some of the challenges in describing a reality-based location powerfully enough to transport a reader? Panelists will discuss their favorite scene-setting techniques, as well as locations in other writer's works that have felt real and solid for them.

Sunday July 17

11:00 AM Borders (if Any) Between Fan Fiction and "Original Fiction". Gwynne Garfinkle, Eileen Gunn, Kate Nepveu, Madeleine Robins, Kenneth Schneyer (leader). Maguire's Wicked books. Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Chabon's The Final Solution. Kessel's "Pride and Prometheus." Resnick's "The Bride of Frankenstein." Reed's "A Woman's Best Friend." Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Heinlein's The Number of the Beast. All of these stories employ characters, settings, and pre-existing plots from other authors, yet these authors (with the possible exception of Chabon) would probably deny that what they have written is "fan fiction." Lee Goldberg has spent thousands of words explaining why his dozens of authorized television tie-in novels are not "fan fiction." Is there an actual, definable difference between fan fiction and original fiction, or this just another instance, like Margaret Atwood's, of authors rejecting a label or genre in order to remain "respectable" or "marketable?"

Question for the Literate Hive Mind

When did "I'm very excited about" become "I'm very excited for"? I tried for a while to get the girls to go old school on this, but when magazines and newspapers seem to bless it, I give up. I understand the shift, even (I think). Just wondering. I'm going to sound very dated, being excited about things, I guess.