Nick-the-novelist continues to work away, but for the past few days Nick-the-screenwriter has been on strike. I'm sure this strike is going to hurt a lot of people before it's over, but it's for a good cause, and I'm proud to stand in solidarity with my fellow TV and film writers. If you haven't seen it already, here's a handy YouTube primer on the issues of the strike, what's at stake, and what the WGA is fighting for.
Recently, I've been organizing my thoughts for my screenwriting class, and the prep work has been illuminating. This is subject matter I know well, but now I'm forced to reexamine why I believe what I believe, and in the process I'm discovering all sorts of wonderful, new things. Love it, love it, love it. The left and right hemispheres of my brain are playing off each other in ways I enjoy, which means the decision to teach this class is already paying off. Very jazzed I decided to do this; hopefully that feeling stays with me all semester long. I'm encouraged that it will, in part because all the applications I received had something interesting going for them. Not fun turning any of the students away, but with so many applicants after so few slots, that's the nature of the beast.
Hmm. I wonder if there's any chance my class will wind up like this?
Open up the Cornell University course catalog for Spring 2007 and here's a class you'll find...
FILM 383 Screenwriting
Spring. 4 credits. TR 2:30-4:25 CT 124 Limited to 12 students. Prerequisite: Completed application and permission of instructor. Students must go to 225 Schwartz to pick up application. N. Sagan
Yes, starting next month, I'm Mr. Chips. The Cornell film department was looking for a new screenwriting instructor and a friend of a friend thought I'd be perfect for it. And I decided what the heck, I'll apply for the spot. One interview later, I'm on the faculty.
I've guest lectured at colleges before, but this will be the first time I've taught my own class. Brand new experience! It could be a lot of fun, and I like the idea of giving back; teaching strikes me as a good way to honor the instructors who nurtured and inspired my craft.
On the other hand, will this interfere with my writing? That was my concern about taking the job, and I have to admit I'm juggling a lot these days. But a few hours a week isn't going to break me, and I suspect the time spent talking about the process might even help me past writer's block when I encounter it. Hope so, at least, and I'm looking forward to finding out.
Weirdly, the child part of my brain is having an identity crisis because it's convinced the universe only has one Professor Sagan who teaches at Cornell: my father. And now these adults are giving me an office, access to the faculty lounge, and even a cornell.edu email address. What's up with that?
Yikes, sorry for being so absent. It's been absolutely crazy this month, and the blogging has suffered. I blame society. Anyway, here's what I've been doing:
Writing
I'd hit a wall on the screenplay, so I doubled back to cut out what wasn't working, and now I'm much happier with it. There are two main characters, and one was getting lost in the plot, becoming increasingly incidental (just along for the ride). Fixed that. Now it's flowing smoother and better. And the novel idea I'd been tinkering with seems to have fallen into place. There's a joy in having one idea dovetail with another to create something new and stronger than either of its parts. That's what seems to have happened here. The concept is sound if somewhat insane, and I'm chomping at the bit to write it. Apologies for being vague here; I find that when I talk (or blog) about ideas I'm working on, it's sometimes counterproductive because when I sit down to write, I have a feeling of "didn't I already do this?" I promise I'll tell you more about these when I'm a little further in.
Smashing my PC with a polo mallet
Or wanting to, at least. I made the silly mistake of not updating my anti-viral software, and found my computer near death with multiple trojan horses. Really nasty infection. I'd thought I'd lost all my files but after repeated attempts at repair, I've at long last managed to recover everything I thought had been annihilated. The PC is spic and span now, thanks to a complete battery of anti-viral and anti-spyware troubleshooters. (Incidentally, if you're looking for a good program, Spyware Doctor seemed to be a cut above from the rest.) The lessons learned from this? Always back everything up, keep your anti-viral software current, and/or use a Mac. I was a bit slow to warm up to the Mac at first, but it's won me over with its reliability and ability to speak with Japanese cameras.
Watching the news
Scary time. I don't want this to become a political blog, so I'm reluctant to say much more than that.
Taking care of my WorldCon arrangements
My friends: "So you're coming to WorldCon?"
Me: "You bet."
My friends: "When are you getting in?"
Me: "Well, I haven't booked my flight yet."
My friends: "Where are you staying?"
Me: "Haven't booked the hotel either."
My friends: "But you're coming?"
Me: "Uh... Yeah."
Since then I've actually gotten my act together; I've booked a flight and paid for a hotel room. Woo hoo. So I will be there. And happily WorldCon knows I'm coming since they've got me on the list of confirmed program participants. I don't know what panels I'll be on yet, but when I have that info I'll post it here.
Guest lecturing a writing class at Cornell
Talking with up and coming writers about the process can be inspiring.
Feeling guilty about not blogging
And about not replying to my email over at MySpace. I hate feeling like I'm leaving anyone waiting for a reply and if I've ever done that to you, I hope you know it isn't my intention. The sense of support and community I feel online really helps me a lot, and I never take it for granted. I just get bogged down with work from time to time. And writing can be such a solitary process, there are times I feel like I have to be alone to find what I need creatively. Balance would have me "coming up for air" at intervals within that process to (among other things) post here. That's what I'm aiming for and, knock on wood, I'll get there.
Over the weekend, I'll post new Everfree reviews, a new interview, some sad news about an audiobook, another conversation with CHAOS, and the mysterious secret of why I look different in every photo. (Two words: Body doubles.)
Inspired by Matt Dinniman's decision to impose structure on his blog, I'm going to attempt to follow suit with weekly roundups. Odds and ends, basically, daily life.
Ithaca's been overcast and dreary, not what you'd want for a holiday weekend. The sun's supposed to come out eventually, but so far it's not exactly vacation weather. Not that I'm vacationing--work is slamming me right now, and I'm spending the next few days trying to get out from under it. If you've sent me email and are wondering why I haven't gotten back to you yet, this is why. Hopefully, I'll be able to finish up soon, get back to corresponding, and maybe even enjoy the weekend.
I'm currently missing Wiscon. That's supposed to be one of the best SF conventions around, and I've been meaning to make time for it. Justine Larbalestier calls it "smart camp for grownups," and apparently it's also quite the romantic getaway. Who knew?
And now, a flashback to the '80s...
My track coach: "You're fast, but your form is bad."
14 yr. old me: "What do you mean, bad?"
My track coach: "Bad."
14 yr. old me: "Bad, how?"
My track coach: "You run like a duck."
14 yr. old me: "Whatever. I hate track."
Turns out my coach was right; I've got a mild varus foot deformity that's been causing me to run a little differently from a normal person. I don't get the support I need from a regular stride, so I've been compensating. So says my podiatrist. Four to six weeks and orthotics come, which will hopefully prevent the oh-my-god-what-is-that-twinge-in-my-achilles-heels-yargh!-I-think-they're-about-to-pop sensation I've been having the morning after every long jog or run. Stretching should help, too.
About the jogging ("or yogging, it might be a soft j"), the recent purchase of a heart rate monitor watch has been dynamite for my workouts. Before I used to wonder if I was going too fast or too slow, but now I can just check my pulse and see if I'm in the ideal fat-burning zone. Turns out I'd been going too quick more often than not, burning myself out. Very freeing to take the pace down a peg and go for longer. Even with a messed-up stride, I've been racking up the miles.
Speaking of things that don't run right: the car is leaking coolant and may need a new water pump. Bit of a pain. This is one of those times I look back at my teens and wish I'd put some time into learning how to restore cars, instead of, say, all the time I put into nunchuckery.
Finally, a question for all you good people. I've been noticing certain bells and whistles on the sidebars of other blogs: feeds, stats, search engines, books and albums the blogger's enjoying, random quotes, etc. I can see a reason for all, but before I dust off my HTML book, let's prioritize. Which of these sorts of things do you find the most useful and fun?
I couldn't stay for it all, but I had a blast at the Rod Serling conference. Really good insights re: the man and his work, the majority of these provided by my friend Marc Scott Zicree, who (literally) wrote the book on The Twilight Zone. Now I've seen nearly every Zone episode and many Night Gallery episodes, but Marc brought out clips I'd never seen before--some from Serling's early television career, including one starring a young James Dean. Perhaps most interesting to me was a clip of Rod Serling pitching The Twilight Zone to sponsors, laying out what kinds of stories they could expect, whetting their appetites for what the show would become. Lots to learn there. I've pitched my fair share of stories, and I'm not half bad, but man oh man was Serling a master.
Marc makes an interesting case for Rod Serling being the man who best shifted the balance of power in television toward writers. That "showrunner" position--the writer/producer at the top of the writing staff--that's a position that Serling largely carved out. So despite how synonymous he is with genre fiction, even TV writers who don't write science fiction and fantasy may owe the man a great debt.
And I got to meet Carol Serling. We only talked briefly, but she remembered conversations between Rod and my dad. I also met one of Rod and Carol's daughters, who apparently taught my brother back when he went to nursery school. Small world, no?
Friday and Saturday, Ithaca College will be hosting the 2006 Rod Serling Conference, and if you're a fan of Rod Serling's writing, you might have a lot of fun. The keynote speaker is Marc Scott Zicree, whom you may know as the author of The Twilight Zone Companion, or from his dozens of television credits. He's also penned a trilogy of acclaimed fantasy novels about technology stopping and magic returning to the modern day world: Magic Time, Angelfire, Ghostlands.
Also, Carol Serling is going to be there. I'd like to meet her, and I wonder if she remembers any conversations between Rod and my father.
Short story alert: I've got one.
Over the years, I've been fortunate to work in a variety of formats: novels, screenplays, teleplays, videogames, animation, commercial spots, etc. But never short stories. That's just changed, as Subterranean Press will be publishing me along with a variety of other science fiction authors in Subterranean Magazine #4.
Edited by the prolific and talented John Scalzi, Subterranean #4 tackles popular science fiction clichés, with writers spinning them on their ear. I took on the "aliens want to eat us" conceit, and had a lot of fun doing it. "Tees and Sympathy" it's called, and it should be available this April. Subterranean Press is taking preorders for issue #3 right now, and I imagine they'll do the same for issue #4 soon. I'll post a note when they do.
Many years ago, during a Twilight Zone marathon, I remember my dad explaining the unlikelihood of aliens viewing planet Earth as a smorgasbord. Evolving on an alien world, what are the odds they'd consider human flesh tasty? The prevalence of "they want to eat us" fiction has more to do with our fears than actual possibility. Thinking it over, I wonder if the same could be said for most fiction. Tickling peoples' hopes and fears tends to come before strict believability. And the feeling that something might happen becomes more important than whether or not it actually could.
"Tees and Sympathy" was a lot of fun to work on, and I think there's a lot to like about the short story format. A huge relief to know you don't have hundreds of pages standing between you and the end, and a good challenge to put a lot of story into something short and sweet. I'm happy with how it came together; John gave it a thumbs up; I hope you get a chance to pick up a copy and enjoy it as well. Not to mention all the other stories in Subterranean #4. Looking at the list of authors, I'm in very good company:
"Cliché Haiku" by Scott Westerfeld
"A Finite Number of Typewriters" by Stuart MacBride
"Hesperia and Glory" by Ann Leckie
"Horrible Historians" by Gillian Polack
"The Inevitable Heat Death of the Universe" by Elizabeth Bear
"It Came From the Slush Pile" by John Joseph Adams
"Labyrinth's Heart" by Bruce Arthurs
"Last" by Chris Roberson
"The Last Science Fiction Writer" by Allen M. Steele
"Movie Clichés and the Sci-Fi Films That Love Them" by Ron Hogan
"The NOMAD Gambit" by Dean Cochrane
"Refuge" by David Klecha
"Remarks on Some Clichés I Have (by Definition) Known Too Well" by Teresa Nielsen Hayden
"Scene From a Dystopia" by Rachel Swirsky
"Shoah Sry" by Tobias S. Buckell and Ilsa J. Bick
"Tees and Sympathy" by Nick Sagan
"The Third Brain" by Charles Coleman Finlay and James Allison
"What a Piece of Work" by Jo Walton
Answers to your questions...
Everfree is set for a May 18th release, but for individual bookstores, let's call that "May 18th plus or minus a few days," as there's always some variance between shipping schedules. From past experience, I know I can expect a few early "It's here" sightings, along with a few late "No, it still hasn't shown up yet" non-sightings. The former's more fun than the latter. Together, they contribute to a feeling of the process being completely out of my control, which of course it is. Good news for UK fans: UK publication should be nearly simultaneous with the US, and if I remember correctly, the UK edition of Edenborn actually hit bookstores first. Perhaps the same will happen this time around.
Much to be done between now and then. The production teams will do their magic. Galleys show up next month. I still have the Acknowledgments page to write. I'll post the play-by-play as these things happen.
My New Year was great, thanks. Admittedly hectic, as I was doing a little eleventh hour tinkering with a story due before the stroke of midnight. (More about that story in a future post.) I enjoyed working on the holiday, as it took my mind off the post-partem blues that come from finishing a novel. It's always comforting to have multiple projects, as I don't relax well, and I hate the restlessness that comes from not having an immediate focus for my creativity.
Lucky me, I'm juggling quite a bit right now, but I've yet to find the proper balance to work on all my writing projects and keep the blog current. For example, I'd meant to make this post over a week ago. Also, I've been slow to answer several emails. Backlogged, but hoping to knock them out this week. Bleh. Too much to do.
Part of me thinks I should make specific mention of what I'm actually working on, though it goes against the advice a friend of mine gave me back when I first started screenwriting. He said, "Never tell anyone what you're working on, becuase once you do, they'll start asking for it. It's better to be mysterious and then suddenly deliver your projects, so people see you as prolific and unpredictable."
Not bad advice, but I'm going to go against it later this week.
You know the ax murderer test? A new person meets you and takes your measure, sussing you out, to make sure you're not an ax murderer. Threat assessment. Not sure where the idiom comes from, though I'd guess blind dates. Anyway, for years I've been repurposing the expression to describe a means of weighing the effectiveness of a story, but I can't remember whether I just started doing this on my own, or if I'm parroting advice that one of my teachers gave me.
Subjecting a story to the ax murderer test means simply this: "Would the plot be improved if an ax murderer were running about randomly hacking up the characters?"
Ideally, the answer should be no. You want your plot to hold your readers' interest and keep them turning pages. This hold should be stronger than the visceral appeal of "Oh no, an ax murderer!" Special exception: If your story is about the sequential murder of characters (as is the case with And Then There Were None or Idlewild), you can't apply this test.
Jane Austen books typically don't fare well where I'm concerned. Will the upper-class, privileged heroine marry for money or marry for love? Sorry, don't care. If Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy ran afoul of a wild-eyed, blood-soaked, howling mad ax murderer, that would strike me as an improvement.
Admittedly, I'm not the intended audience for Pride and Prejudice, but this isn't truly a function of gender. I like female protagonists. I'm just easily annoyed by the idle rich. Austen wrote her novels of "romantic love vs. financial necessity" at a time when millions of her countrymen were starving and subjugated. Perhaps a better way of setting up the ax murderer test would be: "Is this story as worthy of being told as the tragedy of a random person dying alone in the street?"
On the news today, I watched a critic slam Eminem's new album on the grounds that it's a drag to hear him still complaining about his life now that he's a multimillionaire with the world at his feet. That's along the same lines as what I'm saying, though I enjoy Em's music and appreciate where he came from; I cut him a lot of slack.
What's more, I'm perfectly willing to believe that my irritation with what I see as the trivial problems of the well-to-do keeps me from appreciating a lot of great literature. The Great Gatsby has never been a favorite of mine, but I'm told I'm missing out. Maybe so. Besides, who says that every story has to be about the real problems of people in need? There's a lot to be said for escapism. (And I do write science fiction/fantasy after all...)
Having reread this, I fear I'm saying, "Don't write about rich people unless someone's chasing them with an ax." Please don't take that away from this, because it's really not what I mean. What do I mean? Make us care about the characters. Make us want what they want and fear what they fear. Catch us up in their struggles in a way that's more absorbing than a random story of someone's death.
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