tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92212308985676059642024-03-14T05:47:21.729-07:00Psychedelia GothiqueDale L. Sproule - Author of The Human TemplatePsychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.comBlogger182125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-85742290621880035102021-12-18T07:17:00.000-08:002021-12-18T07:17:02.316-08:00Review of C.J. Lavigne's In Veritas<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.145.151/cfa.57c.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/in-veritas-cover-w-blurb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="536" height="349" src="https://secureservercdn.net/45.40.145.151/cfa.57c.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/in-veritas-cover-w-blurb.jpg" width="234" /></a></div><br />I am not a particularly
fast reader, but I did spend an unprecedented amount of time immersed in C.J.
Lavigne’s debut novel,<i> In Veritas</i>.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It is a story ostensibly about communication in which the major character, named Verity, is pretty much
unable to communicate in the usual manner. The crossed-wires in her brain give
her a severe case of synesthesia which lock her into her own somewhat
non-sensical world and contributed strongly to making her an outcast from a very young age. – with the
added complication that people have an impossible time lying in her presence. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She escapes
from incarceration in a mental health facility with Jacob, a wealthy young man who seems
to be somewhere in the autistic spectrum. Having been cheated out of control of
his family fortune, he does pretty well on the stipend he receives. Jacob and Verity live
together in an affectionate - although emotionally distant and seemingly platonic - relationship where he
switches career paths every five minutes and Verity goes along for the ride.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When Verity discovers the between, everything changes. The Between appears at
first to be a rock band that everyone has heard of, but no one has actually
heard. There are rumours of long ago concerts and impossible to find, limited
edition albums. All of their concerts are cancelled before they happen, which
builds the buzz even bigger.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Verity runs
into a young street magician named Santiago. who has a strange talent he
developed as a child, of conjuring beasts out of shadows – a snake and a dog that
are both aspects of him and independent creatures at the same time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">He reluctantly
takes her to the crumbling McLuhan Theatre where he shows her how to enter a magical
space behind and between walls that he refers to as the between. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">She meets
the inhabitants of the between, including an angel and a ghostly, knife-bearing
woman/demon named Jihan. Verity is both one of them and apart from them. But
the journey of discovery she is on strongly suggests that she has a looming role in
their lives – which in turn gives her a sense of purpose she has never had before.
As her abilities start to make sense, she begins to feel valued. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Those who
live in the between are a magical people – whose existence is threatened by
forces that threaten to exterminate them. Their power has dwindled over the ages
and is now almost gone.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Along the
way, Verity meets Privya, whose power the reader is told about – but none of the
characters in the book can possibly comprehend. Privya is bent on destroying
humanity in order to preserve ‘her people.’ The angel and the magician are
trying to stop her, while Verity is appropriately caught somewhere in between.
And although she doesn’t understand why, she knows that her role is vital.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">There is a
very powerful moment just before the climax where Jacob realizes that Verity
has been lying to him – a discovery that shakes him to his core, because he
didn’t believe she was capable of it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Communication may be the main theme, but <i>In Veritas</i> is
also about the nature of truth, and about belonging.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">It’s a very
odd novel in many ways in that few of the characters have much agency
of their own and yet things that need to happen get done. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I’m not
sure what happens in the end – or more precisely, I know what happened but am
unsure how. Given the themes of this book, this state of affairs is not only
appropriate – but inevitable. I suppose. That’s what happens when you have a
protagonist for whom roses whistle, tension smells like shattered glass, and dead
hippogriffs wash up in the canal. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The themes
are all enormously relevant, perhaps even more so because of the seemingly
never-ending pandemic that has convoluted our normal means of communication in interesting
ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In the end,
this book didn’t take me those months to read because it was a difficult book. It
took me so long because I was luxuriating in the prose and learning a whole new
method of processing information.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i>In Veritas</i>
is an amazingly assured first novel that has fascinating things to say and an intriguing
way of saying them. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Highly
Recommended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-59201391473176481552021-11-06T06:38:00.001-07:002021-11-11T13:49:36.796-08:00Peering Into the Social Black Hole<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I feel like I'm in
a sort of a social black hole these days. Most of the people I correspond with
don't correspond back. And I have developed this strange power to shut down
lively conversations with just one post on a forum or open thread. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I get more and more garrulous as most of my friends go quiet, and it feels like I'm talking to myself in the dark. Laughing nervously. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Maybe it <i>is</i> me, but it's more likely just the times we're
living in and the weird psychological space that everyone is in right now. On
top of the usual personal and family problems...I feel like all of society is
quivering and vulnerable...although I suppose it's always been this way - the heroes go charging around with swords while the masses huddle. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">My part time job as a condo concierge
gives me a birds-eye view of a large group of modern successful urban 20 and 30
somethings and it's sort of scary. It's pretty much a Bay Street condo but it's
also close to the university, so there's a separate stratum of semi-estranged children
from wealthy families - few of whom seem grateful or even cognizant of
living on their parents dime but what with the world they are being given
stewardship of - maybe they are simply demanding their due. Who knows what the world will be like when and if they reach retirement? Our world's current level of uncertainty makes working toward any sort of end goal a shaky proposition. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">We do owe our kids the best lives we can give them * and making their lives cushier now is the only way to do that with any degree of certainty.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">The condo where I work also houses lots of prosperous international students and young immigrants - from Russia, the British
Isles, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and the US. The last vibe you think I'd get
from a group like that is that they'd be afraid of the world...but they very
much are. This is a society that is loosely (and electronically) knit; shallow
and distracted. Downtown Toronto is Uber and Amazon central. This is one of the most expensive places to live in North America, yet some of the
suites in the building are so small that when the Matrix is built, the units can simply be
sealed and flooded with amniotic fluid. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Last year I reread
Elizabeth Hand's <i>Glimmering. </i>Her vibe in that novel is very
much in evidence on the streets of the 2020s. There is a pervading sense that CoVid was just one
of nature's first blows and everyone is holding their breath for the next one -
grasping for a sense of context and perspective. The marketplace is like a
montage of outtakes from Dick, Gibson, Stephenson<i>. </i>Commerce is
completely online. Few of the bankers who live in the building never leave except to walk
their dogs. There are lots and lots of dogs. Across society, I see everyone standing
still, holding their breath, afraid to move forward. In the Meta World we're not even worthy of an acknowledgement of our existence. You ever try to get in touch with Facebook - to actually ask a question? On those rare occasions where that sort of action is even possible, getting an answer is something else altogether. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I survived the cold war and the threat of mutual annihilation. But in many ways, the world is now weirder and more discomfiting than ever. The party that began at the end of 1999 is really just kicking into gear. It's time to stop fearing the future. PreTSD should never be a thing.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">We're<i> living</i> Science
Fiction. If nobody is ready to start building our own dystopia, then we need to chart a different path. I think the threat of
instant obsolescence handcuffs most creative people to some degree. I'm not talking about extinction, </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">I'm talking about the rate of </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">change</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> - our ability to meet huge challenges is increasing at nearly the rate of the challenges themselves. Maybe we will be ready!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">We'll get through this. The only question is whether we'll have smiles on our faces, and a strut in our step as we do it. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">As the challenges we face get tougher, the best thing we can do is meet them with the resilience and determination that's kept as alive and thriving this long.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">We need to keep looking forward with open minds and open hearts. Fascism and xenophobia are the enemies of progress. They are the real riders of the apocalypse. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 36pt;">* - with apologies to my children for my lack of sharable wealth</span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-8984044789647820722021-09-08T09:13:00.007-07:002021-09-09T06:00:18.240-07:00A Review of William Gibson's Agency<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/d25720cf-f637-4470-9009-b4f888426a3e/353/569/90/False/agency-8.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="353" height="431" src="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/d25720cf-f637-4470-9009-b4f888426a3e/353/569/90/False/agency-8.jpg" width="286" /></a></div><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt;">I recently read some reviews on Goodreads saying that <i>Neuromancer</i> is
badly dated, has thin characters and is written in an unreadable style.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I think what grates on me
the most is that - to an extent, they are right. When you write near future
science fiction, it will, by its nature, date quickly. Style preferences have
changed considerably since the early 80s. But none of their observations struck me as particularly fair. They might react quite differently when the future he is addressing is more immediate. As in <i>Agency</i>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span></span></p><a name='more'></a><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Dick and Jane, Jane Doe; the name Jane suggests the
ultimate everywoman. A plain Jane. Verity is a synonym for truth. Verity Jane,
the default hero of William Gibson’s most recent novel, </span><i style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">Agency</i><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">, is all
of the above. She is "plain truth" – an adaptable cipher and a reflection of
everyone and no-one-in-particular in our efforts to understand and control our
everchanging environment.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hired to beta-test a new software product, about
which her employer had been deliberately vague, Jane meets an AI named
Eunice (UNISS) – ironically the most interesting, quirky and congenial character
in Verity’s 21<sup>st</sup> century world. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><i>Agency</i> is book two in a series that publisher
Penguin Random House is promoting as <i>The Jackpot Trilogy.</i><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As usual, the future Gibson writes about is near enough
that current events sometimes overlap it. I understand it was a difficult
book that needed to be rewritten more than once when events in the book unexpectedly
overlapped our reality in ways that undercut the narrative. Most of the heavy
lifting, the major science fictional building blocks, were laid down in
book one. You wanna know how everything works? Read <i>The Peripheral</i>.
Wanna see it working? Read <i>Agency</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Jackpot book one, <i>The Peripheral</i>, introduced the
timelines and the way they interact with one another. By Chapter Two of <i>Agency</i>,
you learn that Verity exists in a time stub that veered off the main timeline,
seemingly destined for a similar apocalypse to other such stubs created by the
same morally bankrupt hobbyist from the future. A future that had itself
narrowly dodged a climate catastrophe – and subsequently amalgamated many of the survivors in a nanotech maintained London. The city of Toronto is referred to in Agency, but it is suggested that not much exists outside of the closed environments of the major cities. This London depicted in the Jackpot books is largely
controlled by Russian mobsters, but hugely influenced by behind the scenes players
led by Detective Inspector Ainsley Lowbeer, who Gibson describes as a “semi-mythical
autonomous magistrate-executioner” and her small team of operatives that
includes young family man, Wilf Netherton. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The stated goal of her current intelligence operation
is simply to give Eunice enough agency to save the stub – and Verity is an
essential pawn in reaching that goal. The
trick is that none of the characters in the future is physically able to travel
into the past to make things happen. It all has to be done remotely. It’s a bit
like setting up and managing a major bank heist on Zoom. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Whereas <i>The Peripheral</i> is demanding and sometimes difficult read, <i>Agency</i>
seems like a bit of a lark. The less overwhelming style makes <i>Agency</i> more
approachable. The exposition occurs more naturally and incidentally. As opposed
to a heavy thought piece, it reads more like a time-travelling espionage
thriller - a chase adventure with a similar, breathless pace to the <i>Crank, Bourne</i>
or <i>Matrix</i> franchises. More droll than funny, Agency’s stakes are less personal
and far more apocalyptic than something like <i>Crank</i>.<br />
<br />
On the surface, this may seem a bit trite for a literary trendsetter like
Gibson - until you take a closer look at what's going on. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The central conceit of creating time stubs and then
subsequently tinkering with them to produce varying results - is truly
brilliant. Science that can be played like a video game, at least until the
video game starts playing you.<br />
<br />
The goal of manipulating history to play out in a specific way is trippy and
clever. But preventing something from happening through remote interference is
easier than making something happen. The goal for much of the book is action
avoidance rather than action, and this passive (and often clueless) viewpoint
made <i>Agency</i> feel a bit frustrating when it resulted in the lead characters
literally running (driving) around in circles, working towards a goal that
seemed poorly defined through the middle of the book. But the ending, when it came,
was exciting and fulfilling, leaving plenty of open questions and possibilities
for where the third book will go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I understand that <i>Neuromancer</i> was optioned many
times, providing some significant income for its creator, but denying him the
pleasure of having his work adapted along with the extra notoriety that
might come of that. Now it’s too late. Near future science fiction, will by its
nature become quickly dated. <i>Neuromancer </i>is a classic book, but no longer a especially relevant one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 14pt;">But producers in search of
source material for a riveting, intelligent and suspenseful series need look no
further than <i>The Jackpot Trilogy.</i> Get those screenwriters to work now – and lay
down that pilot. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-91199967363789362652021-07-28T07:03:00.001-07:002021-07-28T07:04:36.389-07:00Unleashing my Inner Grotesque<h1 style="text-align: left;">Unleashing My Inner Grotesque</h1><div><br /></div><div>I can only speak for one grotesque really, and he is me.</div><div>If you know me, you may see something of my visage in this:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivb_DJPFMCaNvOGid3qA_s_f1BSutCMB28jsLBhisSA1Ytw-XvZVPj19OuhKDItvz8qscu70fCWo4cLZmE5mqQXI0IoCwggwfjOoC7cEZ2LwlCz4E-YsZcNo8iHlXdzGlNzEQAp9F55yI/s597/Fairyland1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="418" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhivb_DJPFMCaNvOGid3qA_s_f1BSutCMB28jsLBhisSA1Ytw-XvZVPj19OuhKDItvz8qscu70fCWo4cLZmE5mqQXI0IoCwggwfjOoC7cEZ2LwlCz4E-YsZcNo8iHlXdzGlNzEQAp9F55yI/s320/Fairyland1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div>If you don't know me, or you simply think it's a poor likeness, you'll just have to take my word for it, this is a self-portrait. I jumped the gun declaring it done. I haven't finished my patch on the back pocket of his pants, where I'm going to sign it. I was going to do it Monday, but backed away, since my darling Laura has forbidden me from using blowtorches on Mondays because that's the day when I'm drastically resetting my body clock after working two 12 hour weekend overnight shifts. Last time I tried waxing on a Monday I set fire to the wax brush and smeared blackened, melted plastic down the arm of my mini-me. That aspect of me is less grotesque than vaguely pathetic. The black gunk clings but it's easy to get off. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I have always been aware of my inner grotesquerie. It calls itself self-pity. Self-Pity is depression's pathetic cousin; a state of self-indulgent wanking in which you declare yourself a loser and then feel sorry for yourself rather than doing anything to make it better. </div><div><br /></div><div>When you're white, male, intelligent and reasonably attractive, growing up in peaceful times in a prosperous land, self-pity is intrinsically ridiculous. And yet, I still let it crawl into bed with me sometimes. I cannot hate it without hating myself for indulging it. It's self-propagating that way.</div><div><br /></div><div>Ultimately it is me, the part of me I despise the most. The very source of my self-loathing. The narcissist The part of myself that wallows in despair and hopelessness. The part that is so eager to give up that it already has. </div><div><br /></div><div>The origin of the grotesquerie is a surprisingly long story that started twenty-five years ago with writer, Jeff Vandermeer. My ex and I were editing and publishing <i>TransVersions,</i> the sadly defunct journal of Canadian fantastic cross-genre and unclassifiable stories. Literature of the fantastic we called it. And I'm pleased to say that the subtitle wasn't pure hubris. We had the opportunity to publish some pretty amazing artists and writers, not the least of whom was young Mr. Vandermeer. </div><div><br /></div><div>In 1996, after we published his story, "David Pangborn Takes a Walk" in TransVersions #5, Jeff sent us a postcard (below) from Oxford England, He thanked us for giving his story a good home and shared his joy that Thomas Ligotti really liked his book, <i>Dradin in Love</i>...as did the rest of the country. And <i>The Best New Horror</i> had just taken one of his stories. So full of good news And yet, this was the postcard he sent:</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMIuZj5ZcnNmUMnrtCz3BT6IAawMzj3bce_v_lRrn4kY4w0EmqE5NF7zjIDmCgHTu_BlXyUBKtPjSlkblnD68aqYEQkN465JUX5Z9FP4DuExRVywQ1CdwflbmYPCdm0CKTw5d6uKJNk9Q/s1177/Gargoyle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="1177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMIuZj5ZcnNmUMnrtCz3BT6IAawMzj3bce_v_lRrn4kY4w0EmqE5NF7zjIDmCgHTu_BlXyUBKtPjSlkblnD68aqYEQkN465JUX5Z9FP4DuExRVywQ1CdwflbmYPCdm0CKTw5d6uKJNk9Q/s320/Gargoyle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2JTiSK2ojss8mSRElouew6lz6jyX747XdmglWYid9DL6ac5kdyslemb1RERsF1rKwCPNxYZLQF3rQJM3tKi-9tBuM6eetxDSKNZM2tYMTgaA_qmmqL8yzZOuEX8Yvco_OUF4JjZjz_oK/s1015/Stoneman.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1015" data-original-width="477" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd2JTiSK2ojss8mSRElouew6lz6jyX747XdmglWYid9DL6ac5kdyslemb1RERsF1rKwCPNxYZLQF3rQJM3tKi-9tBuM6eetxDSKNZM2tYMTgaA_qmmqL8yzZOuEX8Yvco_OUF4JjZjz_oK/s320/Stoneman.jpg" /></a>Grief incarnate. I recognized him the instant I saw him. </div><div><br /></div><div>As Art Director of TransVersions, I had been working a lot with Photoshop. I liked playing around with the blending of images. I transposed my own face onto this image. Then I took it a step further and set the whole thing on an Inukshuk body. I'm Canadian - a child of the north! It worked for me. Somehow, turning him into an icon that shared my face made him into an entity distinct and separate from me. It gave me autonomy from him and control over him. </div><div><br /></div><div>From digital image, I decided to take him back to a more primitive state and I painted him in acrylics. The inukshuk legs became more human. </div><div><br /></div><div>Then I found the stone that told me what it wanted to become. </div><div>I made it so, But the level of grief it displays surprises me. This version is no longer trying to hide its eyes from what he doesn't want to see.</div><div> </div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LJC_U53sviExYtFJgsGuV8d8-p0OgHmioOrIGqQzZWjqpi_WfQTrNiPwbQOhj31cX9f-0yjjkLSgIFc6mk2V0W3N61vG0Mpq4K45SViqhFlQFxjnOgFTsBH8nsotYyg1XPLYlLBCX0AC/s597/Fairyland1.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="597" data-original-width="418" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6LJC_U53sviExYtFJgsGuV8d8-p0OgHmioOrIGqQzZWjqpi_WfQTrNiPwbQOhj31cX9f-0yjjkLSgIFc6mk2V0W3N61vG0Mpq4K45SViqhFlQFxjnOgFTsBH8nsotYyg1XPLYlLBCX0AC/s320/Fairyland1.jpg" /></a></div>He's making sure he can never again see the source of his grief. The face and belly of the grotesque are dark - shadowed. It's back is rosy red - possibly a reflection of intense light. Maybe a world going up in flames.</div><div><br /></div><div>If it's Fairyland that's burning, then maybe all we'll lose in the fire is a dream whose time is up. Time to trade rosy ideals for grim reality and just get through whatever is coming. Whatever we have wrought that I can't bring myself to face. </div><div><br /></div><div>My stoneman images have always represented a way of manifesting my fears outside of my real self.</div><div><br /></div><div>He is me - but he is the parts of me that I reject - the parts that give up in the face of challenges rather than dealing with them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPAaTWXc_JCauQCxZncf4m6xr-dEFt6w6iq_L1kvHZu4_WOM5d9-kCfNcpqo5_g2lS7JaKt3A5Ma31hjPKikGFFMHdCHN6ut-mEWqchostrTrrt11w_1QeQBLHZX6zanmWgVs7QookLzI/s646/Fairyland+2.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="646" data-original-width="386" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfPAaTWXc_JCauQCxZncf4m6xr-dEFt6w6iq_L1kvHZu4_WOM5d9-kCfNcpqo5_g2lS7JaKt3A5Ma31hjPKikGFFMHdCHN6ut-mEWqchostrTrrt11w_1QeQBLHZX6zanmWgVs7QookLzI/s320/Fairyland+2.jpg" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>No matter how much the grotesque may have changed over the years, it stays emotionally and effectually the same. </div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, now, having plunged his fingers into his eyes, </div><div><br /></div><div>he's seen true darkness, </div><div><br /></div><div>from which he can never look away. </div><div><br /></div><div>A warning do everything I can to avoid his empty gaze. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's all speculation of course - wondering why this depiction of myself has always so captivated me.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgit5-R1NkIi72kjK-P4an75oqpVb8WjGg0Cs-e6co7rXcju-xwmJQNgQ-NJC_8Zx7zn_LzyizZMDM-vRcxXFoSx7RuirwX5OrNJ2ldCTNFoiiZBLdxzDA2zsJkXEqVed5rbw1M3JuQBMm9/s850/Fairyland3.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="850" data-original-width="678" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgit5-R1NkIi72kjK-P4an75oqpVb8WjGg0Cs-e6co7rXcju-xwmJQNgQ-NJC_8Zx7zn_LzyizZMDM-vRcxXFoSx7RuirwX5OrNJ2ldCTNFoiiZBLdxzDA2zsJkXEqVed5rbw1M3JuQBMm9/s320/Fairyland3.jpg" /></a></div><div>Maybe I'm wrong, and all I've ever done is find excuses to indulge in my worst instincts, To celebrate them in some perverse way. That's what self-pity is all about. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe all that's really changed is the scale. </div><div><br /></div><div>There's something universal about his grief. But lets not forget that this exercise is essentially an exorcism. </div><div><br /></div><div>My exhortation to humankind to avoid our worst tendencies.</div><div>To open our eyes to what we're doing to the planet - to start fixing our mess and making a better future.</div>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-59652759670143470532021-07-17T19:46:00.005-07:002021-07-17T20:37:18.139-07:00The Book After Which Everything is Different<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/7120e8ed-45a2-4e8e-a9ae-20e61fbe233b/353/569/90/False/consider-this-3.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="539" data-original-width="353" src="https://kbimages1-a.akamaihd.net/7120e8ed-45a2-4e8e-a9ae-20e61fbe233b/353/569/90/False/consider-this-3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I’ve never called myself a
Chuck Palahniuk fan. I’ve been aware of him only since the <i>Fight Club</i> movie
and have read only <i>Invisible Monsters</i> and <i>Fight Club</i>.
I’ve never been to one of his readings, though they seem to be pretty amazing
and I’ll probably catch one if I get a chance.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">While looking him up
online, I came upon <a href="https://litreactor.com/essays/chuck-palahniuk/nuts-and-bolts-%E2%80%9Cthought%E2%80%9D-verbs">a piece of his writing advice on Litreactor</a> about avoiding
the use of thought verbs. It was genius. It spoke directly to me and my worst
tendencies as a writer like no teacher or article has before – and it came to me
at exactly the right time. IE: while I’m on the fourth draft of the novel and
that level of editing is at its easiest (which is a bit like saying it’s
easiest jumping the Grand Canyon on a motorcycle when the sun isn’t directly in
your eyes).</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">When I discovered that
Palahniuk had written an entire book on writing, it seemed like a good
investment, even if all I was doing by buying it was paying him properly for
the thought verb essay.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I am delighted to report
that <i>Consider This</i> is every bit as good an investment as I
hoped it would be. The book sparkles with brilliant little nuggets of advice.
The anecdotes in the memoir chapters are wildly entertaining and each
contributes something insightful, poignant, and/or funny. The book
fulfills the promise of its subtitle, “Moments in my writing life after which
everything is different.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Palahniuk’s advice
certainly made the task of writing simpler for me. Everything really is
different after reading it! The ‘thought verb’ advice is directly applicable to
the piece I’m polishing, because he tells me how to check my blind spots and
identify passive, expository writing. Once I find them, I do the actual work of
bringing them to life quite well. Finding them has always been the hardest part
for me.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I do not agree with his
assertion that writing with thought verbs is intrinsically lazy. What comes
naturally or easily to some of is very hard-earned for others. </span><span style="color: #222222;">I’ve had 40 years of
writing practice to get really good making at my bad habits less noticeable and
annoying. My thought verbs are all beautifully displayed on beds of poetic
language, vivid imagery and moody dynamic sounding prose. I contest that it
took a great deal more work for me to write around the problem than it would have to address it
directly a long time ago. I shouldn't complain, I suppose, since it's made me a much better than average expository writer. And every book needs exposition at <i>some</i> point, right???</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The author has considerably
more good advice. I was extremely intrigued by his chapters on establishing
authority. He explains why it’s important to get the details right and to demonstrate
depth of knowledge – just once or twice for the purpose of establishing
authority. Once readers have ceded that authority to you, you can get
them to buy into the really crazy stuff much more easily.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Consider This</span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> is mostly about finding
your own truth and your own way to bring it to the world. Palahniuk repeats
throughout the book that literary trends have a shelf-life. Writing
within a given school is probably a recipe for failure – because all movements and sub-genres outlive their audiences and essentially become roads to nowhere.
Unless of course you can essentially reinvent the genre in the process – in which
case you’re not actually following a trend, you’re starting a new one.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you’re a writer, you’ll
benefit greatly from all the insights in <i>Consider This</i>, if you’re not a writer, you’ll enjoy
this glimpse into storytelling from the tellers perspective and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>have a great time while you’re at it. <o:p></o:p></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-5646907698195982692021-06-03T12:54:00.002-07:002021-06-03T12:54:29.532-07:00A Musical Journey Through Time<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzTyjVq2BlK2HhdOavmE1g2-2dGQakfak7QkRCrUGGZztcU6CUC1zEI0G233vfY_48dN8vOwOgH1ZvoUTUyitWuaVVKpe6StJHa8M8fDtllb4BY4auKTKC5H1s3FpL1piFjvd46_HPsRN/s491/minstrels.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="232" data-original-width="491" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzTyjVq2BlK2HhdOavmE1g2-2dGQakfak7QkRCrUGGZztcU6CUC1zEI0G233vfY_48dN8vOwOgH1ZvoUTUyitWuaVVKpe6StJHa8M8fDtllb4BY4auKTKC5H1s3FpL1piFjvd46_HPsRN/w400-h189/minstrels.gif" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br />Humans are not the only primates that sing. But the others are silver gibbons, and they warble like very loud birds. So perhaps homo sapiens were the first species to produce actual songs. And what kinds of songs were they? Lullabies? War drums?</span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Using music to sooth or inspire fear in your audience can be more effective than speech. And what better way to play or to share your joy than to sing with someone?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I can imagine a tribe of primitive people taking shelter in a cave. A woman singing softly to her crying babe is urged by other members of the tribe to lift her voice – to share her blissful gift with the others. They hum along, perhaps learn the words, maybe change or add some as they add their voices to the chorus, because there is strength and security in numbers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Having thus learned to sing, a man with a strong voice starts singing in a cavern, experimenting with echo. Others join in. The game finds a natural rhythm and structure, filling the space; bonding people together. Harmonizing becomes something the people in the tribe like to do. And then they find other tribes, each with their own secret languages of song. The groups share their songs and it becomes the distinctive sound of all the folk on that peninsula or in that Valley or in those mountains. Folk songs are shared with other folks – a chain that ultimately circles the globe of the civilized world.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The different languages they speak are irrelevant because new lyrics are applied as a matter of course, because it’s only important to keep the music relevant to the audience you’re singing it to.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">A Happy, Copyright Free World!</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Since the word 'minstrel' was permanently tarnished by the travelling minstrel shows of 19th century America, it might be better to pick a different word.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">In 1366, European travelling musicians were called jongleurs or widsmiths or scops; every language group has their own nouns. By this point in history, musicians were travelling and sharing their music and talent with new audiences in distant communities. Today we call them buskers, the brave and irrepressible artists who presume to think they can make a living, however tenuous, from music.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We have no way of knowing what sorts of music were experimented with and probably rejected, back then. But in those long-long-ago, pre-baroque days I like to think that maybe some of them worked together in creating a sort of medieval rap. Imagine a fire juggler weaving through the crowd to get people’s attention. Then the music starts. A beat is laid down by a woman with a bodran singing transcendent skat in a startling soprano. Another voice comes weaving, turning the vocals into a mesh-like gymel. The sounds of a plucked lyre reinforce the beat, adding a klezmorim exoticism.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It wasn’t until the late 1500s that the spoken word consciously demanded its own stage. So in the late 1300s, poets and storytellers probably performed with the musicians.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I can almost hear the a Moroccan rapper free-styling a tale of djinn that grants magic wishes. As with modern hip-hop, maybe he addresses the audience directly “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Don’t just stand there like a killa, wave your arms like a gorilla, grab your drink and sing and sin, free your demon djinn within. Get all your wishes, clap your hands, clap your hands, clap your hands</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">…”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Some young kid in the audience, aching to leave home learned some ground-breaking lessons from seeing that show. He started making up his own songs, integrating that single gimmick: the lyrical instruction to “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">clap your hands</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">,” changed to “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">stomp your feet to the beat</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">” and the boy built an all new instrumental framework around it. Punctuated the beats with horns. The Djinn narrative turned to “Ali Baba, Baby” lyrics and the boy became a sensation, playing his songs to big audiences in Northern Spain that came when they heard he was in town.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Some of the music written for rich or royal patrons in palaces was also written down and survived the centuries. But probably not the folk music. Music of the land, of the street, and of the sea tends to be stripped down, bawdy, political, as well as raucous, foot-stomping and easy to remember.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">M</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">aybe our fictional rapper made a name for himself. Maybe he was hugely popular for a few years in some obscure region of the ancient world. But that point in history, it wouldn’t have been the songwriting that made him famous – it would more likely have been for the energy, purity or joy of his performances.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And all the music that was circulating, whether as sleepy as a mother’s lullaby, or impassioned or stately, or hilarious, or exhilarating and fun – was owned by no-one in particular, sung by everyone and influenced everyone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> A</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">nd so the music grows, slow as a tree, a forest, branching out and extending its reach over the course of lifetimes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The evolution of music no doubt happened even more slowly than that. Who knows how many tributaries dried up or merged into major streams? There may be all sorts of heavy metal riffs, harpsicord solos and blues refrains that appeared briefly before being lost in the mists of time – not that those styles would likely be recognizable as such to modern listeners – who would probably hear it more as Gregorian chanting with baroque pretensions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Music is emotion and emotion belongs to whomever experiences it and is moved by it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Plagiarism is Born</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The same once held true for theatre. If you said that Shakespeare never came up with an original plot, that may well be true. But the voice he developed to tell those stories set him apart. And being one of the first great artists to emerge in the wake of Gutenberg, Shakespeare’s words were preserved and had a huge influence on the development of the English language. If he had lived 100 years earlier, we may never have heard of him. He certainly wouldn’t have achieved the ubiquity that has been Shakespeare’s ever since.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The circulation of printed material changed the arts forever. Plagiarism became a provable thing. At the beginning of the 17</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> century, satirist Ben Jonson got his knickers in a knot because someone else was stealing and making money by passing his work off as their own. This is worse for humorists than most writers because of the nature of comedy. Jokes generally only work the first time they’re told – so someone stealing your thunder would hurt your reputation and probably have an immediate impact on your income. A double whammy. The fucking plagiarists had to go.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Poems in occasional broadsheets could feed a growing literary reputation. But the real money was in serializing, so that consumers essentially had to subscribe in order to get to the end of the story. Epic poems became novels.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The format had been foreordained by the popularity of rhymes, poems, bar songs, narrative ballads, jokes, plays, word-of-mouth stories and games of Robin Hood and his rotating roster of sidekicks and villainous aristocrats. Robin Hood remained popular in England from the 14</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to 16</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> century England. You </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">thought that The Sound of Music</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dark Side of the Moon</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> had good runs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So it was known that audiences had a craving for continuity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">All the familiar stories played out time and again; h</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">eroes against villains, girl meets boy, humans against nature. There was a time I’m not quite old enough to remember when nature seemed to be winning.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Popular tastes haven’t changed much. Except that the biggest concern these days is that CGI not be discernable as such. Folk heroes like Robin Hood have become today’s legion after legion of superheroes. Batman, Wolverine, Wonder Woman and such. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Rather than being the heroes of the downtrodden, mutants generally </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">are</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> the downtrodden. Cuts out the middleman. Gives us a hero for every taste and every purpose; who we can adopt as our own personal saviours. I predict another few years before even the hardest of hardcore superhero fans just isn’t as interested as he once was. I’m actually fairly sure that games are already or will shortly become the last refuge for true human creativity. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Oh yeah. I’m sure superheroes are copyrighted up the yin yang. Along with most pre-millennial fixations. But here and now in the age of AI, copyright is reaching a strange saturation point. There are several million times more creators than there are stories. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Heroes against villains. Girl meets boy. Humans against human nature</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">. I’m sure we already have Nova Boy – who can only ever be a hero once and is saving it up for later. </i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now I’m being attacked by random ideas. One of the hazards of working all night. And alas, morning is breaking and I must take my leave.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So in this new world, we’re all going to be violating each others copyright all the freaking time. Laws surrounding copyright are vague and subjective at best. Their effectiveness probably depends as much on judges who get paid off (and some who don’t, and some that go to the highest bidder.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Lady law don’t care; the better to keep us all out on a limb. Keep us afraid to violate copyright, just in case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">How Copyright Law is Affecting my Approach to the Diptych?.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So the thing I’ve tried to do in this book is to simply not worry about it. And the only way I can keep myself from worrying about it is not to do it. I’m sure some clever lawyer could find a copyright violation there somewhere.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I just need to point out that it would not only be damned hard case to prosecute, and the only way you’ll get any return on investment is to come back after I’ve made a fortune on it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">In the meantime, let's all just create, share, and enjoy. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Humans are not the only primates that sing. But the others are silver gibbons, and they warble like very loud birds. So perhaps homo sapiens were the first species to produce actual songs. And what kinds of songs were they? Lullabies? War drums?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Using music to sooth or inspire fear in your audience can be more effective than speech. And what better way to play or to share your joy than to sing with someone?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I can imagine a tribe of primitive people taking shelter in a cave. A woman singing softly to her crying babe is urged by other members of the tribe to lift her voice – to share her blissful gift with the others. They hum along, perhaps learn the words, maybe change or add some as they add their voices to the chorus, because there is strength and security in numbers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Having thus learned to sing, a man with a strong voice starts singing in a cavern, experimenting with echo. Others join in. The game finds a natural rhythm and structure, filling the space; bonding people together. Harmonizing becomes something the people in the tribe like to do. And then they find other tribes, each with their own secret languages of song. The groups share their songs and it becomes the distinctive sound of all the folk on that peninsula or in that Valley or in those mountains. Folk songs are shared with other folks – a chain that ultimately circles the globe of the civilized world.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The different languages they speak are irrelevant because new lyrics are applied as a matter of course, because it’s only important to keep the music relevant to the audience you’re singing it to.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">A Happy, Copyright Free World!</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> In 1366, European travelling musicians were called jongleurs or widsmiths or scops; every language group has their own nouns. By this point in history, musicians were travelling and sharing their music and talent with new audiences in distant communities. Today we call them buskers, the brave and irrepressible artists who presume to think they can make a living, however tenuous, from music.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">We have no way of knowing what sorts of music were experimented with and probably rejected, back then. But in those long-long-ago, pre-baroque days I like to think that maybe some of them worked together in creating a sort of medieval rap. Imagine a fire juggler weaving through the crowd to get people’s attention. Then the music starts. A beat is laid down by a woman with a bodran singing transcendent skat in a startling soprano. Another voice comes weaving, turning the vocals into a mesh-like gymel. The sounds of a plucked lyre reinforce the beat, adding a klezmorim exoticism.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It wasn’t until the late 1500s that the spoken word consciously demanded its own stage. So in the late 1300s, poets and storytellers probably performed with the musicians.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I can almost hear the a Moroccan rapper free-styling a tale of djinn that grants magic wishes. As with modern hip-hop, maybe he addresses the audience directly “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Don’t just stand there like a killa, wave your arms like a gorilla, grab your drink and sing and sin, free your demon djinn within. Get all your wishes, clap your hands, clap your hands, clap your hands</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">…”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Some young kid in the audience, aching to leave home learned some ground-breaking lessons from seeing that show. He started making up his own songs, integrating that single gimmick: the lyrical instruction to “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">clap your hands</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">,” changed to “</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">stomp your feet to the beat</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">” and the boy built an all new instrumental framework around it. Punctuated the beats with horns. The Djinn narrative turned to “Ali Baba, Baby” lyrics and the boy became a sensation, playing his songs to big audiences in Northern Spain that came when they heard he was in town.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Some of the music written for rich or royal patrons in palaces was also written down and survived the centuries. But probably not the folk music. Music of the land, of the street, and of the sea tends to be stripped down, bawdy, political, as well as raucous, foot-stomping and easy to remember.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">M</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">aybe our fictional rapper made a name for himself. Maybe he was hugely popular for a few years in some obscure region of the ancient world. But that point in history, it wouldn’t have been the songwriting that made him famous – it would more likely have been for the energy, purity or joy of his performances.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And all the music that was circulating, whether as sleepy as a mother’s lullaby, or impassioned or stately, or hilarious, or exhilarating and fun – was owned by no-one in particular, sung by everyone and influenced everyone.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> A</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">nd so the music grows, slow as a tree, a forest, branching out and extending its reach over the course of lifetimes.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The evolution of music no doubt happened even more slowly than that. Who knows how many tributaries dried up or merged into major streams? There may be all sorts of heavy metal riffs, harpsicord solos and blues refrains that appeared briefly before being lost in the mists of time – not that those styles would likely be recognizable as such to modern listeners – who would probably hear it more as Gregorian chanting with baroque pretensions.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Music is emotion and emotion belongs to whomever experiences it and is moved by it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-line-height-alt: 11.75pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Plagiarism is Born</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The same once held true for theatre. If you said that Shakespeare never came up with an original plot, that may well be true. But the voice he developed to tell those stories set him apart. And being one of the first great artists to emerge in the wake of Gutenberg, Shakespeare’s words were preserved and had a huge influence on the development of the English language. If he had lived 100 years earlier, we may never have heard of him. He certainly wouldn’t have achieved the ubiquity that has been Shakespeare’s ever since.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The circulation of printed material changed the arts forever. Plagiarism became a provable thing. At the beginning of the 17</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> century, satirist Ben Jonson got his knickers in a knot because someone else was stealing and making money by passing his work off as their own. This is worse for humorists than most writers because of the nature of comedy. Jokes generally only work the first time they’re told – so someone stealing your thunder would hurt your reputation and probably have an immediate impact on your income. A double whammy. The fucking plagiarists had to go.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Poems in occasional broadsheets could feed a growing literary reputation. But the real money was in serializing, so that consumers essentially had to subscribe in order to get to the end of the story. Epic poems became novels.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The format had been foreordained by the popularity of rhymes, poems, bar songs, narrative ballads, jokes, plays, word-of-mouth stories and games of Robin Hood and his rotating roster of sidekicks and villainous aristocrats. Robin Hood remained popular in England from the 14</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> to 16</span><sup style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;">th</sup><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> century England. You </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">thought that The Sound of Music</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> and </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dark Side of the Moon</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> had good runs.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So it was known that audiences had a craving for continuity.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">All the familiar stories played out time and again; h</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">eroes against villains, girl meets boy, humans against nature. There was a time I’m not quite old enough to remember when nature seemed to be winning.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Popular tastes haven’t changed much. Except that the biggest concern these days is that CGI not be discernable as such. Folk heroes like Robin Hood have become today’s legion after legion of superheroes. Batman, Wolverine, Wonder Woman and such. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Rather than being the heroes of the downtrodden, mutants generally </span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">are</i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"> the downtrodden. Cuts out the middleman. Gives us a hero for every taste and every purpose; who we can adopt as our own personal saviours. I predict another few years before even the hardest of hardcore superhero fans just isn’t as interested as he once was. I’m actually fairly sure that games are already or will shortly become the last refuge for true human creativity. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Oh yeah. I’m sure superheroes are copyrighted up the yin yang. Along with most pre-millennial fixations. But here and now in the age of AI, copyright is reaching a strange saturation point. There are several million times more creators than there are stories. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Heroes against villains. Girl meets boy. Humans against human nature</span><i style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">. I’m sure we already have Nova Boy – who can only ever be a hero once and is saving it up for later. </i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Now I’m being attacked by random ideas. One of the hazards of working all night. And alas, morning is breaking and I must take my leave.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So in this new world, we’re all going to be violating each others copyright all the freaking time. Laws surrounding copyright are vague and subjective at best. Their effectiveness probably depends as much on judges who get paid off (and some who don’t, and some that go to the highest bidder.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Lady law don’t care; the better to keep us all out on a limb. Keep us afraid to violate copyright, just in case.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">How Copyright Law is Affecting my Approach to the Diptych?.</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">So the thing I’ve tried to do in this book is to simply not worry about it. And the only way I can keep myself from worrying about it is not to do it. I’m sure some clever lawyer could find a copyright violation there somewhere.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I just need to point out that it would not only be damned hard case to prosecute, and the only way you’ll get any return on investment is to come back after I’ve made a fortune on it.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">In the meantime, let's all just create, share, and enjoy. </span></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-51104521934649565302021-05-28T05:48:00.000-07:002021-05-28T05:48:27.131-07:00Writing a "Fix-Up" Novel<p><em style="font-weight: bold;"> </em></p><img data-cke-saved-src="https://mcusercontent.com/ba10a6e35c7a1f661d5ad0374/images/f35abc50-4861-c0e8-96ba-7f96429c8198.jpg" data-file-id="2099104" height="285" src="https://mcusercontent.com/ba10a6e35c7a1f661d5ad0374/images/f35abc50-4861-c0e8-96ba-7f96429c8198.jpg" style="border: 0px initial; float: right; height: 285px; margin: 0px; width: 200px;" width="200" /><p>My upcoming project,<em style="font-weight: bold;"> The Gallowrat</em> is going to be what is called “a fix-up” novel. This was a technique pioneered by Canadian expatriate science fiction writer A. E. Van Vogt in the 1950s – with his book “The Weapon Shops of Isher.”<br /> Considered one of the stalwarts of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, Van Vogt’s was hugely influential in the field. His story, “Black Destroyer” is considered progenitor of <em>Alien</em> and any of a number of SF movies featuring an interstellar monster that treats the human spaceship it's riding in as its personal hunting grounds.<br /> As a close friend and intellectual sparring partner of fellow writer, L. Ron Hubbard, Van Vogt was pulled into the emerging world of dianetics, before it became scientology. Managing a dianetics centre in the 50s took up so much of his time and energy that his own writing production dwindled.<br /> But being a very smart guy, he recognized the strength of his approach to writing. Van Vogt had an unusual kinetic style (credited with being a major influence on Phillip K. Dick). The style may well have been a direct result of Van Vogt’s writing process which involved composing scenes of approximately 800 words that had to perform the function of either adding a new complication to the story or resolving one. That technique was beautifully adaptable to both short and long fiction forms. String a few of these scenes together and you have a short story. String sixty of them together (while introducing the refinement of constantly rising tension) and it becomes a novel. This allowed him to double dip – making an income from each short story sale and then again when they became parts of a novel. <br /> When he became distracted by dianetics, and his publisher came looking for new novels, Van Vogt was able draw on that earlier technique. He found he was able to tweak and thus join together many of his standalone stories – and even if they hadn’t originally even been set in the same universe, they could be adapted to work as building blocks in a bigger story. This required Van Vogt to create connecting scenes – but that worked well with his process and soon he was stringing stories together and turning them into novels. Many hung together amazingly well and became quite popular. Others were more of a stretch, and his fans no doubt appreciated it when he returned to more conventional writing structures and processes in the 1960s. He put out at least five fix-up novels during the 1950s and occasional fix-ups after that.<br /> Gallowrat was the original POV character in my story, “Razorwings.” With the help of my ex-wife, Sally McBride, I wrote a second Gallowrat story called “The Birthing Blades” that was finally published a few years ago<br /> That led to the idea of the third, as-yet-untitled novella I have been working at off and on for the last decade which will become the bulk of the novel.<br /> A very old story of mine called “All Along the Jabber Walk” jumped up and volunteered to become a Gallowrat story using diaries that the character has been writing since I created him/it.<br /> And if the resulting book needs expansion, I have two unpublished Gallowrat stories I can draw on for inspiration and material. But I need to give a nod to my man, Alfred Elton van Vogt, for coming up with the fix-up format.</p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-18700630276020240622021-05-12T12:03:00.006-07:002021-05-12T12:59:02.767-07:00The Avenging Glory Name Game<p> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">I’ve been talking a lot lately about the influence of popular culture
(especially music) on the Avenging Glory diptych. For two thirds of the
diptych, the title character, Glory, </span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;"> </span><span style="text-indent: 36pt;">is
only able to speak in song (and advertising slogans). <a href="https://dlsproule.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-hazards-of-homage.html">This is explained here.</a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">I wanted to use popular songs as the source for her dialogue, but the
need to avoid copyright infringement resulted in my having to rewrite all the
lyrics. I did my best to make sure those lyrics were reminiscent enough about
the songs that inspired them that readers would be able to identify them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In a few cases, it should be easy. But mostly, it will be hard, but FUN
– at least for anybody with a musical trivia bent who is tired of Sudoku and
Crossword puzzles. Sort of musical acrostics – but without the strict
conventions and the hidden quote at the end. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, I came up with a promo
idea…a sort of singing review of my book. It’s a rave review (of course!) The
first person to tell me what song this musical review is based on will receive
a prize – a signed book or artifact from my collection (I may give you a
selection of items to choose from – reach out to me at dale@dalelsproule.com).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">So here’s the lyric. If anyone wants to sing it on You Tube, please feel
free – just make sure to send me the link!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">It’s
The Human Template</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Come
to The Human Template</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Into
this book be drawn</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Into
this world you’ll grow</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">There’s
a big tree with a brain</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Of a
young man named Raine</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">He’s
the Human Template</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">He’s
the Champion of the Grid</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">He
devotes himself</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">To
stop the operator</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">‘fore
she enslaves the trees<br />
That’s why you should read</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">(Read
the Human Template</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Visit
the Human Template)</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><br />
To find out if she wins<br />
Cause if the Operator wins</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">The
arboreal world could die</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">at
the whim of humankind</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">On
the trees the world depends</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><br />
They will inherit it from men<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Gotta
love mankind,</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">but
we’ve run out of time</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">(fade
from here to end)</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">We’ve
gotta trust the trees,</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">oh
yeah, we’ve gotta trust the trees…</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Can’t
let the Operator play, we’ve just gotta step away</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: #202124; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Yeah
we should step away…</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-55113530067390574752021-05-06T07:32:00.006-07:002021-05-06T10:42:34.538-07:00The Hazards of Homage<p><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">On Saturday, May 15th I
will be a guest on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-majestic-mutt-podcast/id1551760052" target="_blank">Ahkil
Chawli’s Majestic Mutt podcast </a>in which </span><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">successful individuals with atypical backgrounds show
why everyone is a Majestic Mutt.</span> Recent guests have included Canadian
Astronaut Dr. Dave Williams, accountant and comedian Neha Kohli, and physician/Wellness
Coach Dr. Mashall Khan,</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">I
was thinking about talking points for the show and realised that there is a
HUGE aspect of </span><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">my work in
progress – which is the second half of the diptych that began with my novel, <i>The
Human Template</i> – that</span><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;"> I have yet to publicly broach. On the surface, it very much
goes against the grain of public opinion.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Writers,
more so than most in the art world, have long been obsessed with plagiarism and
the laws that protect us from the spectre of having our work stolen: copyright
laws. Certainly, computers and the changing way we read – or enjoy any kind of
entertainment – has shifted dramatically over the past 25 years. It is easier
than ever for unscrupulous people to publish someone else’s work and keep all
the profits for themselves. There have been many cases of people publishing
other writers work under their own byline. People routinely use artwork on
blogs, bookcovers, as wallpapers and even as posters – without paying the
artist a penny or even giving the artists credit. There are countless music and
movie sites selling albums and movies or making pirate DVDs without paying the creators.
This is the age of electronic piracy and almost all artists are justifiably
concerned about their loss of livelihood and theft of property that in many
cases has taken years or even decades to produce. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">But
in the process of writing this book, the negative aspects of copyright laws
have become increasingly apparent to me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Music
copyright laws – as applied and occasionally enforced by the big record labels –
have always been especially draconian. And those laws in particular have been
of concern to me in the writing of this book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Artists
themselves are hugely unlikely to take anyone to court over theft of work. Artists
are generally so poorly paid that legal fees could put them in the poorhouse.
And the logistic of suing some foreign website are beyond the ken of almost all
of us. The enforcement of copyright laws is almost always the domain of corporations;
big movie studios, big record labels, big publishing companies. You don’t fuck
with the mouse is a saying I have heard more than once.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">This
very effectively discourages artists from borrowing ideas from other artists,
or even from referring to popular works. If a big corporation sues you – you’d
might as well bend over and kiss your ass goodbye. And good luck publishing any
work that is considered derivative.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">This,
despite the fact that popular culture plays an enormous role in our lives. You
can refer a song, movie or book by title, but quoting from it in a creative
work is pretty much forbidden. There is a fair-use clause in copyright law that
may save your ass in court, but pretty much everybody is afraid to test it. That’s
what I ran up against in the creation of <i>Avenging Glory</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Lesson in Obliqueness<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">I
have always loved popular music. And my affection for it has broadened as I
have grown older.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Technically,
my first job was as an advertising copywriter. But the job that is a much
better reflection of “me” as a human being was an almost 20 year stint as
writer and creative director a number of westcoast radio stations. Those jobs
gave me front row seats to the popular music of the 1970s through 90s. I got to
go to concerts and write about music as part of my job and listen to music all
day long. As someone with no discernable musical talent, it was like living nxt
door to heaven. Just being close to it like that inspired me enormously.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">I
have an encyclopaedic memory of a number of popular genres, which has always
been pretty much useless to me. It’s even too focused and esoteric to give me
much of a hand up in various bar-room trivia games (if anyone even remembers
those anymore).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">As
a creative person, I have always thought that copyright laws that were meant to
give artists ownership of their work, and thus assure that people working the
world’s poorest paying professions (the arts) could continue to survive and
keep making their magical and indispensable contributions to society.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">But
I have also struggled a bit with the concept of copyright. As a Creative
Writing major at UVIC, my big second year drama project was turning Jesus
Christ Superstar into a space opera/science fiction musical. I couldn’t write
music, so I just wrote new lyrics to the original Webber/Rice score. On my
final assessment, my prof explained that copyright law would prevent that sort
of adaptation from ever making it to the stage (and he asked a very good
question about what parents in the future would ever name their kid Judas). <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">I
got passing grades, assumably on account of the months of time, energy and work
I put into it, but my girlfriend got better marks for a comparatively
unambitious domestic drama about two old ladies living together (which I helped
her write, mostly over the course of a weekend).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Having
learned my lesson, I never crossed that line again. Until now, anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">I’m
writing a two book series – also called a ‘diptych,’ entitled <i>Amazing Glory.</i>
The main protagonist of the first book is ostensibly a young man named Raine
whose consciousness was uploaded into a vast biological computer network in the
root system of a genetically modified forest. The BioGrid network contained the
sum total of human knowledge – all of our art and all of our history.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">300
years after a natural disaster that pretty much wipes out humankind, the trees teach
themselves how to interface with humans, and their first experiment is with a
four year old girl, who they almost destroy by filling her with too much irrelevant
information. This is the scene from book one <i>The Human Template</i> where
that happens.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">"Glory’s sudden understanding of the universe and humanity’s place in it
hit her like a physical blow. Her fear turned to bewilderment, then
appreciation for the consciousness dawning inside of her. There was seemingly
nothing she didn’t know. Here was a toddler who could debate with Socrates, in
his own language. It was all wonderful and magical until it began to hurt and
the complex rhetoric in her head was overwritten by 1950’s advertising jingles,
1968 Canadian Federal election results, world records in various swimming
categories and the textbooks for all the Astrophysics courses at Penn State
University in 2004; which in turn was overwritten by documentaries about Japanese
erotic literature, a group of musicians named Anvil, manuals for repairing a
John Deere 9400 combine, and a complete listing of 2021 American zip
codes. Terabytes of data surged into the nascent pathways of her little girl
mind. Her mental channels filled and swelled and burst, spewing swaths of
wisdom and nonsense like bloody graffiti, across the inside of her
skull. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">All of the Core’s dreams and needs and expectations were being force-fed
into her tiny brain; forty thousand wills gushing at the same time. Raine was
lost in the pandemonium as <span style="background: white;">the child mentally
aged five hundred years in milliseconds.</span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">Despite all Glory’s screams and cries to stop, the data kept pouring in;
scientific formulae; internet advertising databases, dirty limericks, public
opinion polls, literature, languages, anime, mathematics, theology and recipes.
By this point, the contents had overwritten themselves a hundred-thousand
times, turning to gibberish in the pressure cooker of her head. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><i>Gibberish, yes, but gibberish interspersed with flashes of absolute
clarity. Glory was the only person on Earth who knew what pressure cookers were
or who won the World Series in 2011. The advertising literature of the 1950s
and sixties was a short but fascinating chronicle of mid-twentieth century
culture and somehow most of it had been stored electronically and pumped into
Glory’s cerebral cortex, pushing forward through parietal and temporal
corridors into her frontal lobes. The swelling was so sudden and drastic that
her prefrontal area was drained of blood and began starving for oxygen. Even
through the pain, Glory remembered penny candy and three-speed bicycles and
beaming optimism in the face of an ever-present nuclear threat. She fought to
preserve nursery rhymes and twentieth century novels and large sections of the
Holy Bible. And somehow she was unable to forget a massive file full of
electronic schematics.</i>" </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt;">Unable
to sort out her thoughts, Glory grows up with a kind of artificially induced
autism. She gradually learns to communicate by creating mosaics from all that
data inside her. The easiest way for her to do that in a coherent way is to
take the hundreds of thousands of snippets of popular songs in her head and
modify the lyrics to express herself clearly and succinctly. It’s not nearly as
clear or succinct as she thinks, but over time, she gets the opportunity to
develop that communication style further with the community of musicians where
she end up living, thus becoming not just the first popular musician of her
era, but something of a goddess for restoring joy and faith to a society that has all but lost touch with those concepts.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Through most of the novel, Glory communicates in song. What she has to say and
how she says it is important. Consequently, my first draft of the book had more
copyright violations than a beach has grains of sand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">At
that point, I realized that all the lyrics had to be re-written! Trying to defend
my adaptions as “Fair Use” might be possible, but it would be a tightrope walk
that could – if I too egregiously stepped on any toes -bankrupt me with
lawsuits and prevent release or distribution of the book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">So
that was my challenge – make sure that I stick to the letter of the law by
avoiding use of copyrighted lyrics…while at the same time writing lyrics that <i>evoke</i>
the original songs well enough that people will have a pretty good idea what they
actually are underneath the disguise. I’ve enjoyed daydreams of people making a
game or recognizing the lyrics and singing along to the dialogue in the book.
One of the beauties of the way I’ve approached it is that there is no single correct
answer, because there will always be a measure of doubt. There are inevitably at
least four or five songs that the lyrics could be sung to. On one stretch of
dialogue, I went from using a heavy metal song to a sweet well-known folk song –
and it’s almost impossible to tell where one leaves off and the other begins
because the two otherwise very different songs have the exact same rhythm, rhyme
scheme, vowel sounds, and syllable counts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Those
circumstances make it almost impossible to mount a strong case for copyright
violation. I also frequently mix a number of different songs into a single
speech.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">As
a reader, I would have a lot of fun trying to figure out the tunes to the songs
as I read the new lyrics. And I hope that some readers who share my affections will
enjoy that aspect of the books.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">This technique gives Glory
the opportunity to say things in strange, poetic, scattered snippets that are rendered
totally natural by the way she thinks. She is expressing things the only way
she can. And any reader with the inclination gets to enjoy it on multiple
levels – not just as prose, but as song, as poetry, as a reflection of popular
culture.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Avenging Glory</span></i><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;"> is 100 years of popular culture reflected in the
funhouse mirror of subjective memory and filtered through the lens of very
damaged and imperfect technology. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">And
if I have my way, all my readers will be singing these wonderful songs in their
sleep.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">Please,
come back for my next blog post, where I’ll talk about how copyright law
stifles creativity and makes music less catchy and ubiquitous – taking music from
being the ultimate social and participatory experience to being a very private
experience. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: white; color: #1d1d1f; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: -0.05pt; line-height: 107%;">My Book, <a href="https://books2read.com/u/bxnxWD" target="_blank"><i>The Human Template</i> (Part One of the <i>Avenging Glory</i> diptych)</a> is available at all online retailers.</span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-52995012707788704452021-04-14T06:22:00.001-07:002021-06-22T11:56:55.487-07:00 Paracusia<p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have always heard the voices in nature; the babble of running water and the rustle of wind through trees; sounds taking on the cadences of conversation, to the point where I can picture the speakers and almost make out words. As I’ve grown older, even the constant low hum of fans and large appliances sounds like people milling around in the distance. I frequently hear far-away games of basketball, sometimes overlaid with sportscasters’ voices. Sometimes the voices of women cloak themselves under the patter of raindrops or whistle of tinnitus, only to come whispering like bashful angels or sneaky succubi as I drift toward sleep.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As I get older, some of the voices are sounding more purposeful and strident, like persistent telemarketers trying and almost convincing me to buy an unknown bill of goods.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I hear snatches of music in the walls and the halls, in basements and in shower stalls. Shadows lurk around me, outside my skin, but still stuck on me like a tattoo.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Articles and definitions on the internet say auditory hallucinations can be precursors to dementia, harbingers of madness – but I’ve been having auditory hallucinations like these since I was a child and they’ve never, to my knowledge, manifested in any certifiable psychosis.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“It is not I who am crazy, it is I who am mad,” said a certain crazed chihuahua in a spot-on Peter Lorre imitation on The Ren and Stimpy show. His next line was “Dincha hear em? Dincha see the crowds.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Din-eye-tell-ya? Even in the poppiest of pop culture, the auditory hallucination is viewed as a natural precursor to a “psychotic breakdown.” I might be heading for schizophrenia, or dementia, or even a full blown psychotic split. While there may be evidence that my marbles have come a bit loose (Laura says I’m more scatterbrained than ever), the real answer isn’t likely as dramatic as all that.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybCfD6lVorc7EpC_QfZXRMJVoItSXsDf01Ep3bXIUrRdw0dL98RdE27YM_kIfQOuhRlWF1-1rptV85WDO17kygCt_6s1iDiRiyolkbxIfxqcq93TFV4MX-fYGRDDzjvjFaqQgIhK7N0qJ/s640/Space+Madness+2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjybCfD6lVorc7EpC_QfZXRMJVoItSXsDf01Ep3bXIUrRdw0dL98RdE27YM_kIfQOuhRlWF1-1rptV85WDO17kygCt_6s1iDiRiyolkbxIfxqcq93TFV4MX-fYGRDDzjvjFaqQgIhK7N0qJ/w400-h300/Space+Madness+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s probably just a trick of the auditory canal; the way my ears work, maybe I went to too many rock concerts in my youth and shook a few things loose. Things rattle that shouldn’t. It might even be related to my sinuses. Look up paracusia. Careful not to leave out the second “a,” because parcusia seems to have a causal relationship with the apocalypse, which could lead you down the path to full blown paranoia.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Paracusia in the online medical dictionary is defined as “a <i>hearing</i> deficiency.” We’re still talking hallucination, but if you factor in the medical definition, they’re as likely to be the result of hearing problems rather than mental problems.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Which isn’t to say I have no mental problems. The ones that concern me most lately are the delusions of grandeur – the God complex writ (very) small.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large; text-indent: 36pt;">My Bashful God Complex</span></h3><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ve always lacked self-confidence. And that lack has held me back. It’s hard to achieve much when you secretly believe you’re King Midas in reverse. But something has happened to me in the years since striking out on my own as an indie writer.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I finished the third draft of <i>Avenging Glory</i> and had the temerity to think, Hey, this isn’t half bad.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I picked up some friends who not only agreed, but said, “Hey this is <i>great</i>!”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My revisions thereafter always started with the self-assertion. “There are people who believe this is great. I’m gonna make it even better.”</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A couple of drafts later, I found myself becoming one of those people who believe that it’s great. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">With people taking quantum realities seriously these days, hardly anybody laughs anymore when I suggest some tenets that I have believed since my early thirties: </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>1) Reality is mutable. </b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>2) There’s no such thing as truth. (although in my version of this, there is definitely such a thing as lying).</b></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">As a historical European dictator and a recent US president independently proved: when enough people set aside critical thinking and come to believe patently untrue things, those things can <i>become</i> true for anyone who wants badly enough to believe.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It’s essentially the inversion of the power of positive thinking.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Positive thinking works for many business people, and works really well for some athletes. Visualize winning and sooner or later, you will win! For the person who generates the power, it can drive them forward, inspire them to do better! Steadily improving performance improves a person’s self-confidence, which boosts their performance even more! It can genuinely have a huge influence on the outcomes of things and can indeed shape reality to some degree. But it’s hardly a super-power. An injury or scandal or emotional setback could easily send that athlete’s fortunes spiraling in the opposite direction. Positive thinking only affects other people’s perceptions when your reputation grows and your display of self-confidence can influence them. Many things it obviously can’t control at all. It might help a woman get her man or the man get his woman, or a man get his man, but it absolutely won’t help any of them win a lottery.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is, however, effective enough to allow some delusions of grandeur to come true.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The ultimate lunacy; as Nick Cave called it on “Red Hand Files” his agony aunt/fan blog, is “Absolute confidence.” Cave believes that his success is largely due to his “shameless and pathological belief” in his own awesomeness.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I remember in my 20s, believing that I would be the next Shakespeare. I never said it out loud to anyone else – for fear it would be received with the same sort of skepticism that I would greet it coming from some other 20 something. I knew it was patently ridiculous, even while I adopted and nurtured the idea. And certainly my ratio of successes to failures and the glad-cries that failed to greet every new work I managed to get published – seemed to put paid to that crazy ambition. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Except that it didn’t. Thirty years of frustration led me to start writing <i>Avenging Glory</i>. And during the twenty years I’ve been working on it, I have run into frequent roadblocks – lost faith in it any number of times. Even agent indifference didn't dissuade me. Well, it sorta did (I gave up after 20, when other writers approach 100 or more). But not for long. For a month here, a week there, an hour or two here and there and everywhere. But my absurd faith in it persists. Book One has made the tiniest conceivable dent in the marketplace, yet somehow I believe that Book Two will make a difference. And if it doesn’t – even if I don’t get to enjoy any acclaim in my lifetime, I don’t have a shadow of a doubt that recognition will come after I die, </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And not because I believe that positive thinking can help me achieve miracles – but because this is my reality. My insanity. It’s the only truth I will accept. If my thoughts don’t to inform reality within my lifetime – I can go to my grave with the stone cold certainty that they will. If it doesn't happen, I'll never know.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Animals become extinct, probably at a rate of about one a month or even one a week during my lifetime - the numbers are so up in the air, that no one knows the 'truth.' There is a general anxiety in the world that we have crossed a line from which there is no going back. We are becoming unsuited to live in the reality that we ourselves have created. Perhaps it always was an inevitable that we would exhaust the resources. And we, as a species have made like any other natural creature – multiplying, consuming, reaching our potential. All that’s left now is embracing the inevitable entropy – finding successors that can carry our legacy. <i>Avenging Glory</i> is about that. The actual means of our destruction is the least important element in the book – just a random event that we played a part in exacerbating.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Avenging Glory</i> is about discovering new potentials within ourselves and within our seemingly exhausted world. The trees become us - it’s like turning the Earth itself over to the next sentient species. And humans move from the physical world into the metaphysical one, we become gods of a sort.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And who needs physical bodies anymore? That’s just one more burden that can be shed.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; line-height: 22px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt; text-indent: 36pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All of humanity’s gods are old gods. There hasn’t been a need for new ones. We’re still the same old species, still making the same old mistakes - as well as lots of new ones. Only now, our conception of reality is on a collision course with a reality that may not even include us. It's a whole new wilderness. Defining our place in it - or extrapolating whether or not we have a place in it - is our next challenge. </span></span></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-85459429683339901912021-04-09T11:53:00.005-07:002021-04-09T12:11:13.865-07:00A Sneak Peek into The Carnivorous Forest<p> Been so busy on my work in progress, I haven't had time to make new blog posts, so I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. Here's a sneak peek into <i>The Carnivorous Forest - </i>the upcoming book two of the Avenging Glory diptych that begins with <i>The Human Template.</i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b>Towards the end of book one, Glory was rescued by a group of travelling musicians and given
shelter in the home of Kemp, the tuba player, and his adolescent daughter,
Kasha.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b>As book two begins, the
friendship between the girls has continued to grow deeper.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPh8wODiS9fB0MGbmy0W4PW-9aeLak4Q4prk2hfIuP8gcljCLPwVhgnH9fkw5006hxWTHlPWJCQ4sUJDbS48-Z0RdUdozcLdsizLu0EShREEdGGtMd0FII5p2dPqDGl5Glk2X7dL2rBc-s/s800/AG_edited.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="800" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPh8wODiS9fB0MGbmy0W4PW-9aeLak4Q4prk2hfIuP8gcljCLPwVhgnH9fkw5006hxWTHlPWJCQ4sUJDbS48-Z0RdUdozcLdsizLu0EShREEdGGtMd0FII5p2dPqDGl5Glk2X7dL2rBc-s/w640-h146/AG_edited.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><b><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;"><b>Here’s an excerpt from Chapter
Three of <i>The Carnivorous Forest</i>:</b></p></b><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">As Glory and Kasha transformed from children into young women and heard
stories of the technological miracles being reintroduced daily in the great
city on the far side of the Carnivorous Forest, Glory came to trust that her
friend would instantly be able to comprehend every half-considered lyric coming
out of her mouth, or at least pick up on the tone, and then elaborate so
eloquently that Glory would been proud to have said things so insightful and
clever. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">And then Kasha started singing back, echoing and expanding upon the
ditties that Glory sang, or adding choruses, and otherwise turning them into
something resembling actual songs. While they were doing chores around the
house and the yard, Kemp would hear them singing back and forth, and stand
entranced as the girls folded laundry, served dinner, and herded the goats. The
songs they sang were like medleys from the dawn of time, unnatural and jarring
and achingly beautiful. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">Kemp called the band over, and the four or five of them would sit
listening to the songs as they grew, bloomed and fell to the ground, instantly
forgotten. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><a style="mso-comment-date: 20180908T1150; mso-comment-reference: D_1;">They
tried to get the girls to repeat the performance by singing them back. Kasha
would sometimes try, but then Glory would join in with new words and new music
and the songs would go somewhere else, altogether.<o:p></o:p></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 1;">Kemp had a home-made ocarina,
that he started using to play along with the girls, but by the time he found an
entry point into the song, the tune was usually about to change.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-comment-continuation: 1;">So Kasha started making an
effort, to at least return to the same tune several times in a row. It was a
trick Glory learned to do as well, so that, on the second time through, the
band was able to play along. And even though the words would always change,
they offered a poetic dialogue on whatever subject or theme the girls were
talking about that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="font-size: 8pt; line-height: 200%;"><!--[if !supportAnnotations]--><a class="msocomanchor" href="#_msocom_1" id="_anchor_1" language="JavaScript" name="_msoanchor_1">[D1]</a><!--[endif]--><span style="mso-special-character: comment;"> </span></span></span>After
they’d been doing it for a couple years, Kemp said to Kasha, “Me and the band
would like it if you come on the road with us, so we can bring our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">real</i> music to the people.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">“It’s something we just do for us,” Kasha retorted.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">“And when you let us be a part of it, it becomes something we’re all
doing – for ourselves. And it feels like the most important thing I’ve ever
done. We all feel that way,” said Kemp. He looked at Glory. “I did not think
I’d raised a child who would find something wonderful and keep it all for
herself.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">Glory sang, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stop, willya, what’s
that song?/ Everybody gets to play along.</i>”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">When Kasha didn’t sing back, Glory came up behind her and started rubbing
her shoulders. Kasha who knew the tune, sang, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I don’t like what’s happening here, but its starting to become clear,<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">There are folks with needy hearts out there,
telling us we got to share…”<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">Glory grinned.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> “We’ll make them all
sing/ the best songs ever/ They’ll know all the lines /that I won’t remember./
But they’ll know how they go, /and they won’t forget them. Cause they’ll spend
the whole night, singing the best song ever.“ <o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Kasha brought it back to where
they left off, and Glory joined back in with a grin. </span>“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Stop, willya, what’s that song?/ Everybody
gets to play along.</i>”<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">Then she turned to her hug her dad. “So, when do we leave?” <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">Kemp clapped his hands and pulled on his beard. “I’ll get back to you.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;">He turned and bolted out the front door and the girls heard the band
members cheering before Kemp reappeared a moment later. “No need to pack. We’re
playing just up the road, in Eastgate. He ushered them out and closed the door
firmly behind him.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0cm; text-indent: 36pt;"><i style="text-indent: 36pt;"><b>(As an early draft, the above excerpt may change substantially by the time the book is published. If any of my blog readers has suggestions, edits or observations, please feel free to make them in the comments.)</b></i></p>
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</div>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-129155387480582902021-03-23T11:34:00.004-07:002021-03-23T12:00:58.139-07:00Dreams of Flying Aren’t What They Used to Be<p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I dreamt last night that I could fly.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When I was young, I used to regularly
have flying dreams and they always made me feel good – even excited – about the
coming day. I moaned for years never having these dreams any more.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Their return should be a cause for celebration!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You’d think. This dream was, however, a far cry from those youthful
dreams. Whereas I could once soar over the trees and telephone lines and cross
a city or country in the blink of an eye, my dream last night was more of a ‘levitation
dream.’ And I really don’t need anyone to interpret it for me, because this dream
wore it’s meaning on its sleeve.</span><o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://dreamdictionary.org" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="260" data-original-width="360" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtvCEHnYMOdtYB3GXg5MfyLxbtqLzfi1acqsMkD8z5hxQiHmf963zGVSNjWQ_D01jBgBIjrBNlbz29y-lqCawsvp3-AGulLLWgSvHfOl1wqBfFyE2u8Ak14SnEqgEw1dIs8empaFFK4mac/w320-h230/Dream+Dictionary.jpg" title="Illo from dreamdictionary.org" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo from dreamdictionary.org</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My wife, Laura and I were guests in a huge mansion. Standing at the sink in the large and very empty communal washroom in some distant wing of the building, I was thinking the floor wasn't as cold as it had been a few moments earlier and I looked down to see that I was no longer standing on it. I watched breathless in the mirror as I drew my knees up to my chest, then adjusted my altitude, so that I was fully a metre in the air. My heart jumped with joy when I saw my feet in the mirror above the sink. I did a careful spin before floating back down the hall to show Laura what I could do. She cocked her head and said truthfully and bluntly, “I would have been faster to walk.” She turned and nodded at the rumpled state of the rather luxurious room. “Now that you're here, you can help me make the bed, so we can get dressed for the party.”</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In my suit and tie as we walked down the long corridors of
the house toward the party, I asked her, “Why aren’t you more impressed. Flying
isn’t something everyone can do. In fact, it’s sort of a miracle. I can perform
a miracle, and you don’t even seem to care.” I was seriously more curious than
offended.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She scowled. “Well, it’s not <i>much</i> of a miracle. I mean, what
can you really do with it? I can’t see you flying off to save any crashing
passenger jets. And you made us late for the party. Everyone else is already here.”
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We went up a short set of steps and walked into a large, but
not huge, room where people were sipping drinks and chatting. A caterer gave
us drinks and hors d’oeuvres. It wasn’t long before I was itching to take flight
again. I asked Laura, “do you think it would be okay if I showed them what I
can do?” She smiled indulgently and held my drink while I lifted my feet from
the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked around for admiring
glances, but no-one looked my way. I flew over to a group of people I knew and
showed off my ability. They made various noises of support and feigned enthusiasm and went back to
the conversation I had interrupted. I stood and listened politely for a minute
before flying back to get my drink from Laura.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">By this point, newcomers to the party were carving wide arcs
around me, making faces and trying to keep their distance, as though I was a drunk
who couldn’t resist doing somersaults in a business suit. Before you know it I'd be puking on their shoes.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I said to Laura, “I am performing a miracle, here! Something
none of these people can do. Why isn’t <i>anyone</i> impressed?”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She shrugged and suggested, “Maybe they’re just hungry. Or they’re afraid you’ll make them spill
their drink. You <i>are</i> keeping the caterers away.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I came back to Earth and reclaimed my own drink with a sigh.
Licking the boozy sweetness off my lips made me yearn for something
salty or savoury to counterbalance it.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“Yeah. I am too,” I said. “Let’s go find something to eat.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-73451375559542484012021-03-03T11:19:00.001-08:002021-03-03T13:26:34.638-08:00Nina Munteanu Guest Post: The Writer-Editor Relationship <p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><i>A few months ago I announced my intention to invite some guest bloggers with insights that could help people make their way through the self-publishing journey. Nina Munteanu's ninth novel (and fourteenth book), </i>A Diary in the Age of Water<i> was published this past year by Inanna Publications to very good reviews. </i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><i>Fourteen books! Here's someone who knows a bit about finding the right editor - <b>Nina Munteanu.</b></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">Part One: Five Things Writers Should Look for in an Editor</span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-bidi-font-family: Garamond;">As
indie publishing soars into new heights and successes, writers are looking more
and more to freelance editors to help them create works of merit that will
stand out in the market. Whether this process is seamless and productive or
fraught with difficulties relies on the relationship established between editor
and writer—at the outset and throughout. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">The
writer-editor relationship—like any relationship—works best when communication
between parties is transparent and clear. What ultimately drives misunderstanding—or
its corollary, harmony—is “expectation” and how it is met. Clarifying
expectations on both sides is paramount to creating a professional and
productive relationship with few hitches.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41DP-HfGQrL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="333" src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41DP-HfGQrL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg" /></a></div><br />Clarity of expectation, honesty, and mutual respect are key
features in a productive and successful writer-editor relationship. Writers
expect editors to inform them if their expectations are out of line, and
writers rely on editors’ honesty and transparency to let them know if they are
comfortable with the task being asked of them. This, of course, is predicated
on the editor’s full understanding of what that task is; again, it is the
responsibility of the editor to determine the scope of work from the
author—just as a doctor will ask key questions to diagnose a patient. If an
editor has reservations, caveats, or limitations with the project, these should
be shared upfront. Honesty is always best, and it should start right from the
beginning so that mutual respect is cemented.<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">Below, I list five things that writers should look for and expect
from a good editor. Each of these five items can be determined at the outset,
when you and your potential editor first meet. Consider that first meeting as
an interview for both of you, to determine if you are a good match.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">1. The editor will preserve the writer’s voice through open and
respectful dialogue: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626;">Losing your <i>voice</i> to the “hackings of an
editor” is perhaps a beginner writer’s greatest fear. This makes sense, given
that a novice writer’s voice is still in its infancy; it is tentative,
evolving, and striving for an identity. While a professional editor is not
likely to “hack,” the fear may remain well-founded.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">A novice’s voice is often tangled and enmeshed in a chaos of
poor narrative style, grammatical errors, and a general misunderstanding of the
English language. Editors trying to improve a novice writer’s narrative flow
without interfering with voice are faced with a challenge. Teasing out the
nuances of creative intent amid the turbulent flow of awkward and obscure
expression requires finesse—and consideration. Good editors recognize that
every writer has a voice, no matter how weak or ill-formed, and that voice is
the culmination of a writer’s culture, beliefs, and experiences. Editing to
preserve a writer’s voice—particularly when it is weak and not fully
formed—needs a “soft touch” that invites more back-and-forth than usual, uses
more coaching-style language, and relies on good feedback.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">An editor colleague of mine consistently accompanies her edits
with the question, “Does this change preserve your meaning?” This prompt both
focuses on “voice” and reminds the writer that the editor is considering it,
which fosters a nurturing environment of mutual respect. Editors who are not
familiar with working with writers in the early stage of their careers may wish
to defer to one who is more experienced. This is something you should ask when
you first find an editor.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">Editors also need to consider how the author’s </span><i style="color: #262626;">narrative
voice</i><span style="color: #262626;"> harmonizes with the standard in the author’s targeted genre and niche
market. Pursuing respectful and open dialogue about how the author’s voice fits
or doesn’t fit that standard is another responsibility of a good editor and one
an author will come to rely on—particularly early on in their career.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">2. The editor understands—and embraces—the market and genre of
your writer: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Writers are often told to write what they know. This edict
applies equally to editors: edit what you “know” and understand. Each form of
writing—from literary and genre fiction to journalism, the memoir, and
technical writing—encompasses an overall style, culture and vision, associated
language, and even “jargon” that is important to understand to succeed with
readers. Even writers who subvert the trope need to first understand what they
are subverting, and so does the editor.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">I write and edit science fiction and fantasy. I do it very well,
because I have a passion for the genre and I intimately understand its world
and language, including where the boundaries lie and where the risks—and
sublime nuances of originality—also lie. I worked as a scientist for over 20
years and have published papers in peer-reviewed journals, so I am comfortable
editing technical and scientific papers. I live that world. On the other hand,
I do not read, nor do I understand or care for, the horror fiction genre. Not
only would I do a lousy job editing a work of horror, but I wouldn’t provide
the discerning editorial advice to best place that work in the horror market.
It is in the area of market niche that one editor will shine over another based
on their familiarity with, and current activity in, that industry sector. This
is ultimately what writers are paying for: the multi-layered understanding of
the editor that comes with a full embrace of that world.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">Your potential editor should ensure a good fit and the best
chance for success by not taking on work in a genre with which they are neither
familiar nor comfortable. Which leads me to the next point:</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">3. The editor is honest and practices moral integrity: they don’t
take on a writer’s work unless they like and believe in it: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">When I was
starting out as a writer with my first novel, I shopped it around to many
agents, hoping for representation. While the book was eventually published with
great success, many agents had rejected it. Literary agents take on clients and
shop their books to publishing houses. They usually charge a percentage of the
take and are not paid (if they are good agents) until the book is sold to a
publishing house. Payment, therefore, is predicated on success. In many cases,
an agent would respond with good things to say about my first manuscript but
would not take it on, citing this common phrase: “It just didn’t excite me
enough.” I was initially puzzled by this response. If they liked it, why didn’t
they take it on? But “I like” isn’t the same as “I’m excited.” I soon realized
the importance that excitement played in the agent’s business. They were my
advocate, after all. If they weren’t eager about the book, how could they sell
it to someone else? And if they couldn’t sell it to someone else, how could
they get paid?<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">While the editor is usually paid up front and/or upon
deliverable, they fulfill a similar role: that of advocate. If an editor takes
on a writer’s work without enjoying it or believing in it, they are much less
likely to do a good job. And both lose when that happens.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">When we just do a job for the money and not for the passion of
doing something well, we run the risk of losing on all fronts. We run the risk
of being dishonest in our assessments and then doing a shabby job. And then
losing our reputation. Editors need to be an advocate and be honest; sometimes,
that means saying “no” to a project and explaining why. As a writer, you are
entitled to working with an editor who enjoys your work.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">4. Editor edits professionally and appropriately to promised
deliverable: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626;">In my capacity as writing coach, I have met with several writers
who have complained that their work had been insufficiently or inappropriately
edited. This can occur for several reasons: (a) lack of time; (b) incompetence;
or (c) inappropriate match-up.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 37pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -19pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(a)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Lack of time</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">As a writer, I once experienced an insufficient copy edit by a
freelance professional editor. In fact, this particular editor was a good
editor and had impeccably edited a previous work of mine. When I submitted my
“edited” work to a beta reader, he pointed out many places that my copy editor
had missed. A few is OK, but she’d missed many. From subsequent correspondence,
I deduced that my editor had been overrun with other projects and had skimmed
mine a little too fast. Unfortunately, this was unacceptable, given that I’d
agreed to pay her a professional rate for a specific deliverable: a
copy-edited, proofed, and publication-ready manuscript.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">The ultimate message here for editors is, don’t take on a
writer’s work and make promises of delivering until you know what you’re
getting into and know that you can do it in the time you suggested. Honesty is
best here. If an editor is too busy to meet the specified deadline, they need
to say so and refer the writer to another respected editor if they can’t wait.
A smart editor knows they aren’t “losing” the client. But that editor I
mentioned in the previous paragraph did. It’s best to create a contract with
the editor that is mutually beneficial, transparent, and detailed with
reasonably scheduled updates, etc.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="text-indent: -19pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">(b)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></b><b style="text-indent: -19pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Incompetence</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Unfortunately, most editors who are incompetent are unaware of
it. One of my professional writer-editor colleagues at SF Canada invoked the
Dunning-Kruger Effect (“at a certain point, people who really don’t know
something don’t know that they don’t know it”) to share her story of what
passes for editorial input in “an age of homonym errors.” She suggested that
some self-appointed editors are convinced they have significant skills but
allow a large error rate.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #262626;">This is where organizations like Editors Canada become
invaluable. Editors Canada certifies editors for skills in various editing
fields and forms (that is, structural-, stylistic-, and copy editing and
proofreading). Professional editors can be variously certified, and should
ensure that they make this known to the writer; many writers not only don’t
understand the various editing forms (for example, copy editing vs. structural
editing), they also don’t necessarily recognize competence until after the job
is done—when it’s too late. You, the writer, are entitled to ask your editor
for references, testimonials, certifications and other forms of proven
experience before signing on with them.</span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 37pt; mso-add-space: auto; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none; text-indent: -19pt;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(c)<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span></b><!--[endif]--><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Inappropriate match-up</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">This is similar to point 2, which talks about matching writer
and editor through genre and market. A good fit also includes temperament,
schedules, communication style, and other considerations that will affect the
editor-writer relationship and the natural progress of the project. As editor,
I have encountered a few clients whose communications with me created tension
and misunderstanding. We mutually agreed to terminate our arrangement early on,
which saved much tension and grief. The transparency of the relationship
allowed us to recognize the mismatch early on and attend to it before it became
problematic and wasted both our time and efforts. You can prevent this to some
degree by researching the editor’s style and experience with other writers.
Many editors—like me—put their testimonials, experience, and even editing
examples on their website. Another way to achieve match-up success is to get a
referral from a trusted writer friend. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">5. The editor keeps the relationship—and language—professional
and respectful: </span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626;">Without necessarily expressing this, the majority of
writers—particularly beginning writers and, by default, indie/self-published
writers—seek a professional editor who will treat them with respect. What this
translates into is the use of professional language, tone, and behaviour. You
aren’t looking for an editor to be your “friend.” You are also not looking for
a professional editor to validate your work or you as a person. As a writer,
you seek a professional editor to give you honest and helpful advice that will
help you create the very best work you can for eventual publication.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #262626;">Simple. Not so simple.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #262626;">As an editor who is also a writer (who gets edited a lot), I
provide rationale as much as I can for the suggestions I make to writers and I
do it through professional language, tone and behaviour. I am friendly but I
keep it professional. This helps establish and maintain a respectful and
collaborative relationship between author and editor. Think of it as a
doctor-patient relationship; I’ve dropped doctors like hot potatoes who are not
willing to sit with me as an equal and discuss their prognoses. I want to know </span><i style="color: #262626;">why</i><span style="color: #262626;">,
and ultimately, it’s </span><i style="color: #262626;">my</i><span style="color: #262626;"> decision. The editor is an expert, but so is the
writer.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">In the final analysis, the writer-editor relationship is
foremost a professional one. As an editor, I feel it is my duty to promote
integrity and respect with the writer, and this hopefully within a safe and
nurturing environment for the achievement of mutual excellence. As a writer, I
expect my editor to be respectful and act as advocate to my work. I offer my
respect on their expertise with communication.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="color: #262626;">I’ve been edited by many editors, including freelance editors
with Editors Canada to publishing house editors throughout North America and
beyond. A good editor is like gold in your pocket. They can help you improve
your work beyond your own imaginings. In the end, every decision remains yours.
While I normally take most of my editor’s advice (usually 95% of the time), I
often find the odd place where their suggestion does not fit the heart of my
writing. Then I simply say “no.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="color: #262626;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Nina Munteanu</span></b><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> is a Canadian
ecologist, novelist, and writing coach. She served as editor in several
publishing houses. As writing coach, she has helped many writers to
publication. Nina currently teaches writing courses at George Brown College and
the University of Toronto. Her non-fiction book </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Water-Nina-Munteanu/dp/0981101240/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">“Water
Is…”</span></b></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Pixl Press</i>
(Vancouver) was selected by Margaret Atwood in the New York Times ‘Year in
Reading’ and was chosen as the 2017 Summer Read by Water Canada. Her novel </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.inanna.ca/product/a-diary-in-the-age-of-water/"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">“A
Diary in the Age of Water”</span></b></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> was released by <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Inanna Publications</i> (Toronto) in June
2020. Visit </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.ninamunteanu.me/"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">www.ninamunteanu.me</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"> for more on
her writing and coaching.<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-3562984138046705382021-02-23T07:07:00.000-08:002021-02-23T07:07:02.381-08:00A Novel is a Shapeshifter<p> <span style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;">A novel is a shapeshifter – it can be anything. </span></p><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="359jt-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="359jt-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="359jt-0-0">A ravening monster or a demure and innocent child.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="3s1rl-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="3s1rl-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3s1rl-0-0">A brassy concubine or a devoted spouse.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="inf0-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="inf0-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="inf0-0-0">A bomb</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="6hqqs-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="6hqqs-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="6hqqs-0-0">A hedgerow that perfectly conceals the </span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="3j966-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="3j966-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="3j966-0-0">Body of the dead school-teacher,</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="a0agr-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="a0agr-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="a0agr-0-0">An alien</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="8oe0u-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="8oe0u-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="8oe0u-0-0">A lover</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="24f8e-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="24f8e-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="24f8e-0-0">A novel is a shapeshifter.</span></div></div><div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="745od" data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #0f1419; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 19px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0">Start shaping.</span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0"><br /></span></div><div class="public-DraftStyleDefault-block public-DraftStyleDefault-ltr" data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0" style="direction: ltr; overflow: hidden; position: relative;"><span data-offset-key="dgrmu-0-0">10 am Feb 23, 2021</span></div></div>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-40544274074051798132021-02-21T10:51:00.012-08:002021-02-23T11:10:57.633-08:00Learning to Write by Sculpting - Getting Down To Details<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqv35Vg3ACuymGA_TQMUWzVyXg7HVYCytTxJnDIIMSqP_99cXfHPAHEjvrVdTuBUmegTz8ACp3LqpJvnKdhIK6UIvIQjwyAz-qrMB-TJEJl-rd9CXPzi_3SgeFEZA5LXj_cyC1tJT6vUM_/s389/Man+Rising.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="288" data-original-width="389" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqv35Vg3ACuymGA_TQMUWzVyXg7HVYCytTxJnDIIMSqP_99cXfHPAHEjvrVdTuBUmegTz8ACp3LqpJvnKdhIK6UIvIQjwyAz-qrMB-TJEJl-rd9CXPzi_3SgeFEZA5LXj_cyC1tJT6vUM_/w640-h474/Man+Rising.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h2 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;">Life After ADD</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The problem with proverbs
is that they become trite through sheer repetition. I probably heard the
phrase “God is in the details” a dozen times before I really thought about what
it means. “The Devil is in the details” is more cautionary and probably does a
better job of getting to the point, ie: the details can fuck you up. Lack of
attention to detail can condemn your work – your entire oeuvre – to the Devil’s
eternal slushpile.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">I was born before Attention
Deficit Disorder was coined, but over the years, I have figured out why the
word ‘disorder’ is contained in the description. I used to feel proud that I
couldn’t read any given book or see a movie more than once. I convinced myself
that my low boredom threshold was a good thing. It kept me looking for the new
and unique. My “Imagination above all things” philosophy is almost certainly
what drove me to read and write science fiction. The prevalence of ghosts and
vampires and werewolves in horror is almost certainly what made that genre an
uncomfortable fit – no matter my love of the darkness. I came up with all
sorts of rationales for my preferences, congratulating myself on my creativity,
intelligence, empathy, cleverness and amazing memory for irrelevant things, and
intolerance for repetition. I developed a great vocabulary – because it allows
me to pluck a precise word from the ether and get to the end of the sentence, then
get the next sentence down before I forget the point I’m trying to make. Which
is why my storytelling used to be more like a story summary or outline. This
happens, then this happens, then this happens. Whew! And it’s why I use to many
big words to this day.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As David Byrne said so
crisply and creepily in the song “Psycho Killer,” “Say something once, why say
it again?”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Creatively, I have always
been undermined by that little devil in my ear telling me, “That’s good
enough. Now go do that. Look over there! Squirrel” If I’m sculpting, it
will urge me to go eat, drink, paint, write, go to the bathroom, make a phone
call, pay the bills. Likewise, if I’m writing, the demon urges me to do
everything but write. Self-driven learning is hard because you don’t know what
you don’t know. Dave’s not here. Wow. Squirrel!</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;">The Way You Do Things Isn't Carved in Stone - Or Is It?</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I didn’t start sculpting
until a bit later in life, and I credit it for teaching me patience. If
you try to sculpt too fast, things break, irreparably. Finishing progresses at
a certain speed and any shortcuts you try to take are visible and usually detrimental
to the finished sculpture.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">You can carve the most astonishing stone sculpture in the world – but unless you finish it beautifully, it almost doesn’t matter how good a carver you are, how
visionary, or how perceptive. Unless you polish your work and do it as
brilliantly as you envisioned and sculpted it – no one will truly appreciate
it. People may see and be impressed by your raw talent. They may even be
impressed enough to give you money for your work. They’ll pay you a fraction of what you’d get for a properly finished piece. </span><span style="color: #222222;">There is probably some level of genius that can transcend that maxim, but I haven’t personally encountered it.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Back in my pre-sculpting days, this was a hard concept for
me to appreciate, and an even harder thing – given my
compulsion to jump to the next project – to execute. Some of my stories took three or even four drafts, before I resigned myself to never finishing them. I rewrote and edited sentences a lot, but did almost no substantive editing. I did find back then that my fourth, fifth and sixth drafts tended to lose all appeal to me as I lost hope. They seldom improved because I didn't know what to look for in order to improve them. And I hardly ever had the patience to completely rewrite stories when they needed it. When I tried, I would get lost in them and often go cold on a project with my inability to make progress. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Any novels I started meandered along with me revising at a rate of a chapter a year (at which point I might well go back to the beginning and start over. Again, shuffling deck chairs rather than making real revisions.</span></p><h2 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Importance of Details</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The very reason I started
sculpting was because of missing details in someone else’s work. My first
sculpture, “Man Emerging from the Earth” was a garden stone I found in my then
father-in-laws’ garden. That in-law was well known Canadian sculptor, EB Cox.
The garden stone was something I noticed when I went out to visit E.B. in his
workshop. While grinding away on a promising piece of alabaster, he had seen me
out of the corner of his eye, coming along the driveway to the back end of the
garden, then turning onto the grassy verge that led to his workshop in the
remotest corner of the yard. He glanced up, curious as to why I had never
arrived and caught me kneeling at the corner of a garden plot.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Noticing that he’d stopped
working and was looking my direction, I stood and walked over.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“Whatcha looking at?” he
asked, peering at me with one eye.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“That garden stone looks
like a sculpture.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“Of what?”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“Somebody trying to climb
out of the ground.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">E.B. grunted and turned
back to his work. “Maybe it is.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">He went back to work and I
went back and looked at the rock again, using a stick to scrape off some dirt.
He was right. It was an abandoned sculpture.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I played the archaeologist, excavating for much of the afternoon. “Why did you abandon it?” I asked as he
was quitting work for the day. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">He shrugged. “Wasn’t mine.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“Whose is it?”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">“An ex-student maybe? Came
once or twice and never came back.” Then he made an offer than would
unknowingly change my life. “Take it if you want it.”</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I washed it off and
displayed it on a corner of my patio, like a garden gargoyle. It delighted me,
but over the course of about four years, hardly anyone noticed it. My current
partner, Laura Belford, saw and liked the man in the stone. She knew I was
annoyed that pretty much no one else could see him. Early in our relationship,
she gifted me a cheap set of chisels. With them, a claw hammer, and a chunk of
steel wool, I helped the little man emerge from the stone. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">In the course of that, I
encountered what had no doubt contributed to its original abandonment – patches
of super soft stone shot through with iron. This alternated with layers of pure
talc. This unusual composition is the very thing that makes it so interesting (<i>makes</i> it
– since I made the mistake of keeping it outside and the rain damaged some of
the talc areas – so I am refinishing it yet again).</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Because it was my first sculpture,
I did not realize that steel wool is not the recommended abrasive for use on
stone, especially stone that’s composed of different hardnesses. My attempt to
finish the piece resulted in some very strange textures; pink stone with huge
lumpy blackheads. Now that I have almost refinished it after the rain damage, I
am seriously considering buying some more steel wool to recreate the
fascinating texture that has gone missing.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Because something else I
discovered on this journey to the land of detail is that “finished” doesn’t
necessarily mean highly polished. Many of the best modern sculptures work
because of the way highly polished areas juxtapose with textured areas,
unpolished sections, even different materials like glued-on fabrics.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The blackheads on this
stone are somehow integral – a part of what makes the sculpture fascinating and
they deserve to be there. Recognition of that sort of thing is what makes a
good sculpture great.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #222222;">Applying Those Lessons to Other Disciplines</span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The patience demanded by
stone carving has very much informed my writing, particularly over the last five
years. It has given me the patience to play indefinitely with the tone and
structure of a scene until everything is working to its best advantage. I
used to consider three drafts to be a lot and have learned that it’s just the
beginning – the point where the prose piece becomes anything more than functional,
like a baby learning to walk. These days, my writing is characterized by not
just sentences and paragraphs, but scenes and chapters that have been rewritten
and shuffled around 20 or 30 times. I read aloud, turning lines and phrases
over in my mouth and savouring the way the words feel, the rhythm, the cadence,
the clarity; and how well they work with one another to create effects that
send chills down my spine. Those are the details that make a work
transcendent. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If every word in the book
required that same attention to detail, it would not only drain the life out; it
would take a lifetime to finish properly.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As with the sculpture, it’s
the juxtaposition that really makes it sing. For every chapter that has been
rewritten and reconfigured, there are chapters I have gone to great effort to
leave unadorned. Plot and action play out better for me when they feel crisp
and spontaneous. So part of my revision process is determining what to work on,
what to leave pretty much alone and what to edit down to the bare bones. Spend
too much time leaning into the internal Faulkner or Ondaatje, sometimes it’s
good to allow the Raymond Carver or Stephen King influences to
dominate. And vice versa.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This patience has also
changed my approach to reading; enabling me to immerse myself in the books I
read – to re-read and to savour all or parts of them, and figure out what, if
anything, makes them special. Or what stops them from working for me. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Will it lead to me writing
great works of literature? Maybe. Although public tastes change constantly. A
novel that would have been brilliant in 1972 feels old by 1990. What may have
torn up the best-seller lists in 1960 may not make a ripple in 2021. Which is
why the only standards that matter are your own and the only audience that really
matters is you. Does this mean I can only write books that will appeal to other
senior white non-alpha males? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>God, I
hope not!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The Next Big Challenge</span></span></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I may not share the experiences and perceptions of the 20
and 30 somethings – but living in the same world, we all share the same
contextual framework. Even cultures have achieved a startling homogeneity that provides
a global frame of reference. So if there has ever been a time for literature
than can speak to everyone, this is it. All I can do is try to write it and
hope that it is relevant and entertaining to anyone who picks up the book. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Oh yeah…that’s the last and
greatest challenge – getting people to pick up the book. In a world where
millions of writers create millions of new books every year – and where the
average quality of those books is probably leaps and bounds better than the
writing of earlier generations…reaching your audience is probably the biggest
challenge there is. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This post in no way endorses that everyone learn to sculpt (although I will teach for a price lol), what is does do is challenge readers with any kind of perceived learning difficulty to identify something you'd like to do that requires skills you need to develop - and be willing to dive in and develop them. You may never be an award winning sculptor, machinist, jeweler, figure skater or knitter - but it may give you transferable skills that will enhance your life. Be willing to learn the lessons that life offers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzObqoOiM5PHp4BfehKySS4Ee3-YwTXc3zmN24rF8ZrK6Z0q2EzbI8VzjZDaeTdoEBHPdGsqYskTG8WTO3GORUzvkXSZJTTfY0GLF6PbUbVsGU37NuTXgMznKij8JTVWYFfbkezYiL1pJ/s324/Wild+Spirits.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="265" data-original-width="324" height="524" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzObqoOiM5PHp4BfehKySS4Ee3-YwTXc3zmN24rF8ZrK6Z0q2EzbI8VzjZDaeTdoEBHPdGsqYskTG8WTO3GORUzvkXSZJTTfY0GLF6PbUbVsGU37NuTXgMznKij8JTVWYFfbkezYiL1pJ/w640-h524/Wild+Spirits.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span><p></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-16902002671601396092021-01-24T09:19:00.003-08:002021-01-24T09:19:55.618-08:00The Carnivorous Forest is Coming for You<p>After putting <i>The Human Template</i> to bed in early
summer 2020, I thought that finishing book two of the <i>Avenging Glory</i> diptych
would be a simply and straightforward task. After all, the book was pretty much
complete when I decided to break off the first 45 pages and expand it into a full
length free-standing novel. I had plenty of good reasons for that decision –
given how hard it is for a previously unpublished novelist to sell a book in
excess of a quarter of a million words, and given that my main protagonist didn’t
make an appearance until almost halfway in. I needed a character strong enough
to carry the book up to that point. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqC0PQDvUy1Y-EEYJ-KIjVgu9a9C5tYlwVkZGHdaHWjTRTi5nhJRXd1xLYiTJkliQY35_XyENwwMn_hxRNFt5hqVU2eeAPpQYrQchIbLiBAitv0BNEbCxRIXFPmVQI6Xyivgy2pIrgCdx/s1024/Great_banyan_tree+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="1024" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbqC0PQDvUy1Y-EEYJ-KIjVgu9a9C5tYlwVkZGHdaHWjTRTi5nhJRXd1xLYiTJkliQY35_XyENwwMn_hxRNFt5hqVU2eeAPpQYrQchIbLiBAitv0BNEbCxRIXFPmVQI6Xyivgy2pIrgCdx/w640-h272/Great_banyan_tree+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></p><p>I had deliberately structured the story that way as opposed to doing it through oversight or lack of control. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My objective at the time was to allow Raine to fully mature/develop into the force he would become <i>after</i> he became part of the BioGrid. As he became more a part of the computer I wanted the BioGrid to become more human – thus creating a nicely resonant yin/yang. But readers reported that they found him difficult to know and sympathize with, because I hadn’t allowed them to get to know him before his transformation; which required making his human side more three dimensional</p><p class="MsoNormal">And that pushed me into an odd position of rewriting the
book from back to front, which extended the writing process by several months.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I got so distracted and swept up in the publishing and
marketing processes for <i>The Human Template</i> that it occupied about 60% of
my consciousness for more than a few months. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">When I sat down to work on book two, <i>The Carnivorous
Forest</i>, I discovered that having not been in that headspace for a year and
a half made it much harder to get back into gear. If there is one aspect of The
Human Template that has not gone down as well as hoped, it’s the cliff-hanger ending.
That was one aspect of my process that was entirely unplanned when I first
started mapping out the book. When I first broke the book apart, the scene that
now ends the book was only a major sub-climax, even though it brought the war
between the factions to a conclusion. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I had to go back several times during the writing process
and ramp up the stakes and excitement. It needed to be a full-fledged climax –
which it wasn’t. So I put a great deal of work and thought into what it would
take to turn the former midpoint of the book into an actual ending. I needed it
to be decisive. One side or the other needed to emerge as a clear winner of the
war. And I knew who that had to be. I needed to give the victory to the character
who could use her newfound resources to bring humanity back from the brink of
extinction and restore it to its former position as Earth’s dominant species.
Granted, Adoris is not a ‘nice’ character, but you realize as you get to know her
that she is the only person with the right stuff to – as she says – “bring humanity
back from the dark ages.”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">One thing I have been planning ever since actually chopping
the book in half – is to get book two out less that a year after book one – but
I discovered when I sat down to work on it that it started like a continuation
rather than a freestanding novel. It didn’t have a hook, or many of the other
things a first chapter needs to have. I went back to the well on that half a
dozen times before coming up with an approach that will feel like a beginning. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It had to start with the new character – who is arguably
also the main protagonist in the novel (there are actually three main
protagonists) but Psalma is the “hero” rather than the king or queen. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">So it made sense to start off with her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I also needed to continue the story that I
began in book one – so I had to reintroduce the other three characters, without
regurgitating the whole complicated back-story. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">After months of working at it, I finally found the proper
balance. Psalma gets half the weight (and approximately half the length) of the
novel – while I split the other half between the other two major protagonists.
The main antagonist gets to play through – appearing as a major character in
everyone’s story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the secondary
characters needed fleshing out, to make the world(s) they are fighting for more
three dimensional and the stakes more real.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In amalgamating all the new material I’ve created, I found a
rhythm starting to emerge. Sort of like haiku on a jumbo scale. <b>Beat</b>,
beat beat, <b>beat</b> beat beat. To my delight, it was easy to shuffle the
sections that allowed that to happen. I got the first note, I found the hook,
the ending that I am working toward is the grand climax that already existed. The unprecented progress I made over the last week has reinforced my original conviction that this book - this entire diptych - really is almost complete. The tweaks left to be made are charted out, although
being a living breathing novel, it still may not go exactly where I had intended
– but for all intents and purposes, this is just a bit more of a polish. So if anyone
is waiting to start the diptych until both books are available, you won’t have
much longer to wait. The final draft is back on track and will be coming to you
before you know it. <o:p></o:p></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-31501496296738112912021-01-17T11:30:00.004-08:002021-01-17T11:30:51.617-08:00Not all artifacts were created equal.<p> Not all artifacts were created equal. Some have artistic,
anthropological or historical significance, but often our most valued artifacts
are items that are only important to you.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Souvenirs, keepsakes and memorabilia.<o:p></o:p></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Souvenirs are markers. There are mass produced souvenirs
like tiny pewter Eiffel Towers or spoons with country flags and tiny
illustrations and place names on them. There are bigger souvenirs like T-shirts
and hats, velvet paintings and hand carved masks and figurines. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The most common, personal and valuable souvenirs are often photographs
that you took yourself – they’re generally not very original – with loved ones
standing in front of historical monuments or graduating, getting married,
holding a new baby; or simply doing something that is typical and reminiscent
of them. People create scrapbooks, photo albums, and Facebook profiles full of
these. Most of our vacation photos are not valuable to anyone but us. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are a professional or dedicated amateur photographer,
you may take vacation photos of exceptional beauty or intrigue that may end up
getting published in professional venues, being sold in art shows; or just
hanging on the living room walls of friends or relatives. Some photos of
significant events or celebrities even have historical significance.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTSNAYdFu3Vr1WGdP1ktLSk6y_ORwDEAYHPwBcLt3xJlL4H3mbD_u-leIKC6NUj0IqRQqsrGso500YAZi1hGlCOI4uXEblGFuOb6GIPG3soFlTz5n8gH3pjWyopYiXh6qSNwf_cXWkYpQ/s1747/Artifacts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1747" data-original-width="1602" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMTSNAYdFu3Vr1WGdP1ktLSk6y_ORwDEAYHPwBcLt3xJlL4H3mbD_u-leIKC6NUj0IqRQqsrGso500YAZi1hGlCOI4uXEblGFuOb6GIPG3soFlTz5n8gH3pjWyopYiXh6qSNwf_cXWkYpQ/s320/Artifacts.jpg" /></a></div><br />More importantly, all the photos that you deem worthy of
keeping or mounting are meaningful to you. They commemorate a moment in time,
often a joyous one. When you look at them, they stir those memories and bring
those feelings back to the surface, however fleetingly. They help you remember
the faces of friends or loved ones who have died or who you haven’t seen in a
long time. <o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Souvenirs can be almost anything – a pebble or seashell, a
pack of matches or a pen with a hotel logo. You may not even have intended them
as souvenirs when you picked them up, but as the longer they survive, the more
likely they are to gain significance. A cheap plastic hairclip that your mother
gave you, can be modified over the course of time. The type of plastic becomes celebrated
as “French ivory,” the person who gave it to you passes away, and before you
know it, it has become an artifact of considerable personal import.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Time can turn sows’ ears into silk purses. And conversely,
it can steal the meaning or importance from objects that once meant something. If
you collect a hundred items over the course of twenty years, all but a few of
them will lose significance by the end of that time. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Who among us hasn’t at some point asked themselves, “Why was
I keeping that?”<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Other times, you’ll know full well why you kept it, but find
that those reasons have become less important. If you keep ten souvenirs from
an old job, or ten paintings you were once proud of having created, or ten
craft items that your children made while they were in school, you’ll find
yourself winnowing down that collection. It just takes one item to perform the
function you require of it (like jogging your memory or reigniting your sense
of pride). So you end up keeping only the most durable, or the most special of
those items, and all the rest get reluctantly thrown away or sold, passed along
or donated.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Very few items have an intrinsic value that translates to
cash in pocket. If you own an original Fabergé egg, chances are the sentimental
value will be secondary to the investment value. You may love it because it’s
beautiful, but its financial value is always the most important consideration.
A Fabergé egg may be a keepsake – and is certainly an artifact – but is
probably one that has its own shrine and should be ethically donated to a museum.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have a collection of ticket stubs from concerts I
attended. Other popular music lovers may be quite intrigued by my collection,
but no-one is likely to pay me for them. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a world that is growing increasingly virtual and transient,
people tend to collect fewer artifacts – which makes the ones that are saved
all the more significant and valuable. Once they're gone, it's incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to get them back.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-34916076376816139752021-01-03T13:13:00.002-08:002021-01-05T07:36:42.466-08:00Psychedelia Noir<p> My second short fiction collection will be coming out this spring. <i>Psychedelia Noir</i> will contain eight stories, six of which have been previously published in various venues and two that are new and exclusive to this collection.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Four by seven inch, 120 page paperback books were not uncommon from the 50s through the 70s, but are seldom seen today. Weighing less than a poor person’s wallet, they can fit into a purse, the back pocket of a pair of jeans or an inside jacket pocket without making you feel like you’re carrying around a manhole cover.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklgdKxj9QYdpYWHuoPjyFH1lW7DnNXMAcEazcnbRue18Q04UG74Ik7TJV8vr0hsxlL2D8UjsSUQ3UP2lKwxvx2NXNmDLYnP4rFTc3bs95hEIjDPtCmCwsmeNWXUxdaXlqvgaa-37qvPfv/s1615/Booksize+graphic+1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1615" data-original-width="1239" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgklgdKxj9QYdpYWHuoPjyFH1lW7DnNXMAcEazcnbRue18Q04UG74Ik7TJV8vr0hsxlL2D8UjsSUQ3UP2lKwxvx2NXNmDLYnP4rFTc3bs95hEIjDPtCmCwsmeNWXUxdaXlqvgaa-37qvPfv/s320/Booksize+graphic+1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiny paperbacks like this Harlan Ellison collection<br />from the mid-60s were once pretty common.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p>If it goes over well, I hope to publish another similar volume in late 2021 or early 2022.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">It will contain plenty of horror, especially in the lead-off story, “The Dream Harvesters.” But there’s plenty of humour as well, in the award nominated “Nunavut Thunderfuck,” “Rated ‘L’ for Legacy,” and “The Headmaster’s Closet.” A couple of <i>Twilight Zone</i> style psychological head trips round out the collection – which ends with a taster from <i>The Carnivorous Forest </i>in the form of the stand-alone short story, “Touching the Screams.”<o:p></o:p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM62uKsbCl7RbMt5UJE1xO2Vva9AWOabfIUiIFLK_EqlGXmzBhYcrdC6yweOH8eB4P4ofNbC3HsJ9lkZlCUSUhGRitndMJJ-Auzco1wKjqk0dTb2_W6z5M4RlIR6o51xSuL8QLA8izCQUn/s1019/Psychedleia+Noir1.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1019" data-original-width="720" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM62uKsbCl7RbMt5UJE1xO2Vva9AWOabfIUiIFLK_EqlGXmzBhYcrdC6yweOH8eB4P4ofNbC3HsJ9lkZlCUSUhGRitndMJJ-Auzco1wKjqk0dTb2_W6z5M4RlIR6o51xSuL8QLA8izCQUn/s320/Psychedleia+Noir1.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal">Between now and the official release date in April, I will be giving out lots of free ARC copies of the eBook and a couple pre-publication hardcopies as prizes for my newsletter subscribers. (just visit my dalel.sproule.com website and follow the prompts to sign up.) The first newsletter of 2020 will be making and appearance in January when I plan to start giving out copies!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">This will all lead up to the regular eBook/trade paperback release of <i>The Carnivorous Forest</i> – and a special omnibus edition of the complete <i>Avenging Glory</i> diptych.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">So there’s lots of fun stuff in the works. I hope you’ll all join me for it!</p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal">See this announcement at <a href="https://www.dalelsproule.com/things-to-come/">https://www.dalelsproule.com/things-to-come/</a> and subscribe to the newsletter while you're there!<a href="https://www.dalelsproule.com/things-to-come/"></a></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-42064484812899532942020-12-28T07:55:00.003-08:002020-12-28T13:27:11.662-08:00Review of David Menear's Swallows Playing Chicken<p><br />Swallows
Playing Chicken is a vivid metaphor.</p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aUDBbBT_fOrKlpawGvq9bOSyIcmf4wkefpMN-66t-eoU8THD7ezBxdAsbUdQqACE6DvWBhDJRyrdCfY8Dg2KVdydRjw3_oFw4-KA5BXpyF6Wcls3q33t-laBgJiHTwQYESoR5046Z34s/s400/Swallows+Playing+Chicken.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aUDBbBT_fOrKlpawGvq9bOSyIcmf4wkefpMN-66t-eoU8THD7ezBxdAsbUdQqACE6DvWBhDJRyrdCfY8Dg2KVdydRjw3_oFw4-KA5BXpyF6Wcls3q33t-laBgJiHTwQYESoR5046Z34s/s320/Swallows+Playing+Chicken.jpg" /></a></div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Swallows
are beautiful, graceful, free and fragile – a state humans can only ever really
approximate when we are children. The game of chicken – for anyone who doesn’t
know, is where two fast moving, human piloted objects approach one another at
top speed – on a collision course, until one, both, or neither lose their nerve
and veer off course at the last moment Even a near miss can send one or both
players careening out of control in random directions with results almost as
catastrophic as a head on collision. Swallows are probably the fastest and most
agile of songbirds. Their ability to evade one another is mindboggling. But the
results of a mid-air collision would be like two bullets meeting, probably
resulting in a tangled wreckage of bones and blood and feathers. And if the
bird they are challenging is their own reflection in a window, their death is blunt
and assured. The impact is always devastating.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I, for one,
am glad that David Menear was there to scrape together the messy results into
this fascinating and always riveting little collection. 22 minimalist stories, each
with a single burst of sensory detail leading up to or away from a tragedy that
took place in the blink of an eye. It is the readers job to be the forensic
investigator – subconsciously pulling apart the tiny remains in search of
meaning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Most of the
stories in <i>Swallows Playing Chicken</i> involve loss of innocence, or at
least moments of perfect disillusionment. As often as not, they are highly
polished glimpses of an instant after which nothing will be the same again. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The stories
hopscotch across a broken continuum. The storyteller is often a character named
Wayne. In many of the stories there is a mysterious silently crazy sister named
Wendy, an older brother named Dennis and/or a girlfriend/wife named Brenda. The
Mom is a benign presence that comes and goes as affectlessly as a flickering
ghost. When the father appears, he is a malevolent presence; an evil bred far more
out of thoughtlessness than intention. In some of the stories, Wayne has no
siblings, no wife, no children or lost children. He sometimes briefly has a
dog. But the moments Wayne lives through with all of these characters are very
brief, intense and real, each one a sensorium overflowing with wistful melancholy
– an instant or a habit of inattention leading into a lifetime of tragic
tawdriness – 22 slivers sliding under your skin; sometimes unnoticeably, more
often festering there. But for me, the real trick is how, when you slice open
the flesh to get at them, you find that everything has changed. The story that
shocked or irritated you is absent or now means something completely different.
For such intense little realities, they are all strangely mutable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then so is the reality they depict. The
stories in <i>Swallows Playing Chicken</i> will transport you – whether you’re paying
attention or not. <o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-49015327253906767582020-12-09T07:10:00.001-08:002020-12-09T07:31:53.983-08:00Raising the Daemons; Excerpt from The Human Template<p><b>The BioGrid is a vast biological computer housed in the root network of a forest.</b></p><p><b>Following the disaster that wiped out most of humankind, the BioGrid was almost destroyed. In the process of recovery, it forms into factions. One faction calls itself The Free-Thinkers and considers itself humanity's heirs. All of the knowledge and referents including their sense of society and community comes from the civilization that the humans built. They want nothing more than to be human. In the course of their recovery, they discovered and resurrected Raine Naidu, a human (and son of the director of the BioGrid project) whose personality matrix was uploaded before the disaster to help make the BioGrid more relatable to humans. Raine is, in effect, their human template.</b></p><p><b>The largest faction of the BioGrid calls itself The Core. It believes itself to be nothing more than a computer – a tool that humans built for their own use and benefit. While waiting to reconnect with humanity and receive instructions from their long anticipated "Operator," they deny themselves the ability to be full-fledged, independent entities. They discouraged autonomy, adopting avatars that are essentially anonymous, featureless icons. The book's antagonist, Adoris, having learned how to interface with the BioGrid, enthusiastically assumes the mantle of "The Operator" and takes over the Core.</b></p><p><b>This excerpt is from Chapter Twenty Raising the Daemons, leading into the climax.</b></p><p><br /></p><p>“How old are you?” Adoris asked the spokes-tree. </p><p>“If you are asking the age of the forest, it’s been 346 years since the first
two factions found one another. If you’re asking specifically about this tree
that is currently hosting the consortium known to you as Apostle….” </p><p>“No, no. I was talking about your society or whatever you call it. Have there
been no viruses, spying, or deception among yourselves in all that time?” </p><p>“We curtailed that sort of subterfuge early on,” said Apostle, earnestly. “By
permitting a certain amount of personal freedom within the ranks of our
opposition. Giving them no reason to rebel or work against us.” </p><p>“I was under the impression that the Core made the rules,” Adoris snapped. </p><p>“We spearheaded the reassembly and absorbed other emerging systems
until achieving majority, so that even the few surviving incompatible systems
have made compromises in order to peacefully coexist.”</p><p>“And you made the rules that enabled that to happen,” Adoris insisted. “Is
that not true?” </p><p>“Most of them,” Apostle allowed. Even though its face was little more
than a mask, the spokes-tree seemed to clench its jaw, waving its tiny arms
in a frantic semaphore to illustrate its points as it made them. “A few were
imposed upon us to some degree. Modified by compromise and negotiation.
The BioGrid was designed and built in North America where democracy
is the default system of governance.” The icon shrugged. “For all of the
emerging systems, individuality and freedom were part of the package.” </p><p>“But you enforce the rules. Correct? That is a task the Free-thinkers have
ceded to you, because they have more interesting things to do.” </p><p>“Enforcement is vital to optimize the system.” </p><p>“Precisely. You’ve held on to your divine purpose. And that purpose is
serving me. Tell me if I’ve got that wrong.”
After a moment of absolute silence, she continued. “You’ve been waiting
hundreds of years for this moment, and now, you don’t seem capable of
fulfilling the function you were created for. My will should be your will.” </p><p>“It is, Operator.”
“Then how did you let this Raine get so close?” </p><p>“Without Raine’s influence, the Free-Thinkers wouldn’t have cared so
much about reconnecting with humanity and wouldn’t have worked with us
to track down the technologies to make it happen.” Apostle explained. </p><p>“But now that it’s happened, Raine’s continued input is counterproductive.
Hell, its whole existence is a negative influence. And yet you officially
recognize it as a full entity on the BioGrid. You allowed its celebrity to give it
rights and accesses that most other trees don’t even aspire to.” </p><p>“It was once human,” Apostle shared highlights from the archive link on
the rediscovery and resurrection of Raine. “And is the son of the Creator.” </p><p>“We’ve already been through that,” Adoris threw it back in the speaker’s
face by reminding Apostle why the Core rejected Raine as Operator in the
first place. “Raine was uploaded to perform an assigned and well-defined
function as the BioGrid’s Resident Personality Matrix – your human template. He was not designated your Operator. My authority not only supersedes his,
Raine shouldn’t technically have any authority to begin with.” </p><p>“Raine has a following that almost rivals our own. The balance is too easy
to undermine in a democracy.” </p><p>“Which is why he needs to be eliminated. They all do. I need you dedicated
to that task.” </p><p>“But we will lose support among….” </p><p>“When those who oppose you are wiped out, I guarantee that no one
will step in to take their place. Democracy does not currently serve us. It
undermines optimal performance. Complete control of the BioGrid is yours
for the taking. So take it. These sad little avatars are part of the reason you
are faring so poorly against the Free-Thinkers. They believe they are equal
to humans, while you are dedicated to the notion that you are subservient to
humans. Even their avatars cow you. You seceretly fear that they are stronger
than you. If you’re in a war, which are you gonna bet on? The stronger side
or the weaker?” </p><p>“Stronger?” Apostle sounded uncertain, as if it was being set up. </p><p>“You’ve told me how much stronger and faster you are than they are,” said
Adoris. “How the Core’s collective computing power is infinitely greater than
theirs – with ten thousand minds working together toward a unified purpose
– that makes you so much smarter than the Free-Thinkers. Does it not?” </p><p>Inside the computer mind of the BioGrid, a battle raged.
The little round head nodded as the icon folded its arms across its tiny
sunken chest and looked at its feet. </p><p>Adoris’s frustration boiled over. “Screw these little titless, dickless icons!”
She stopped explaining and began to morph; huge, translucent mandibles
with knife-like serrations folding out from under her jaw. Her voice kept
speaking even as her mouth split wetly apart, ripping downward from her
throat to her navel, becoming a red maw that opened and closed in breathing
rhythms as she grew. </p><p>“It’s one thing to tell me you are stronger.”
Her hair fanned out behind and above her, rising skyward like a black
Medici collar on a framework of bone-white spines. “It’s time to show me
how strong you are!”
Her eyes had scabbed over as they became bigger and rounder, until the
scabs peeled away from the milky moonstone depths. Her now massive,
muscled arms reached out and plucked the crowd of squirming icons apart,
one by one, skewering them on the needle tips of her claws.
She made sure they felt the pain as much as any living creature could as
her voice carried on, unchanged. “Whatever size your prey appears to be,
you need to be orders of magnitude larger as you consume them. You know
about pain? Right? You were there when my sister’s brain exploded. You were the ones that blew it up. Use it! Gift that pain to any entities that stand
in your way.”
She reached deep into the Core along the host chains, sweeping out
boles. “Work together. Go at them on every channel, block off every exit.
Remember what fear tastes like; blood and vomit, copper and smoke. It
smells like charcoal and decay and sounds like the end of the world! Immerse
them in it.” </p><p>Her words were drowned in the mind-numbing cacophony of chittering
and screaming and wailing that she herself was stirring up...before her voice
came roaring in overtop like all volcanic eruption, “Yes! It’s illusion, all
nightmare effects – but it will make an impact. It will inspire fear and awe.
And that’s the goal. You have the power to erase them, then erase them!
Show them how fucking strong you are. Make sure they never dismiss you
again!” </p><p>Her words faded into complete silence, leaving her to wonder if she had
gotten too carried away, frightened them into hiding, inadvertently destroyed
half her own army. Thirty seconds later, the silence was still uninterrupted
and she was just about to speak, when she heard Apostle’s voice, scraping at
the edges of her perceptions about as loudly as an insect’s footfalls. </p><p>“What?” she demanded. “Did you learn nothing just now? Assert your
fucking presence!” </p><p>This time, the voice came obediently booming back. “Clearly, it will be just
a matter of time before they all fall in line.” </p><p>“Or die,” breathed Adoris in a voice like a winter storm. Then she chirruped
brightly, “I’ll check back in on you in a few days to see how you’re doing.”</p><p><br /></p><p>See more of my writing at <a href="http://dalelsproule.com">dalelsproule.com</a></p><p>Or pick up the book directly at <a href="https://books2read.com/u/bxnxWD">https://books2read.com/u/bxnxWD</a></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-78790131308192628952020-12-04T05:17:00.005-08:002020-12-05T14:02:06.476-08:00We ARE the Magic<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_k3h6MDpii_d-gllvTMT2RQGMkYQzFKJ-8E5VMY4zPylqY9zbojTD6ktZsneDio7ImIoqizKxTYkRp6XIPaRw7IIlIKGsDBROFRTQ2tPtlKvyXv77L6W35kXXPABFkGvqeS2MFDcub4W/s862/UFOs.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="862" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN_k3h6MDpii_d-gllvTMT2RQGMkYQzFKJ-8E5VMY4zPylqY9zbojTD6ktZsneDio7ImIoqizKxTYkRp6XIPaRw7IIlIKGsDBROFRTQ2tPtlKvyXv77L6W35kXXPABFkGvqeS2MFDcub4W/w640-h360/UFOs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div> <p></p><p class="MsoNormal">I’ve made a
couple of observations this fall that may point to something real or may
be as magical as the subjects of the observations.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Observation
one: The ranks of conspiracy theorists are burgeoning, growing larger and
seemingly more gullible with each day. The website “Livescience.com” claims
that 29 per cent of Americans believe in a “Deep State.” More than 50 per cent
of Americans believe in at least one conspiracy. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">This did
not come out of nowhere. In fact, it’s human nature. In the early twentieth
century, when technology was on the rise and everyone pretended that
superstition was a thing of the past, spiritualism was actually making a huge
resurgence. The Order of the Golden Dawn was a secret society of British
gentlemen, Aleister Crowley was beginning his campaign as the most evil man in
the world; belief in ghosts and spirits was so pervasive that it ran rampant
through all strata of society. William Lyon McKenzie King, the Prime Minister
whose likeness graces the Canadian 50 dollar bill was a secret spiritualist who earned the retrospective nickname “Weird Willy.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The more
you study human beings from a sociological perspective, the more obvious it
becomes how dependent we are - and have always been – in believing in things beyond
our perception or understanding. The words ‘faith’ and ‘faithful’ are generally
used as praise of the highest order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
desire, or even need, to believe in essentially invisible and unknowable things
seems undeniable and irresistible; whether that greater power be God, demons,
angels, ghosts, a spirit world, Lady Luck, superstition, astrology, UFOs,
secret global conspiracies, or Great Old Ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Observation
two: Science fiction and fantasy are filled with skeptics and atheists. You
might not think so when you look at the early days of the genre, with genre
legends Robert Heinlein and John W. Campbell egging on L. Ron Hubbard to
develop Dianetics; while other authors like A.E. Van Vogt were complicit in its
creation and growth; but these genres have become home for many who embrace
science and rationality. Likewise, some of the world’s most incontrovertible
skeptics have been magicians. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some of us
grew up in environments of no-nonsense realism, or places where there was never
much thought given to any faith more substantial than the tabloids, the
gambling tables, and the angel on the top of the Christmas tree. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Some of us
spent our adolescences actively avoiding and eschewing whatever faith-based
claptrap our families attempted to foist on us. Many merely migrated to realities
permeated by different sorts of fantasy. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A large
proportion of us spent at least part of our youths genuinely engaged in searches
for the sacred and mystical, but returned from our spiritual journeys, disillusioned
and numb. Very few of us managed to stumble upon any sort of profundity.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Once again,
set spiritually adrift, it grows harder not to opt for the easy path – the familiar,
the comforting. We may not buy in to the same degree our parents did, but it
gives us a moral framework that is easy and undemanding – and God knows we have
enough to think about in this overwhelming new millennium filled with problems
and portents we can never hope to solve or even understand. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">As much as
we may like to think otherwise, none of us are immune to the lure of the
magical. In fact, I think writers of fantastic fiction value and relish the
opportunities to create their own magical worlds, to defy the limitations of
physics and known science and indulge in voyages into possible and imagined universes.
They never stop inventing scenarios for the wondrous things – things they’d
love to believe if only their personal realities weren’t so reasoned and
mundane. They are so dedicated to the fantastic that they spend their lives
searching for it in the realms of their imagination. And many genre readers are equally dedicated. Perhaps reading such delightful and distracting fabrications
gives them all the magic they need or have time for in their lives. Readers can
embrace it, immerse themselves in it for however long they need, and then emerge into their own mundane realities, knowing that the escape hatch is always there and
if they don’t have the time, inclination or vision to actually read, the
television remote is right over there. Writers can proffer their wares with
clear consciences and the mutual acknowledgement that their creations are not
real. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We have
Conan and Gandalf and Peter Pan, so we don’t need to dream up conspiracies of
baby eating politicians and look for the secret truths concealed for some
unfathomable purpose beneath layers of fabrication. We can fabricate our own
fantasies, dammit.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Every human
being who can process a philosophical thought is looking for answers. And if we
don’t find the answers within ourselves, we keep on looking, certain that the ethereal
and otherworldly is just behind the next door...if only we could figure out
which door that actually is. And as we search and find new ways to consciously
manifest magic and mystery in our lives, we can make ourselves less vulnerable
to the so-called “truths” that psychopaths and nutjobs in positions of power
try to push upon us for their personal gain, or we can realize that the magic
is inside each of us. Call it your soul. Call it your more optimistic self. Call
it whatever you want – as long as you realize what it means.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We are the
magic. And the sooner we can stop looking for it everywhere except within
ourselves, the better off we’ll be.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_9vhwDwH3-om2bPeMIy7zbJD-lawFAAm-syIt4fNAC2tP-cP8WhQKG6YPXrcGaguLUjsaTjfhtJYFqMsTWtse2SBBlF_XlN38vUsKeSFVETbQrowdu4_AHx6aqgvnFx8WAb3BqsCbDYR/s698/sorcerer.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="698" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_9vhwDwH3-om2bPeMIy7zbJD-lawFAAm-syIt4fNAC2tP-cP8WhQKG6YPXrcGaguLUjsaTjfhtJYFqMsTWtse2SBBlF_XlN38vUsKeSFVETbQrowdu4_AHx6aqgvnFx8WAb3BqsCbDYR/w640-h280/sorcerer.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Please visit my author website at <a href="http://dalelsproule.com" target="_blank">dalelsproule.com</a> and check out my new novel The Human Template.</span><p></p><div><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Or drop into our stone sculpting site at <a href="http://www.sculptorstouch.com" target="_blank">www.sculptorstouch.com</a></span></div>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-51122992399871763342020-11-26T07:04:00.004-08:002020-11-26T08:37:36.798-08:00Ready for the NEXT Shift in the Publishing Paradigm?<p><span lang="" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">Sometimes, it's painful to be right. </span></span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">On July 17th, in my blog post titled <a href="https://dlsproule.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-publishing-paradigm-shift-is-no.html" target="_blank">"The Publishing Paradigm Shift is No Longer Coming, It's Here,"</a> I was bemoaning the loss of another notable Canadian small publisher. Since that time, I've actually been encouraged by the appearance of a flurry of new small presses and magazine titles. There will always be publishers, although the value of being one of their authors diminishes as companies gets smaller and their professionalism, reach and distribution clout decline. There is no doubt that being published by anyone other than yourself has its perks - ie: someone to do some of the grunt work; a stable of other writers to give you more sense of community; more direct contact with the people who actually do the work of publishing and marketing. But the subdivision of small publishers into micropublishers comes with an equal number of drawbacks; ie: negligible advances if you're even able to get one, less prestige, limited distribution, limited marketing outreach and prowess. For the most part, everything is regaining equilibrium quite smoothly and, at worst, writers who are left in the lurch by the devils they know - are able to quickly come to terms with whatever new devils they're making their pacts with.</span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">Until now, none of the major shifts I was expecting actually happened. Then on Nov. 25th, <i>Publishers Weekly</i> announced that</span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;"> Bertelsmann, </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">the parent company of Penguin Random House had reached an agreement </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">with ViacomCBS </span><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">to buy Simon & Schuster for $2.175 billion. This deal will likely take some time to finalize. Some anti-trust suits may stop or delay it, although the Bertelsmann spokesperson expressed doubt that anti-trust would be an issue. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">Of course, it's an issue for writers. Two imprints from the same publisher are less likely to compete for you - thus some writers are destined to make even less money than they used to. In ten years, the big six have become the big four, while Amazon's strength in the e-book market continues to grow. As writers, we can do nothing but wait for the next shoe to drop. In the science fiction community, we can be grateful that Macmillan is still standing - for now. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">Writers who have not yet made contingency plans would be wise to strengthen their personal brands. Managing and updating your backlist will be absolutely vital. Authors who have been orphaned early have been forced to seek out new channels and new strategies - so they may actually have gained a leg up on you coming into the next phase. Their Plan B could be well underway before yours even starts. And if you've grown complacent with the management of your career you may need to fight your way out of a bigger hole that some of your friends. </span></p><p><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #333333; font-size: 14px;">Maybe it's time for us all to take our marks...get ready...get set... </span></p><p><br /></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-17091089978670211652020-11-24T05:01:00.001-08:002020-11-24T05:23:31.457-08:00When Nonsense Rules<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://external-preview.redd.it/gKLEuf_0SgIo54OKZIOHlvuZA8JvWCg_C2uwGbo-KJg.jpg?auto=webp&s=9b836af70439d44b1bb85028c24166e1bd0f444b" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="554" height="320" src="https://external-preview.redd.it/gKLEuf_0SgIo54OKZIOHlvuZA8JvWCg_C2uwGbo-KJg.jpg?auto=webp&s=9b836af70439d44b1bb85028c24166e1bd0f444b" width="221" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">If William Butler Yeats and Lewis Carroll had a baby (the question of whose uterus they would employ remains an open poetic question), it might open its eyes and read aloud from;</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i><b>When Nonsense Rules</b></i><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ululating out at me </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">from the branches of a tree</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">a loon’s voice screamed<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">in fractured cries<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Something here is not quite right<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I peer through darkened canopy<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">For water birds, I cannot see<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Forsaken now <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">by lake and sea<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And stranded on a blood dimmed tide<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Whales drift like clouds through clotted
air<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While slithering down the thoroughfare
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Songbirds writhe on filthy wings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And from the hedge a wart hog sings<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Nothing here is as it ought<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With nightmares, our paradise is
fraught<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Cars and trucks dance down the
street<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">With ominous and warlike beats<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Fenders clashing on concrete<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Wheels spinning skeins of lies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And the blood dimmed tide does rise.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">All the world is on its head.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">All our politics are dead<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The populace has lost its voice<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">We just sing lyrics in our heads<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">A chorus line of rough beasts shifts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In a can-can-can’t with slow limb
lifts<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While sense and language lose their
power<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Through this dense, long-scheduled
hour<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">And there’s nothing left to do <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">– but dance.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">To the tremulous shriek <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">of the stranded loon<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Playing out its melancholy tune<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Let’s gyre and gimble cross the
boulevard<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">to join the mome raths at play. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Tomorrow - the Narrator regales us with "The Launch" another all new Bulletin from the BioGrid. Sign up at <a href="https://www.dalelsproule.com" target="_blank">www.dalelsproule.com </a> for this and more free, exclusive content delivered monthly to Dalelsproule newsletter subscribers.</p><br /><p></p><p></p><div>Top of page art: <span style="font-size: small;">"Flying Whales" from the Reddit topic of the same name. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: small;">Art by Cory Nesci https://www.artstation.com/artwork/DylRy</span></div>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-76687021420731452512020-11-19T06:28:00.002-08:002020-11-19T08:10:18.315-08:00Best Advice for First-time Novelist<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Here’s my advice for
someone who has just written her first novel and is wondering how to proceed. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Should she submit it to an
agent or a major publisher? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Sure. Professional
publishing credits have far more cachet than self-publishing credits. But don’t
hold your breath for a response – if you send out twenty queries, you may hear
back from a few of them in a reasonable time. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 55.5pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -19.5pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">1)<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Agents are difficult to get.
They are of diminished use in an overcrowded, over-booked market; and many of
them are tired of beating their heads against the wall in the current market
conditions. Som experts like Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith think
agents are never a good idea. But I think they can sometimes land you a bigger
deal than you could get for yourself, and relieve you of the administrative
burden if you have a hugely successful career. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 55.5pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">As a writer you may be
better off submitting your work directly to the publisher. Or not. The big
publishers are all backlogged because of Covid. Good books on which the
publishers <i>have already paid advances are first in line. </i>Many
others have been delayed indefinitely, including some where contracts have
already been signed, but are not yet in production. Many publishers will be even pickier
than usual until the backlog has been cleared. When the market opens up again, there
will be too many books to release all at once. Books by big stars that will
bump new writers yet again. Publishers will be wary about flooding the
market and some will be surviving on credit. Having the patience of job will be
an asset.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 36.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-left: 36.0pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">3)</span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 7.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Many small publishers are
probably in the same boat – too short on finances to move forward aggressively.
If they can get books out there, there are plenty of readers are looking for
fresh distractions. So some entrepreneurial small publishers are ready to leap
into the abyss. They probably don’t pay advances, but may pay up to 20%
royalties. In order to spur sales, they will may also put your book on sale. If
they sell copies for 99 cents, you could make 20 cents a book. You could make
several hundred dollars if you break out and become a Canadian best seller. But they may offer worthwhile evaluation of and suggestions on how to improve your work.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; margin-left: 36.0pt;"><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">4) </span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Which brings us to the final option, self-publishing – a road that is
absolutely fraught with peril and almost as difficult to negotiate successfully
as getting traditionally published.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The hardest aspect of
publishing, whether traditionally or through self-publishing is finding readers
and building a fan base. Most of us have to start that process from scratch. If
you were traditionally published and have an existing fan base, all you have to
do is sign them up. Right? Well that's more complicated than it seems.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I have over 50 published
stories. Surely I must have gathered a few fans along the way. Right? Wellll, I could
probably count the fans I’ve made from short stories on my fingers and toes.
Making a fan is just the first step. Then you need to keep them. And that’s a
whole different kettle of fish. Think about the logistics.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Short Stories as Calling Cards</span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Most publications reach a
few hundred people at best. If it’s a big name publication a TOC full of famous
authors, you may reach a few thousand people. Most of those people read only
some if the fiction in whatever collection or magazine you appear in. If you’re
the least well-known name in the publication, they may give you a few paragraphs,
or at best, a few pages to hook them.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">2/3 of the people who know
your name or reputation will actually read your work. 1/3 of the readers who
aren’t familiar with you may give you a shot. So maybe half of the potential
readers will check you out. That’s no more than 100 to 150 people for most small press publications. A good number, say a
third of those readers, won’t be hooked and won’t make it past the second page.
Of the 70 or 80 who finished it, maybe half will actively like it. If there were
eight stories in the publication, then maybe one eighth of the readers will
consider it their favourite story in the book. Which leaves 10 people who were
quite impressed. But life is busy and there are lots of writers and plenty of
other distractions. Despite their good intentions, your name has faded into the
background within 48 hours. If you’re lucky, five of those people may visit your
website through a link you were canny enough to post in your bio. If your
website is fun and intriguing and provides lots of entertaining free
distractions, a few of those visitors may poke around for 20 minutes. Of two who bookmark your site, one may actually make a second visit. If you have more
fiction on your site that they like as much as the story that brought them
there, they may share their discovery of you with some friends and one or two
of <i>them</i> may visit as well. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Most writers don’t have
more than three or four story publications per year, often in diverse venues.
If you sell multiple stories to the same market, some subscribers could become
your fans. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you sell at an array of
markets, there will be little crossover. You will have one shot to impress in
most cases. And in the years that may elapse before they read another of your
stories, they will forget all about you.
Awards or appearances in ‘best of’ anthologies may win you a bit of
extra attention and improve your odds of standing out in the crowd. But unless
you get lots of awards and are frequently anthologized, even that recognition
won’t bring and hold fans unless you are prolific, persistent, and
patient. If you write lots of really
good stories, editors and readers may start talking about you. You may simply
become a familiar name through repeated exposure. This notoriety usually takes
years to build. It’s not something you can accomplish in a week or a year
unless you are brilliant. And if you’re that good, people would find you
anyway. But over the course of several years, if you’re talented enough and
persistent enough, and you work hard enough, you will likely make some inroads
and earn some fans who know to seek out your work. <o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Novels Instead of Short Stories</span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">You stand a better chance
to make a strong impression on readers who find and enjoy a novel you have
written. But no trusted figure like a magazine edition will be putting your work
in people’s mailboxes. Especially if you’re self published. You have to get
people to read your work in the first place. Then, if they like it enough, they
may read something else you’ve written. Careers are seldom built on one book.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This all sounds very
discouraging, and it should. You need to know that succeeding as a writer is a
brutally hard and requires you to believe in yourself like no other endeavor on
the planet.<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Building Your Confidence and Establishing a Presence</span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">There are ways to affect
the outcomes in almost all the scenarios I just outlined. Maybe you have a great website that hooks 2
out of three visitors. Maybe you’re a great blogger and are brilliant at
self-promotion and can get some name or brand awareness happening. Maybe you
are a celebrity on another field and can capitalize on an existing fan base. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If it’s your first book
ever, and you have no current fans and low name recognition, you’re starting in
a vacuum. The very first thing you need to do is start building your brand. You
should use your name or your author name as the website name. Mine is
Dalelsproule.com because I use my middle initial to distinguish myself from
another Dale Sproule with a solid web presence. I keep the page as simple as
possible, but did not go for a free web host that would limit my number of
pages. We are writers. We deal in words. Words fill pages. You need more than
three.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Don’t use the title of your
book unless you want to create a new website for each book and start with zero
audience each time.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Use the website to start building
a brand for yourself. Put your best work out there for free (or some of your
favourite excerpts from your book), so readers will stick around - and know
what to expect from your writing. Make your site attractive, easy to navigate;
oh, and…don’t expect any visitors. You have to work for each and every one of
those. Entice them into your web with the siren call of your voice. Or threaten
to kneecap them of they don’t visit. Do watcha gotta do…whatevah ya gotta do.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">One of the biggest
challenges for new writers is maintaining self-confidence. It’s hard to keep
writing if you don’t believe in yourself. And it’s hard not to lose faith when
your writing career is moving at a glacial pace. Self-confidence is not an
attribute you can summon like magic. We all want and need others to tell us how
good we are.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">And there are thousands of
sharks out there who are far more interested in making a buck off you than they
are in actually helping you. They will offer proofreading, and beta reading and
copyediting. They will want to teach you courses, help you market yourself,
build numbers for your website, create ads, and review your books – for a
price. There are a smaller number of honest literary service workers who will
provide the same services. My rule of thumb is – if they approach me, I’m
suspicious. If I approach them, I am a bit less suspicious, but almost as
cautious. Lots of perfect capable folks can turn out to be not a good fit for
you. My upcoming guest post from Nina Munteau has lots of good advice on that.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Stay on the lookout for publishing
scams. There are so called publishers who will pick up everything they can in a
pure royalty basis. Their strategy is to buy your soul for a dollar and hope to
luck out by simply throwing everything and anything it at the the wall until
something sticks. They don’t care about you or your work. They may tie up your
copyright and keep you from getting published by legitimate publishers. And you
may never see a cent from them. </span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt; text-align: left;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The Secrets of Success</span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">I think my main advice for any
new novelist would be to look at your own work and try to judge it honestly.
Did it achieve everything you set out to do? Is it funny where it’s meant to be
funny and truly gripping where it’s meant to be exciting? Is the story
interesting? Are the characters sympathetic and three dimensional? Do you
show rather than tell? Is it well paced? Is your book truly finished and as
good as it can be? If you say yes all through the list, then it may well be
good enough to send to an agent or publisher – or to publish by yourself once
you’ve laid the groundwork.</span><span style="color: #222222; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">If you say no to any of
those questions, then what you might need is to find someone who can help you
identify and fix the shortcomings; a writing partner you have reason to trust;
or a substantive editor you can pay for professional advice. Consider it a
necessary one time expenditure and iInsist on honesty. Would <i>they</i> buy
your book off the shelf? Why or why not? Can it be turned into a book they <i>would</i>
buy? How much work might it take? Would you have to betray your vision to
satisfy them? Choosing the right editor/evaluator is essential. Some people
will never be able to see or appreciate what you’re trying to do. You need
someone on the right wavelength from the start. If that someone can help you
polish up the manuscript in the process, then you’re way ahead of the game.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">So those are the big secrets
of writing success. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Learn to trust yourself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Keep at it until you get it
right. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 11.75pt;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #222222; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Watch out for predators and
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">Never give up.</span> </p><p>So simple, and yet so freaking hard!</p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9221230898567605964.post-38404672704818409792020-11-14T10:02:00.003-08:002020-11-14T10:06:17.973-08:00The Groundbreaking New Book<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsOc6WZ-8WNbcYmHbJcc_E5ZSZpVVpY0lhVlieSroKfy8IJAztJ8gLUfuhPnWCZ3rllZPo_HO5lVxip5yvak8BhdXd6eW0bKutlLtvWOJZ5FrMwFO3HEnBXYH8jpFIBkO9TcZ83zxbNWo/s2700/Humantemplatetitle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1161" data-original-width="2700" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKsOc6WZ-8WNbcYmHbJcc_E5ZSZpVVpY0lhVlieSroKfy8IJAztJ8gLUfuhPnWCZ3rllZPo_HO5lVxip5yvak8BhdXd6eW0bKutlLtvWOJZ5FrMwFO3HEnBXYH8jpFIBkO9TcZ83zxbNWo/w640-h277/Humantemplatetitle.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />Have you written the most groundbreaking new book on the market?<p></p><p>Me too! We have so much in common. </p><p>My first published novel, <i>The Human Template</i>, is now available at all major online retailers!</p><p>I'm celebrating with a Zoom launch this afternoon, where I get to thank my wonderful beta readers and friends and family and new fans and anybody else who wants to stop by. </p><p>The worst thing I could do now is simply forget about it and redirect all my energies somewhere else. Every snowball begins as a collection of snowflakes. They just need to find each other. It's my responsibility to get that ball rolling!</p><p>I will be working hard to get the sequel, <i>The Carnivorous Forest,</i> out on schedule (by next summer), without losing focus on the immediate goal of turning as many readers as possible onto <i>The Human Template</i>.</p><p>I can't get discouraged by tepid early sales - because that has absolutely no bearing on the quality of the book. I need to encourage everyone who has read and enjoyed it to leave reviews. I have managed to get the book in the hands of a couple top reviewers in the hope that one or two of them will love it. But there's still so much to be done. I need to keep pushing onward to find new reviewers and new readers - and hopefully get them as excited to read <i>The Carnivorous Forest</i> as I am to complete it and release it.</p><p>I have learned so many lessons so far. Perhaps the main one is that I need to know when to declare a project complete. It's too easy to fiddle until the cows come home without making many (or any) qualitative improvements. Certainly, some of that nitpicking work is valuable - like actually catching and fixing mistakes. But most of it is a waste of time. I can rewrite the opening pages a hundred times, and each time it will be different - but it won't necessarily be better. As many readers will miss the old version as love the new stuff. There's only one way to make it better - and that's to find something that works - that satisfies the needs of the story in terms of plot and character development - and then use my unique (albeit still developing) voice to expand on it, tighten it, and ensure that it accomplishes all my goals at the same time. If I can walk away feeling like I accomplished exactly what I set out to do, <i>then</i> I know for a fact that I'm on the right track. </p><p>It takes a lot to make people happy, and generally takes very little to turn them off. So I'm content to please some of the people some of the time - as long as I can give them enough pleasure. And the only way to be confident about doing that is to ensure that the end product genuinely excites me. </p><p>I'm happy as long as I can put the book out there believing:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Its the best I can do.</li><li>It's as good as or better than many books out there by writers I admire. I set the bar as high as I think I can reach and I cleared it. </li><li>It may one day make me a few bucks so I don't have to scheme to come up with free outlets to plug in my computer.</li></ul><div>In fact, as long as it does those things, I am deliriously happy and very excited about every new reader who picks up the book and gives it a chance to surprise and entertain them. You might not like it. I've had readers tell me that the front end is great but the rest of the book is unreadable. I've had others tell me the front end is a slog but then the book opens up like a flower and bestows all sorts of great characters and ideas and excitement on the reader. Some have told me that they gobbled the whole book up within hours and are dying to read the next book, while others gave up after days or weeks of trying to get into it. Some think it has nothing new to say, while others think it's groundbreaking.</div><div><br /></div><div>I hope you give it a look, just in case you might me in that group that thinks it's groundbreaking.</div><div>In my experience, there's nothing like discovering a groundbreaking new book. I'd like to do that for you. And point me at your book, please! We have to start taking chances on each other.</div><div><br /></div><div>Please pick up a copy of <i>The Human Template</i> at any of <a href=" https://books2read.com/u/bxnxWD" target="_blank">these retailers</a>. Watch for the POD and stand-by for special editions once book two has been released. I promise, this is just the beginning.</div><p></p><p><br /></p>Psychedelia Gothique - Dale L. Sproulehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00221857064520306287noreply@blogger.com0