tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40534308076708222292024-03-13T12:34:44.843-07:00noise and signalToo much noise? Maybe it's too much signal.Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.comBlogger166125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-32363630783386621982020-03-17T17:42:00.001-07:002020-03-17T17:43:11.499-07:00The R⌀ and Why it Matters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NXk32Hj1iuQ/XnFt-r7Qg2I/AAAAAAAAGiQ/LSKzn9YNTHAOBD_8R-WaQKC7E-3mHI5ogCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/2020-03-15%2B10.56.14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NXk32Hj1iuQ/XnFt-r7Qg2I/AAAAAAAAGiQ/LSKzn9YNTHAOBD_8R-WaQKC7E-3mHI5ogCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/2020-03-15%2B10.56.14.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
What is the <b>coronavirus R0</b>? And how does it help guide as as to what happens next, and where the pandemic is going? On your block, neighborhood, city--and world?<br />
<br />
Simply put, R0 is how many people one infected person can infect <i>on average</i>.<br />
<br />
But it is a changing and context-dependent number, not a constant.<br />
<br />
It's important to understand what it is, and what it is not.<br />
<br />
The following is from <a href="http://emcrit.org/">emcrit.org</a>, bringing "the best evidence-based information from the fields of critical care, resuscitation, and trauma and translate it for bedside use in the Emergency Department (ED) and the Intensive Care Unit (ICU)", dated 3/2/20:<br />
<br />
"R⌀ is the average number of people that an infected person transmits the virus to.<br />
<br />
"If R⌀ is <1, the epidemic will burn out.<br />
<br />
"If R⌀ = 1, then epidemic will continue at a steady pace.<br />
<br />
"If R⌀ >1, the epidemic will increase exponentially."<br />
<br />
It took me a while to really get it, so give yourself another read to digest this.<br />
<br />
And what's the number? As of this month, "<b>current estimates put R⌀ at ~2.5-2.9</b> (Peng PWH et al, 2/28)."<br />
<br />
That means that every person who is infected will infect, on average, 2.5 to 3 more people. That means that the epidemic will increase exponentially.<br />
<br />
Remember, it's not a constant. "R⌀ is a reflection of both the virus and also human behavior. Interventions such as social distancing and improved hygiene will decrease R⌀."<br />
<br />
Here's what we know: "Control of spread of COVID-19 in China proves that R⌀ is a modifiable number that can be reduced by effective public health interventions."<br />
<br />
So R0 changes over time. R0 changes with circumstances. R0 changes with human behavior.<br />
<br />
You can influence it. Each and every one of us can.<br />
<br />
Here's an example of influence:<br />
<br />
"<b>The R⌀ on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship was 15</b> – illustrating that cramped quarters with inadequate hygiene will increase R⌀ (Rocklov 2/28)."<br />
<br />
<i>Fifteen</i>.<br />
<br />
This means that for each person who was infected in that closed environment, <b>fifteen other people got sick</b>. Makes sense, though: cramped quarters, inadequate hygiene, and people who are already infected. High transmission context.<br />
<br />
So the goal is to do the opposite, and that's what all the advice is about, how to lower R0. How?<br />
<br />
Social distancing, good hand-washing, disinfectants for inanimate objects like plastic, steel and glass. Staying home when you're sick.<br />
<br />
That's how.<br />
<br />
Waiting's a poor plan. That just means more cases. <b>Even R0=1 means new people get infected</b>. Maybe you, or someone you care about. <br />
<br />
We have to get R0 below 1 to turn the tide, or it's going to be a long, unpleasant trip. You, me, and even them.<br />
<br />
Everyone matters.<br />
<br />
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-26577018034108899662020-03-15T11:26:00.004-07:002020-03-15T11:26:32.179-07:00Truth and Lies in the Time of the PandemicThere is a lot of misinformation floating around about #coronavirus. While new information is coming every day, and there's plenty we don't know, we do know a lot.<br />
<br />
The other day, a man told me that he was sure he'd heard on CNN that 80% of people already had the virus, so obviously it wasn't big a deal.<br />
<br />
I told him he was wrong, politely, then again. Then I wished him a good day and left.<br />
<br />
I bothered to talk with him because someone like this will make bad decisions--about his own hygiene, about social distancing, about his own illness should he get sick--and those decisions put himself and others at greater risk.<br />
<br />
He will pass on incorrect information, and--like the virus itself--that information spreads, creating patterns of action or inaction that affect us all.<br />
<br />
I am learning to tell people that they are wrong gently. Because either they're tending toward being open to what I say, or they're tending away from it.<br />
<br />
If the former, my being emotionally loud creates more emotional turmoil in the interaction, which is likely to get them defensive and less able to hear me.<br />
<br />
Sure, it might make me feel better for a moment and help me let off steam from my own stress around all this, but does it accomplish any goal of communicating new ideas?<br />
<br />
Not so much.<br />
<br />
Or, in other words, if someone is hard of listening, speaking louder doesn't work better.<br />
<br />
So, how to asses the veracity of information? Ask yourself some questions.<br />
<br />
Who is telling you this? Can you find another, corroborating source? Who else is saying something similar? Are any of the sources reputable?<br />
<br />
Think critically before you post, or email out to a list. When you have a readership, you have a greater responsibility to spread good information. Don't trust something just because someone says they're an expert, a doctor, a researcher.<br />
<br />
Every person is part of this disease transmission. We are all truly connected, and this pandemic is showing us this, up-close and personal. What we believe affects how we act, and that has everything to do with infection vectors.<br />
<br />
Here are some lies, or myths, making the rounds. Give them a quick look.<br />
<br />
And if you have more such lists, let me know.<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunking-myths-avoid-cure-coronavirus/story?id=69578209">https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunking-myths-avoid-cure-coronavirus/story?id=69578209</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters">https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/2019-novel-coronavirus-myth-versus-fact">https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/2019-novel-coronavirus-myth-versus-fact</a></li>
</ul>
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-86446517402346604692018-10-18T18:09:00.003-07:002018-10-18T18:16:04.457-07:00Juggling Baby Dragons<br />
I was in a virtual reality last night, juggling baby dragons. An apt metaphor for life, that.<br />
<br />
I'm helping them learn to fly, goes the narrative, conveniently calming any concerns I might have about the consent of small, adorable critters to being tossed around.<br />
<br />
My VR-related fiction and non-fiction has made it into publication, and might well again, so I keep up on the industry, which is why I am at this showcase of VR Hackathon winners, waiting to go in to the dragon-juggling demo.<br />
<br />
Goggles on, handsets ... handy. And:<i> </i>go!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://devpost.com/software/juggle-vr-flight-of-the-dragon" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="695" height="140" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sXlB6p1B38M/W8kCKKCc2OI/AAAAAAAACzU/A6OSQIg_3a4q_PMIbo1VzJ-4fgPcIRf6wCLcBGAs/s200/dragon_juggling.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I'm on a stone platform, staring out across a rock-strewn table, into an open, cloud-spotted sky. At the other end of the rock table is a amiable-looking dragon, staring off into space. The mom, I presume, since there's a line of baby dragons between me and her.<br />
<br />
One by one they launch themselves into the air at me. I grab. I miss. I drop. I try again. The ones that go down, or get thrown clear of the platform, fade or fly away, seemingly none the worse for wear.<br />
<br />
When I do catch them, they make the most adorable little sounds. Sort of an "oh!" of delight. Catch two at once, and they do it harmony. "ooohh!"<br />
<br />
The juggling part is not quite as easy as I imagined. Yes, I know how to juggle. Not well, mind you, but I've managed it a time or two. For a moment.<br />
<br />
Part of the problem is that I'm distracted, by, well, everything. The clouds. The scenery. The tree. What happens to the ones who go over the side.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_wQpTTLq3HY/W8kEYZrBxRI/AAAAAAAACzg/S1F2w9LSmrUtKE5EgXha7_2NT0MECi7lACLcBGAs/s1600/jbd_tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="898" data-original-width="1600" height="111" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_wQpTTLq3HY/W8kEYZrBxRI/AAAAAAAACzg/S1F2w9LSmrUtKE5EgXha7_2NT0MECi7lACLcBGAs/s200/jbd_tree.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
They could tune this to make me seem a better juggler than I am.("Virtual" reality, after all. Not "you-suck" reality. Which I do.)<br />
<br />
Ah, but I can slow down time! Now the babies launch slooow. But now it's also a little dull. There is something delicious about seeing them soar, and a slow float just isn't the same.<br />
<br />
So they're coming at me -- whoosh! -- one after another, and despite my heroic agility, I'm dropping them, then looking down to see where they went, and missing more of them.<br />
<br />
It's immersive, so I want to look around and try other things. Can I hit that far tree? Can I throw a baby dragon through the rock circle? Or two into each other? (Oooo, they make a new sound!)<br />
<br />
I toss one high into the air, watching it flap in the sun. I'm missing more and more of them, but I'm having fun, and isn't that what it's about?<br />
<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A9WHtUB7UUY/W8krBVrFwhI/AAAAAAAACz0/COMuFUrmPc0Po0e3cldQMVBQlSCtXUU7QCLcBGAs/s1600/engoggled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-A9WHtUB7UUY/W8krBVrFwhI/AAAAAAAACz0/COMuFUrmPc0Po0e3cldQMVBQlSCtXUU7QCLcBGAs/s200/engoggled.jpg" width="160" /></a>Well, it's also about sharing. I can't see it, but I'm aware that there's a line forming behind me, back in the not-so-virtual. I reluctantly take off the goggles and hand the controls to the woman next in line. I sit down to watch.<br />
<br />
The moment she gets in to the VR, she starts hurling the dragons at the rock-strewn table. Rock by rock, she cleans the platform of debris. With baby dragons.<br />
<br />
"No one's ever done that before," says one of the creators with a bemused look.<br />
<br />
She wasn't there to juggle. She was there to do something else. Clean up. And she did.<br />
<br />
When she was done, she took off the controls, and smiled at those of us watching. "I failed juggling in middle school."<br />
<br />
What I learned last night, juggling baby dragons:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Life is full of baby dragons. They just keep coming. I don't have to catch them all. Let some drop, and others sail on by. They can take care of themselves.</li>
<li>Some people make their own rules and still win.</li>
</ul>
<br />
My muse added this: "Wait until they grow up to full-size, still thinking they're small enough for you to juggle. Then, when they launch themselves at you, you're really in trouble."<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-31214516064040012942017-06-16T12:41:00.003-07:002017-06-16T15:43:26.825-07:00Honesty, Openness, Ocean<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="atltr" data-offset-key="84f99-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<span data-offset-key="84f99-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Someone mentioned honesty and openness to me today, and here's what I said. I think it's something like the ocean. You think, oh, wow, this -- the ocean! How cool is this? Maybe you stand on the beach and put your fingers into foamy surf for the first time, and you think, oh, sweet: I've touched the ocean! </span></div>
</div>
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<span data-offset-key="2s9bv-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Then you go out on a boat, and dangle your legs over the side, and oooo it's sooo cold, all the way up to your calves and you think now -- NOW I've really touched the ocean. I know what honesty and openness really is.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="6qusq-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">One day, on the boat, you slip, and fall in. You're okay, a little shaken maybe, but fine. Getting back into the boat, dripping wet, you know something: you haven't felt the ocean this way before. It's new. It makes you wonder what else you don't know.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="375nk-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Then, one day, you scuba dive, and everything changes. Again.</span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kOkWCVYVLvw/WURe7VyzUUI/AAAAAAAAB38/9l5fIZ0IXOIRoaFRjhg61VPmzZiNv3NcQCLcBGAs/s1600/ocean_is_deep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="600" height="76" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kOkWCVYVLvw/WURe7VyzUUI/AAAAAAAAB38/9l5fIZ0IXOIRoaFRjhg61VPmzZiNv3NcQCLcBGAs/s320/ocean_is_deep.jpg" width="320" /></a><span data-offset-key="375nk-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span></div>
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-54267840972888801112017-02-17T16:56:00.000-08:002017-02-17T16:56:00.892-08:00The Game is Born<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Shocked! Shocked to find out that there's gambling going on here...!</blockquote>
For months I've been working with award-winning game designer <a href="http://cheapass.com/about-james-ernest/">James Ernest</a> on a game for the sequel to <a href="http://seersaga.com/">The Seer</a>. That is, a game that lives inside the story. James enjoys the challenge of creating in-world games. He's done it before, bringing Tak to life from the pages of Patrick Rothfuss’s <a href="http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/books.asp">Kingkiller Chronicle</a>.<br />
<br />
Me, I didn't want to be trouble or nuthin', so I assured him I could just handwave the game a bit if need be. After all, I've played poker and even bridge, once. How hard could it be?<br />
<br />
Ah, ignorance.<br />
<br />
But I allowed as how it would indeed be exceptionally cool to have the help of someone of his caliber, if he were so inclined. Lucky for me, he was.<br />
<br />
Fast forward to now, and people are actually playing this game that James and I made up together. (Now, when I say "made up together" what I really mean is, "James created with his astonishing depth of gaming knowledge, and let me join in.")<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8lNxsoMLSLU/WKeXbnXO2AI/AAAAAAAABfg/Jtje_e8vFtMPAldhN8uwkW1omyAap3QoQCLcB/s1600/RochiTwitterHeader.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Rochi Beta Test, Cheapass Games" border="0" height="112" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8lNxsoMLSLU/WKeXbnXO2AI/AAAAAAAABfg/Jtje_e8vFtMPAldhN8uwkW1omyAap3QoQCLcB/s400/RochiTwitterHeader.jpg" title="Rochi Beta Test, Cheapass Games" width="400" /></a></div>
When we began all this, James asked me what I needed from the game. A gambling game, I said, one that could be affected by precognition. But not a clone of poker or bridge. Y'know, something different. Something new... that also seemed old. Really old. Like it grew up in the world of <i>The Seer</i>, over thousands of years, the way the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_52-card_deck">standard 52-card</a> deck did in our world.<br />
<br />
We started with the structure. What is now called the <b>Roche</b> <b>Deck</b> has six suits of different counts, for a total of 54 cards. My job was to design the suits and all the cards. The resulting deck, we agreed, would be much like the Tarot's Major Arcana, but based in the world of <i>The Seer</i>.<br />
<br />
That all sounded pretty straight forward until I started actually doing it. No getting around it: I'm the resident expert on the world of <i>The Seer</i>, so I figured that selecting 54 archetypes and deciding how each one should look in card form and what it meant -- how it connected to its suit and all the other cards -- would be... well. Not that hard, surely.<br />
<br />
The best part about doing something you've never done before is that you have no idea how hard it is until you've said yes. That mountain of challenge shook me off, again and again, like a wet dog. As I did more research -- a common stuck-writer-trick -- I realized that the Tarot deck itself was far from flawless in its symbolism, that it was the result of historical accidents as well as a mash of cultural influences, and that our Roche Deck could -- and should -- seem just as organic and messy.<br />
<br />
Thus was the game of <b>Rochi</b> born, atop the 54-card Roche Deck, along with some variants, including dice and coins which are still coming to life.<br />
<br />
You probably knew this, but I didn't; it turns out that common poker terms are historical and whimsical and come from all over. So we likewise created a set of slang terms for Rochi.<br />
<br />
I've played Rochi now a bunch of times now. With two people, with three, with six. It's fast and exciting, but it feels ancient and exotic. It feels like it comes from somewhere else.<br />
<br />
Because it does.<br />
<br />
I can confidently say that no matter how much card gaming, gambling, or James Ernest you've played, you've never played a game like this one before.<br />
<br />
But now you can. The beta test version of the game -- along with the rule set and a brief in-world overview of Rochi's origins -- are <a href="http://cheapass.com/free-games/rochi/">right here, for your reading and playing pleasure</a>. Free.<br />
<br />
As an author, it's magical to see parts of my world come into this one. Rochi is an aspect of the <a href="http://noiseandsignal.lyris.org/2016/05/words-about-words-emu-eggs.html">intense world building</a> that I put into my fiction. To hold the Rochi deck in my hands is to feel worlds touch.<br />
<div>
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-44089953119903645882016-11-11T11:57:00.002-08:002016-11-11T11:58:09.257-08:00Change is Possible. With CatsI have this cat. A bit under two years ago, I changed her vitamin mix, and she went from anxious and reactive to calm and damn-near approaching mellow.<br />
<br />
Back before the new supplementation, this would happen: I'd be be walking by her and she'd tense up, lurch to one side. I'd veer, not wanting to trip over her, and then she'd dash in another direction, usually exactly into my leg, careening off of it, forcing me to then trip-hop over her. Then she'd make a mad rush to the other side of the house, where she'd hide, because, from her point of view, she'd just been attacked.<br />
<br />
All because... well. Because she was, at baseline, hyper-vigilant and super anxious.<br />
<br />
She is now a changed cat. In that same scenario, she simply stands there, unconcerned, and lets me walk by. Or step over her. Less wasted energy and -- needless to say -- a far more pleasant experience for us both.<br />
<br />
I rather doubt that before her biochemistry changed, she saw herself as tense, nor do I think that afterwards she thought of herself as relaxed. She doesn't think that way. Not much for self-reflection.<br />
<br />
No, from her point of view, the outside world just got better. Things were more settled, humans were kinder. More predictable. Some of this is credit to her walnut-sized brain's ability to re-pattern -- to learn -- to see things differently, when things felt different.<br />
<br />
This is what's called a "virtuous circle" -- the better things get for her, the more she is able to see those things that are better for her, and the less she is looking for -- and finding -- things that are worse. Like clumsy humans trying to kill her with her their huge columns of legs, necessitating a mad dash for survival.<br />
<br />
I'm not trying to make a particular point here. I'm observing patterns I've seen recently, up-close and personal. In my cat. And yes, in humans as well.<br />
<br />
That our internal and external states influence and reinforce each other is hardly news, but how powerful that effect can be is sometimes shocking. My cat's baseline has changed radically, and her behavioral alterations are both obvious and significant, improving the world for her human companions as well. Her new ability to see the good in her world changed her world -- for the good.<br />
<br />
Does she see that the change in her world originated inside herself? I rather doubt it. Could this have happened without that baseline change to her biochemistry? Alas, no.<br />
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aaZlapwWUak/WCYhgncjNsI/AAAAAAAABbo/QlLp5jKnTEImT3WYG4cHwoGJHPzFp756wCLcB/s1600/fuzzyhappykitty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aaZlapwWUak/WCYhgncjNsI/AAAAAAAABbo/QlLp5jKnTEImT3WYG4cHwoGJHPzFp756wCLcB/s320/fuzzyhappykitty.jpg" width="204" /></a><br />
Extrapolating to humans, we cannot simply <i>will</i> ourselves to see things differently -- it's not enough. We must touch and change the many systems that touch us. I tried to tell my cat that all her problems were attitude many times before the biochemical change, and it made not one whit of difference.<br />
<br />
In this way people are not so unlike cats. We are each of us made up of multiple interlocking biochemical systems. We are part of multiple interlocking social systems. Many multitudinous and complex, interlocking systems, all affecting the other systems swirling around and through.<br />
<br />
My cat didn't listen to my advice about her attitude. My fine lectures were twitched away by her feline ears.<br />
<br />
The world is not simple. We are not simple. But change -- significant change -- is possible.<br />
<div>
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-68942320402277454862016-09-29T14:03:00.000-07:002016-09-29T14:03:20.595-07:00An Apology to Editors EverywhereA writer friend of mine, trying his hand at editing for an online fiction magazine for the first time, dropped me a note. It's written as an open letter to editors everywhere, but I think it might be better reading for new writers everywhere.<br />
<br />
I'm sure he assumed only I would see it, but it was too good to keep to myself.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<blockquote>
Dear Editors,<br /><br />I've got no shame admitting I didn't really take Standard Manuscript Format all that seriously. Indenting every paragraph? How silly! Page numbers? Utter fancy! My job is to write an amazing story, not worry about inches and margins and page breaks. Let the editor squint at the screen and dope out the minutia.<br /><br />I felt this way until I read a story that didn't simply ignore Standard Manuscript Format, but left it clear out in the cold. Let it stand there holding a wilted posey watching the story breeze by it on the way to the big school dance with the varsity quarterback and not even getting a glance back.<br /><br />No page numbers to guide me through the maze, no indication of when the story changed scenes until I was a dozen words into the next sentence and thoroughly confused. Page after nonsensical page that challenged my comprehension and, to the pain of the author, my interest.<br /><br />Sisyphus never nudged such a burden as I while reading this story.<br /><br />So to you, editors who suffered and labored to grasp what I aimed for without making myself clear, leaving you no footholds to scale the mountain, making no effort to be plain and precise so you may read the story rather than grapple fruitlessly with the way it was written, I am sorry.<br /><br />I didn't know, and it's a pitiful excuse to make, but I really didn't. I get it now, maybe too late but I get it. I finally understand the importance of following, nay, championing Standard Manuscript Format. It couldn't be taught or explained to me. I had to suffer to reach the realization. And suffer I did.<br /><br />Jesus, Mary and Joseph with a cherry on top of each, I'm sorry.<br /><br />-- Prodigal Guest Editor</blockquote>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
Some references for those new to the game:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.sfwa.org/2005/01/manuscript-format/" target="_blank">Manuscript Format - SFWA</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html" target="_blank">Shunn's Proper Manuscript Format : Short Story Format</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Manuscript_format" target="_blank">Wikipedia's take on the subject</a></li>
</ul>
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-85673780751357009712016-09-12T17:44:00.000-07:002016-09-12T17:44:20.396-07:00THE RULES (Writers and Rejections)<h2>
The Rules</h2>
<h4>
From the Writer Rejection Points Rules Committee</h4>
<b>POINTS. </b>You, the writer, will be awarded points for every story you write that is rejected. SFWA qualifying markets are not required, though you must be rejected by someone who could actually have published you, for actual readers, had they said yes. Which they didn't.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>WHAT, YOU DIDN'T KNOW? </b>Didn't know about the rules before? No problem! You still get points. Yes, retroactively! Yes, we mean it!<br />
<br />
<b>POINTS EXPIRE</b>. Point expire any time you win a major writing award (Hugo, Nebula, Dragon, etc), or make it to the NYT Best-seller list or the like. You know what I'm talking about. Yes, you do. At that moment, your talley gets cleared.<br />
<br />
<b>POINTS REDEEMABLE?</b> You bet. Points are redeemable for pretty excellent prizes, if we do say so ourselves. You can be deliriously happy, you can be artistically miserable. We also have a goat behind one of the doors. Points are redeemed at random, by forces beyond your control. You'll know it when it happens.<br />
<br />
<b>FEELING COMPETITIVE?</b> No problem. To remove points from another's tally, do something that results in them getting published, like introducing them to an editor or publisher, or advocating their story directly in some fashion that results in the thing hitting ink.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>BONUS POINTS!</b> if your story gets rejected with a scathing critique that leaves you feeling flattened because in your heart of hearts you know the grains of truth are going to crunch as you chew on them, you get bonus points.<br />
<br />
<b>NO CHEATING.</b> You can't just resubmit for more points. You get rejected once per market. C'mon, you knew that. There are other ways to cheat, too, and you're already thinking about them. Cut it out.<br />
<br />
<b>AND... GO!</b> Write something! Submit it! For The Win!<br />
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-20753450518487954542016-08-23T16:06:00.002-07:002016-08-23T16:06:09.732-07:00On the merrits of being unplugged (not really about thumbs)<br />
I didn't expect to be completely unplugged for the long weekend. No wifi, that I already knew that the cabin lacked. But that's okay, I told myself, because my phone can do all those things via cell.<br />
<br />
At the cabin and all over the town: rushing river, tall pines. Deep quiet.<br />
<br />
No cell.<br />
<br />
Wait, no cell? No CELL? But... but...<br />
<br />
"You're going to be fine," I tell myself reassuringly, as if addressing a small child who has misplaced a thumb or two. "You can go without cell for a few days."<br />
<br />
Days? You want me to go without internet and SMS and email ... and...and...<br />
<br />
"There, there," I tell myself, perhaps less gently than I might. "You don't need thumbs anyway, and it's high time you learned to go without. Just for-- " And this next part I admit I say through clenched teeth:"-- a few days. Get a grip."<br />
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<br />
You want me to grip without thumbs? Without Internet?<br />
<br />
My lower lip threatened to tremble.<br />
<br />
Many alive today remember a time when most trips to remote areas meant going without communication devices. That's just how it was, and it wasn't a big deal.<br />
<br />
But you get used to things. You think of them as yours. As thumbs.<br />
<br />
Apparently I was no longer able to make the smooth jump to a thumbless existence.<br />
<br />
For three days.<br />
<br />
But three days later..<br />
<br />
You know what? Being unplugged was some kind of awesome. The quiet wasn't just in the trees, or the river, or the land. It was in me.<br />
<br />
No more checking messages in multiple places. No more shredded focus. Just me, the river, and my thoughts.<br />
<br />
So if you call me, text me, ping me, chat me, skype me, or some such, and I don't reply, I might be indulging in a little unplugging.<br />
<br />
I recommend it. Turns out you get to keep your thumbs after all.<br />
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-52685159493709060182016-06-21T13:55:00.004-07:002016-06-21T13:55:56.394-07:00Reflections on a violent encounterIt's a privilege to come out of an assault intact.<br />
<br />
I say that because, as those of you in the field of self-defense know, it's far more often about luck than skill. Staying alert, knowing what to do -- yes, these are good things. But there's more going on in a violent encounter that you can't control than that you can.<br />
<br />
Today I was lucky.<br />
<br />
The man who came into the cafe wasn't after me. He was after another woman. He didn't have a weapon, but he had fists, elbows, a loud voice, and a shocking willingness to do damage to everyone between him and her.<br />
<br />
I knew the moment I heard the tone of his voice that he was dangerous. We don't always get that kind of warning, but I did.<br />
<br />
I dropped down out of sight, behind a cement barrier -- because I didn't know what weapons he might have -- and called 911. I wasn't his target, the cafe was small, and other people were confronting him, so that was clearly my job -- to make sure someone called for backup.<br />
<br />
And backup was exactly what it was, because despite being in-city, by the time the cops arrived, some 10 minutes later, the man in the baseball cap and blue hoodie yelling threats at everyone including a pretty dark-haired woman he didn't know -- and then picking up a table and slamming it against the door that had been closed against him -- was long gone.<br />
<br />
So I stand corrected: he did have a weapon. A table. He had been pushed outside, the door shut against him, and he picked up a table and slammed it against the glass door until it broke. Yelling, screaming, but unable to get back in, he finally left.<br />
<br />
I found out later that the woman who was the target of this assault had just come in. He'd started yelling at her on the sidewalk up the block, out of the blue. She'd run into the cafe for sanctuary. He followed, yelling, threatening. Swinging fists and elbows.<br />
<br />
She didn't know him. Had never seen him before in her life.<br />
<br />
If he'd had a gun, or a knife, I am sure he would have used it. He didn't, so the woman was scared, shaken, but physically whole.<br />
<br />
I've practiced these types of scenarios across the years. Today I saw that my training actually works; I knew what to look for, what to listen for. I knew what to do and how to do it.<br />
<br />
More importantly, I knew what he could do, and what I could do in response.<br />
<br />
I don't want to talk about weapons, or how to control them. I don't want to talk about mental illness, or violence. These are topics in heated discussion today.<br />
<br />
Today I just want to say this:<br />
<br />
Violence can be fast, unpredictable, and senseless. Sometimes, no matter what you do, no matter how fast or strong or prepared you are, all that stands between you and being the target of that violence is luck.<br />
<br />
Today I was lucky.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-59689079997876163302016-05-03T13:20:00.002-07:002016-05-03T13:21:20.899-07:00Words about words + Emu EggsI've been writing about writing a fair bit lately. Along with topics like character creation, world-building, and, of course, emu eggs.<br />
<br />
An interesting time, to be sure. Some fascinating questions have been thrown at me.<br />
<br />
Here are the goods, so you can see for yourself.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.fictorians.com/2016/04/21/on-making-every-character-memorable/" target="_blank">Success or Death – Making Every Character Count</a></h3>
April's theme at Fictorians was memorable characters, in which Ace Jordyn interviews me about the characters in <a href="http://lyris.org/seer/" target="_blank">The Seer</a>. When she asks me about the Hidden City, I show her pictures. You can see them, too.<br />
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://whatever.scalzi.com/2016/03/17/the-big-idea-sonia-orin-lyris/" target="_blank">The Big Idea</a></h3>
<br />
Author John Scalzi gives writers a chance to talk about the Big Idea in their books. Here I dive into the particular challenges of writing a main character who can see into the future.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I had stepped into a very large pile of metaphysics; if someone can see the future, this implies significant truths about the nature of reality, truths that ripple out across this created world.What had I gotten myself into?"</blockquote>
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.inkpunks.com/2016/03/15/a-dish-best-served-light/" target="_blank">A Dish Best Served Light</a> </h3>
<br />
Inkpunks is a collective of authors, editors, and various other creatives. In this article, I compare narrative to fine dining.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
"Remember in that one book, how you skimmed part of the narrative because it wasn’t all that tasty? Entirely skippable? Like smooshed peas, or aunt Cora’s beet-and-anchovy salad, a narrative you just didn’t want to consume?"</blockquote>
<br />
<h3>
<a href="https://franwilde.wordpress.com/2016/03/09/book-bites-for-appearances-with-sonia-lyris/" target="_blank">Book Bites: For Appearances</a></h3>
A humble recipe by my own self, inspired by one of many working lunches at the royal palace.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"This man is the Lord Commander of the empire, so he’s not going to be eating cheese and meat and a hunk of bread for a working lunch. How would that look? Appearances, after all."</blockquote>
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.fictorians.com/2016/03/06/will-build-worlds-for-spare-change/" target="_blank">Will Build Worlds for Spare Change</a></h3>
<br />
Why money matters so very much in world building. About coins, symbols, and historians who hate fantasy.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"I'm an historian", she said darkly. "I don’t read fantasy novels. They get the details all wrong."</blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1XaWMhdFWDI/VykGBCSNXKI/AAAAAAAABHw/B3VaHC3cxykBECRMlYBQ-kt__ZC5YTn4QCLcB/s1600/yes_emu_egg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1XaWMhdFWDI/VykGBCSNXKI/AAAAAAAABHw/B3VaHC3cxykBECRMlYBQ-kt__ZC5YTn4QCLcB/s200/yes_emu_egg.jpg" width="120" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, that's an emu egg</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="http://www.lawrencemschoen.com/news/eating-authors-sonia-orin-lyris/" target="_blank"><br /></a>
<br />
<h3>
<a href="http://www.lawrencemschoen.com/news/eating-authors-sonia-orin-lyris/" target="_blank">Eating Authors</a></h3>
Author Lawrence Schoen interviews me about some memorable meals.<br />
<br />
I end up telling him how to prepare emu eggs.<br />
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<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-76074359769697416682016-04-12T16:56:00.000-07:002016-04-12T16:56:34.161-07:00A Reader Reports BackI met Mary last year. She immediately struck me as intelligent and thoughtful. I mentioned my book <a href="http://seersaga.com/" target="_blank"><i>The Seer</i></a> to her, and that it would be coming out this year.<br />
<br />
A bit like <i>Game of Thrones,</i> I told her.<br />
<br />
"I don't know, then," she said, doubtfully, glancing down at her four-year-old, holding her hand as the girl fidgeted. "I got through the first two books and the story is good, but way too violent. It was making me paranoid. I love to read, but that..." she shook her head. "I had to stop. It was too much."<br />
<br />
At that point I was finishing up the final draft of <i>Seer</i>. I had been wondering if the story's harsher parts were hitting the right note. It was important to me that the rough sections weren't gratuitously violent.<br />
<br />
I asked her if she would tell me what she thought of it, if she read it. "Even if you don't finish it," I said, "That's fine. I just want to know what you think. You, especially."<br />
<br />
"Sure," she said.<br />
<br />
Since <i>Seer's</i> launch a month and a half ago, I've heard from some readers who found the book darker and rougher than they expected. When someone writes that they found the story too violent, or that they were negatively triggered by it, I think about it. I take such comments to heart.<br />
<br />
Because I don't write for the spectacle of gore. I write for story and characters. For a plot that matters. For the ring of truth.<br />
<br />
Today I saw Mary for the first time in months. When she came up to me and said, "I finished it!" I had some trepidation about what she would say next.<br />
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3KO7WzLx3EE/Vw2K1zEwyFI/AAAAAAAABHI/JWRFPg-mDPQSUwaMqTDQ6-nw4tKqjXIWACLcB/s1600/2016-04-12%2B16.41.50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3KO7WzLx3EE/Vw2K1zEwyFI/AAAAAAAABHI/JWRFPg-mDPQSUwaMqTDQ6-nw4tKqjXIWACLcB/s200/2016-04-12%2B16.41.50.jpg" width="150" /></a><br />
She smiled hugely. "I loved it," she said. "So much. It was great!"<br />
<br />
For a moment I just let that sink in. Author food, every word.<br />
<br />
And the violence, I asked?<br />
<br />
"It was fine. It was there, sure -- that's the world -- but it wasn't... for show. You didn't dwell on it. It was appropriate to the story."<br />
<br />
She went on, listing the many things she liked.<br />
<br />
"The ending," she said. "I loved how you wrapped things up, without being depressing, like so many books. There was hope. A lot of it."<br />
<br />
<i>Yes.</i><br />
<br />
When a reader understands my story, I feel a soaring joy, a deep humility. I become keenly aware of the connection I've made with this other human being who has taken taken the time to journey through my world.<br />
<br />
"I want the next one!" she added, taking her daughter by the hand.<br />
<br />
This. This is why I write.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-30526770455456043372016-03-07T18:49:00.000-08:002016-03-08T09:10:54.170-08:00The View from the Other Side of the Autograph LineA week ago, my novel <i><a href="http://bit.ly/seersaga" target="_blank">The Seer</a></i> was released into print. (An interesting phrase, isn't it? I can almost see a large purple book flapping its covers and taking flight into the air. Fly free, my released darling! Fly!)<br />
<br />
That very night I read aloud to a group of people from <a href="http://lyris.org/seer/ch1/" target="_blank">chapter one</a> at the University of Washington bookstore. Everyone who showed up, it seemed, wanted me to sign their copy. Not just sign it. Personalize it.<br />
<br />
A few days previous I had bought <i>Jump Start Your Novel</i> from <a href="http://markteppo.com/" target="_blank">Mark Teppo</a> at the Rainforest retreat. The book he gave me was already autographed, so I asked him to personalize it.<br />
<br />
"To Sonia," he wrote.<br />
<br />
"No, wait," I said, laughing. "That's only my name." I handed it back. "I want something personal. Just write something. Anything you like."<br />
<br />
It seemed perfectly reasonable to me. After all, how hard could it be to write a quick note to someone you've talked to for hours over the course of a few days? Heck, we were practically friends.<br />
<br />
Some ten minutes later, I got the book back from him, with a few sentences scrawled in a barely legible hand. Good enough, I decided, and thought nothing more of it.<br />
<br />
Back to the night of my reading, where a growing number of people want me to sign their book. Fast, because the store is closing in mere minutes.<br />
<br />
And, in addition to their name, could I personalize it? Write something? Anything I like.<br />
<br />
My mind, ever the stalwart companion, goes utterly blank.<br />
<br />
What is this close friend's name again?<br />
<br />
Oh, how very different all this looks from the other side of the line.<br />
<br />
As a reader I think I'm being all agreeable and easy-going by saying, just write what you like. But the catch is that we readers don't mean that. We want something unique, something that reflects our connection to the author and this special moment we're sharing together.<br />
<br />
This moment in which the author is signing as fast as they can and horrified to discover that she can't remember your name.<br />
<br />
You know what the author really truly wants to write in your book? I'll tell you: whatever will make you happy, as long as you spell it out for her, word by word.<br />
<br />
"Just tell me," I beg a woman with what I hope is a charming smile but is probably a stressed, maniacal grin. I try not to look past her to the growing line of people, many clutching multiple copies.<br />
<br />
She gives me a confused look. Which I understand. As a reader, I expect the author can write something easily. Just a line or two. Small, but witty. About that one time we went camping together, maybe. Or that joke we shared. Remember? Come on, I'm not some stranger. You know me!<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking, the store is about to close, and the only clever thing I can think to write is: "Thanks for all the fish," and that's not okay.<br />
<br />
I had no idea it would be this hard, being on the other side of the table. My mind has never been so clean.<br />
<br />
I'm not complaining, you understand. This is the best possible outcome for a book launch, to have lots of people want a signed copy. It's an honor, and truly, I do love this. I just want more than a few seconds per person to do it right. A lot more time. A week per autograph ought to do it.<br />
<br />
I muddle through. I come up with what I hope are a few slightly witty things, and I make liberal use of the phrase "remind me how you spell your name again?" and hope it's not "M-A-R-K." (Sorry, Mark.)<br />
<br />
The line shrinks. The clock strikes the hour. After a few more minutes, it's over.<br />
<br />
Later, over a much-appreciated glass of red wine, I reflect on the evening. That's when my exchange with Mr. Teppo comes back to me. I wince, remembering what I said to him.<br />
<br />
I send him an abject apology, explaining that I didn't know what it was like.<br />
<br />
He writes back: "Delighted that you had a line of people, and I appreciate that you now understand the complete terror that comes with 'oh, write whatever you like!'"<br />
<br />
Boy, do I ever.<br />
<br />
So the next time I'm the reader, standing in line to get an autograph -- especially from a new author like myself -- I'm going to tell them exactly what I want them to write. Word for word. I will not say, "whatever you like," or "make it personal -- you know me!"<br />
<br />
And then, even if I've known them for twenty years, I will say my name. Because now I know what it looks like from the other side.<br />
<br />
I'll even spell it for them.<br />
<br />
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Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-29921116751971462072016-01-21T21:27:00.002-08:002016-01-21T21:38:10.813-08:00Real World MagicSo much research went into <a href="http://seersaga.com/" target="_blank">The Seer</a>, from weapons to central heating, from shoe-making to the arcana of various magic systems.<br />
<br />
Magic. Some people will tell you that we don't have magic here, in this world, the one in which my book is published, the one with lattes and doctor appointments. But let me tell you what I saw the other day.<br />
<br />
I'm at my doctor's office, at lunchtime, finishing up an appointment. I show off my ARC -- that's the <a href="http://www.baenebooks.com/p-2911-the-seer-earc.aspx" target="_blank">Advance Reader Copy</a>, also known as an uncorrected proof -- to a woman behind the reception desk. Let's call her Ann.<br />
<br />
Ann is delighted. She says she must, right this moment, now that it's her lunch break, start my book. I have to take my ARC with me, so I direct her to my publisher's website where the first ten chapters are available for free. She starts reading on her computer, as I stand there.<br />
<br />
She laughs. I'm hoping that's a good thing, since it's not exactly comedy, chapter one. She glances at me, then back to the book.<br />
<br />
"I <i>like</i> this," she says.<br />
<br />
"I'm glad," I answer. I'm a little stunned at this suddenness, this enthusiasm, but very pleased. I'm a writer, of course I'm pleased. I gather my things to go.<br />
<br />
"Oh," she breathes, reading on. "Just my kind of book!" Again, she sends a grinning look my way.<br />
<br />
"Thanks," I say.<br />
<br />
I turn to leave. I pause. I turn back.<br />
<br />
She's still reading.<br />
<br />
I've never seen this before, a near-stranger reading my book with this immediacy and gusto. Surely, I think to myself, she'd rather read it without someone watching her, let alone the author. I mutter something polite, something about leaving, hoping she'll say goodbye or wave or some other indicator that she's done with me.<br />
<br />
Aloud she wonders what will happen next.<br />
<br />
A reader wants to know what will happen next. These are the words writers live for.<br />
<br />
Right in front of me, my world and characters are taking shape in the mind and heart of another human being. There is no sensible reason for me to stay here and watch, but I can't seem to make my feet move.<br />
<br />
Minutes pass.<br />
<br />
More minutes pass.<br />
<br />
"Well," I say. "Guess I'd better go."<br />
<br />
She cackles at some action in the story. My story. The one I wrote.<br />
<br />
"Yes, I'll just --" I say, as if I'm just coming to this idea. I'll just what? "-- just get on with the day," My words are undercut by how stationary I seem to be.<br />
<br />
See, she's reading. My book.<br />
<br />
I feel foolish, standing there, but also I feel something else I can't quite name. In another moment it comes to me: I am awestruck. Spellbound. I want to pull out my phone and take a picture to mark this moment, but of course I don't, because it would break the spell.<br />
<br />
When at last I summon the will to leave, it's been over fifteen minutes of me standing there, watching Ann -- still smiling and chuckling -- read my book. This is a magic I have never before had the privilege to witness, to see a new reader step into my world.<br />
<br />
I give myself another moment to take it in. This moment. This magic.<br />
<br />
Finally I go to the door, my eyes misty and my smile wide. I glance back before I leave.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7a2UMF_k3o/VqG9UYLHP9I/AAAAAAAABEM/q4iEEvd99QA/s1600/glasses_on_seer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P7a2UMF_k3o/VqG9UYLHP9I/AAAAAAAABEM/q4iEEvd99QA/s200/glasses_on_seer.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
She doesn't look up.<br />
<br />
She's reading.<br />
<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-8065535695589344812015-09-16T18:34:00.001-07:002015-09-16T18:39:49.448-07:00Manuscript LaunchedI've just sent back the manuscript for <a href="http://seersaga.com/">The Seer</a>, after reviewing all 695 pages of edits and questions.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
Twice.<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXixbn6PgwI/VfoYTID4CGI/AAAAAAAAAo4/ukcLEZ6FOhA/s1600/manuscript_launched.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OXixbn6PgwI/VfoYTID4CGI/AAAAAAAAAo4/ukcLEZ6FOhA/s200/manuscript_launched.jpg" width="195" /></a><br />
I've had my works edited for publication before, but that experience was nothing like this - not this large a work, nor reviewed in this level of detail. It arrived bristling with post-its, issues I needed to resolve with minimal changes. I had never seen anything like it, and it turned out I had no idea what I was in for.<br />
<br />
Sure, going over every word and note was hard. At times wrenching. I laughed. I ranted. (No, not at my editors. If there was any target, it was me). Sometimes the process was really unpleasant. Sometimes it was exhilarating.<br />
<br />
And yes, I'm very glad to be done. But here's the thing I didn't expected to be telling you now:<br />
<br />
It was an amazing experience. I'm a better writer now than I was three weeks ago.<br />
<br />
Why? Line by line, I got to see my work through my editors' eyes. I saw my mistakes highlighted. Some issues that I thought were settled I had to readdress, like why some people's titles are capitalized where others aren't. I spent a lot of time with the Chicago Manual of Style, re-reading other fantasy authors, discussing the nuances of language with others similarly obsessed. I found answers. I learned.<br />
<br />
It was a crash course in what's good and what's weak in my writing, applied by the deft (and merciless) hands of two professional editors, both of whom want the same thing I do, for the novel to be the best it can possibly be. No one was concerned about my feelings at this point, nor should they have been; this was where all our non-trivial efforts came together to produce one final thing:<br />
<br />
The story.<br />
<br />
Prior to this, I would have thought this part of the process would at best teach me about narrative and flow. Commas maybe. Continuity, perhaps. But no - it was far more than that. This process gave me a view onto my novel that I had never had before. It underscored for me the point of all those words: to build a captivating world, characters who come alive, action that's vivid and meaningful.<br />
<br />
Of course the work remains imperfect. I managed to accept that no matter how many times I went through it, mistakes were going to slip by. There is no absolute control over a work of this size.<br />
<br />
Nor, perhaps, does there need to be. Because the important thing, again, is the story.<br />
<br />
When I shipped the book back to the publisher, I felt the sorrow and elation of something ending and another thing beginning. It's out of my hands, now. I've done everything I know how to do to make the story ring like a bell.<br />
<br />
Not quite mine any more, this world. Soon it will belong to my readers.<br />
<br />
That's going to be a fine day.<br />
<br />
Launched.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://lyris.org/seer/ch1/">Chapter one is here</a>.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-20231506593250963232015-06-25T19:22:00.000-07:002015-06-25T19:22:37.094-07:00Lucky to be AliveAn acquaintance of mine was driving on the freeway. His lady friend sat in the passenger seat. She was doing something with her phone. It wasn't working. He glanced over to see if he could help.<br />
<br />
Then he looked back at the road.<br />
<br />
To avoid rear-ending the car in front of him, he braked and swerved. His car flipped onto its back. On the freeway.<br />
<br />
The car was totaled, but he and his passenger -- lucky as heck, I'm sure you'll agree -- walked away, with only minor bruises.<br />
<br />
"It changed the way I drive," he told me. "I will never, ever do that again." Astonishment came over his face. "I only looked away for a split second."<br />
<br />
A split second.<br />
<br />
He got lucky. But you might not. If you haven't already, please: make up your mind, right now, not to look at a phone while you're driving a car. Not ever.<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P9d4JfjQpj4/VYy2MdjlT0I/AAAAAAAAAnY/Iu-Uc8rUzNs/s1600/red_car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P9d4JfjQpj4/VYy2MdjlT0I/AAAAAAAAAnY/Iu-Uc8rUzNs/s1600/red_car.jpg" /></a><br />
Not even a little.<br />
<br />
Not even once.<br />
<br />
It's not worth dying over.<br />
<br />
Please.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-52768595261674912982015-06-01T15:34:00.000-07:002015-06-01T15:34:23.255-07:00Not Long Enough to Forget How You Swung from the Crystals AboveI took a number of runs at this post. I fell back again and again. A steep incline, this is. Slippery underfoot.<br />
<br />
Damn it, what do I want to say?<br />
<br />
Jay Lake was my friend. I miss him. A lot.<br />
<br />
Recently I was telling someone who had never met Jay a bit about him. He responded that he hoped that when he died someone idolized him so much.<br />
<br />
Oh, hardly that. I loved Jay, yes, blind spots, foibles, and all. But he would never have claimed to be a flawless creature. Like most of us, he was a mix of keen self-awareness and fuzzy-sighted clumsiness.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PVP-1U1Vyoc/VWykEB_brnI/AAAAAAAAAmE/A2IVZoIXSrc/s1600/jay_as_postage_stamp_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PVP-1U1Vyoc/VWykEB_brnI/AAAAAAAAAmE/A2IVZoIXSrc/s200/jay_as_postage_stamp_s.jpg" width="173" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Send 1st class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How human he was. How grand.<br />
<br />
Art. Jay Lake was art.<br />
<br />
<br />
Art? Do I mean I can't describe him but I know him when I see him?<br />
<br />
Yes, I think I might indeed mean that. But I also mean this: few of those who knew him didn't have a reaction - positive, negative, or both at once. Like art, he inspired people to feel things, to do things. To write, to engage. To talk.<br />
<br />
Across the years the two of us discussed all sorts of things. Consciousness and transformation. Science and language. Sex and lust. Cancer and death. Courage and fear.<br />
<br />
Love.<br />
<br />
That last year, many of my emails to him were titled: "Things I will have wished I'd said..." I didn't want to leave anything unsaid. Mostly it was, simply: "I love you."<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCKhwnMBWMA/VWyh_cQMYQI/AAAAAAAAAlU/34m88TdjBuo/s1600/jay_is_genre_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-kCKhwnMBWMA/VWyh_cQMYQI/AAAAAAAAAlU/34m88TdjBuo/s200/jay_is_genre_s.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riding Genre as far as it will go</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
He inspired me, Jay did. He was unapologetic for who and what he was. He was happy to talk about it, sure, even listen if you had something to say, but he had worked hard to get where he was, and I don't mean his writing - which yes he also worked hard at - but the person-hood he inhabited. He wasn't at all sorry for his opinions, his volume, his language, his brightly colored shirts and socks.<br />
<br />
Even before cancer, Jay was busy living his life as if he didn't have a moment to waste, grabbing at every ring he could see, swinging from any chandeliers that would have him.<br />
<br />
I remember being an early reader on LAST PLANE TO HEAVEN and SUNSPIN, sitting on his couch one afternoon while nearby Jay's fingers danced across the keyboard of his laptop. Now and then I'd make an amused sound and he'd stop and look at me questioningly. I'd point out something I found interesting in his narrative. A word I didn't know. Structural choices he'd made.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPoJETRh4cM/VWyh2iId38I/AAAAAAAAAlM/H084dmyomOk/s1600/jay_taking_photo_of_me_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xPoJETRh4cM/VWyh2iId38I/AAAAAAAAAlM/H084dmyomOk/s200/jay_taking_photo_of_me_s.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aha! I have you now!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Somewhere it hit me, just how good a writer he had become. I said as much, adding that I couldn't imagine ever writing as well as he did.<br />
<br />
His response was abrupt and adamant: "Don't try to write like me. Write like <i>you</i>."<br />
<br />
It was a point he made again and again, to me, to others. While he loved being in the spotlight and giving voice to his views, always, always, when it came to specifics, to me and my dreams, he pushed me to reach for whatever it was that called to me, rather than to follow someone else.<br />
<br />
To lurch for the rings. To swing from the chandeliers. To wear bright shirts and socks.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Remember, the best way to learn is through failure. Success is a much less effective teacher. But if you’re going to fail, fail big. Petty failures teach petty lessons. Write the Big Idea stories, the grand, sweeping novels. Open your mouth and shout. Be great. Pretty damned good is the failure condition of greatness. -- <a href="http://www.jlake.com/2010/04/19/process-on-motivation-in-writing/" target="_blank">Jay Lake, on Motivation</a></i></blockquote>
<br />
Jay moved me.<br />
<br />
Jay was art.<br />
<br />
I miss him.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-561ztR6DtNI/VWyiVEGySTI/AAAAAAAAAlk/H9l4VmVhuew/s1600/jay_at_wake_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="83" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-561ztR6DtNI/VWyiVEGySTI/AAAAAAAAAlk/H9l4VmVhuew/s200/jay_at_wake_s.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember the caption contests?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<hr />
<br />
<div>
Speaking of the Art of Jay Lake, here's another view onto the man I want you to know about:<br />
<br />
"The Jay Wake Book: A Celebration of Jay Lake", absolutely free and in full color:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55560420/Jay%20Wake%20Book%20Low%20Res.pdf" target="_blank">PDF Low Resolution (small file size 7MB)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/55560420/Jay%20Wake%20Book%20High%20Res.pdf" target="_blank">PDF High Resolution (72MB)</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.lulu.com/shop/friends-of-jay/the-jay-wake-book-a-celebration-of-jay-lake/paperback/product-21254789.html" target="_blank">HARDCOPY: This POD book is splendid, with quality full-color prints.</a> (The cost of $28.22 covers only the production costs of the book, courtesy of editors and contributors, myself included.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpgQ3aBD9QY/VWyidWYGJbI/AAAAAAAAAls/7OxBslrWDBI/s1600/nose_touch_s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bpgQ3aBD9QY/VWyidWYGJbI/AAAAAAAAAls/7OxBslrWDBI/s200/nose_touch_s.jpg" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love you</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
(My gratitude to editor <a href="http://www.onecobble.com/" target="_blank">Sandra Tayler</a> and all contributors to the book.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-19514501386170907732015-05-14T20:49:00.002-07:002015-05-14T20:49:20.101-07:00What is Story?Lately I've become obsessed with a question. It is, more or less, this: What is story?<br />
<br />
I know some stuff about story. My stories have been published in magazines and anthologies, I have a YA fantasy book that many readers like, and my new fantasy novel is coming out next spring from Baen Books. I know a good story when I've read it. Or written it.<br />
<br />
But what is it, at essence? There's something there that I can almost taste, but can't quite get my hands around. Something at the fundament of the concept of story, that crosses all forms, from flash to epic, from song to movie, from Saturday morning cartoons to Shakespeare's sonnets.<br />
<br />
What <i>is</i> story? What would I see if I held its beating heart in my hand?<br />
<br />
I re-read my writing books, sucking marrow from the words of those who ought to know. I put the question to the internet. I ask everyone who will stand still long enough.<br />
<br />
Story, a number of writerly friends inform me, is when a character, with a challenge, after struggling and failing, finally solves (or fails to solve) said challenge. Stuff happens, see. People change. Situations get resolved. Beginning, middle, end. Tension. Resolution. Resonance.<br />
<br />
Well, yes. That's plot structure - or some kinds of plot structures, anyway. But I could write a story that fits all that just fine and still brings you to yawns. (Yes, I'm that good.) If it's boring, it's not a story for you. So what makes a story come alive?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
It's about character, someone tells me. Intriguing characters who draw you into a greater meaning.<br />
<br />
Yes, again. None of this is untrue, but in a sense these are only tools. What about Story with a capital "S"? I'm still hunting for the essence of the beast itself. I'll know it when I hold it in my hand, gooey and throbbing.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
"Story..." says <a href="http://www.ursulakleguin.com/WhatMakesAStory.html" target="_blank">Ursula K. Le Guin</a>, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/429983.The_Language_of_the_Night" target="_blank">in one of her essays,</a> "is one of the basic tools invented by the mind of man, for the purpose of gaining understanding. There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories."<br />
<br />
That all societies use story seems an important clue to my hunt. That it's a tool to understanding -- another clue. I can sense the answer out there.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://bookviewcafe.com/blog/2012/06/18/le-guin-s-hypothesis/" target="_blank">another article</a> she says:<br />
<br />
"The very quality of story is to hold, to fascinate."<br />
<br />
I can feel myself inching closer.<br />
<br />
Casting about for answers on the net, <a href="http://www.publicwords.com/what-a-story-is-and-is-not-part-2/" target="_blank">this quote</a> catches my eye:<br />
<br />
"What is a story? A structured way of looking at reality. A way that works for us because it matches the way our brains work. Reality, in its raw, unfiltered, and ugly state, is chaotic. But we are not very good at dealing with chaos. Hence, we impose structures on our experiences of reality in order to make sense of it. We impose stories."<br />
<br />
Making sense of reality. I hear a distant bell. I'm closer.<br />
<br />
Some friends question the intensity of my obsession. "Why do you need to know how the sausage is made? Isn't it enough that you can make it?"<br />
<br />
It sure isn't. I need to understand not just sausage, but Sausage.<br />
<br />
Finding another analogy wouldn't hurt, either.<br />
<br />
Ever played with a kitten and a string? Even better -- tie a ball of crinkly paper to the end. You tug and the kitten follows, utterly fascinated. Maybe it pounces, making adorable mock-killing motions. After a while, kitten might tire just a bit, and sit back on its haunches, and look around to see if there's another crinkly ball lurking in the neighborhood.<br />
<br />
Want kitten's rapt attention back? Draw the crinkly ball behind a corner, just out of sight. Somewhere not visible but clearly in reach. Kitten is unable to resist following. Perhaps it's genetic wiring for the mouse that has just slipped into a shallow hole. Kitten will follow. Kitten has no choice.<br />
<br />
As I see it, this is Story. Kitten Story.<br />
<br />
What is the human equivalent? When we are deeply intrigued by a tale, what makes us so? When we are moved to tears, what has done this? How does a story become irresistible? What makes us care so much, makes us so happy when it's completed well?<br />
<br />
I know the answer varies from person to person, from culture to culture, and across genres. But I believe there's something at the heart of all stories that draws our attention relentlessly forward, that leads our ravenously curious minds around. As if we were kittens chasing crinkly paper balls. That thing we are genetically unable to resist.<br />
<br />
Another writer friend says this: "Stories are ways to live without living. To experience significant things without all the troubles of actually being there. Living takes time and resources; If you can live a dozen years around a campfire in one night, there's value there. Useful experience on the cheap."<br />
<br />
Stories can teach us how to live, so we don't have to try to live all those lives ourselves.<br />
<br />
I can smell it now, the answer. It's pungent. I'm so close.<br />
<br />
I score a chance to talk about plot with an award-winning story author, and at one point in the conversation he's on about characters who face challenges that keep getting worse, about how they slam up against a dilemma with obvious resolutions, but the ideal story solves the dilemma in a non-obvious way, and then...<br />
<br />
...and then...<br />
<br />
The bell rings. I have it. My answer.<br />
<br />
I'm bouncing up and down, saying "that's it! that's it!" and my friend is gently trying to tell me that while it might be a profound insight for me, it's not necessarily going to seem like a big deal to everyone else. But I don't care -- I have my answer -- I have the beating heart of Story, right in my hand.<br />
<br />
It's not complicated. In fact, it's deliciously simple.<br />
<br />
Oh, you want it, too? Here it is.<br />
<br />
Our minds are built for making sense out of the world, and making sense is, at its core, about solving puzzles. So when someone starts solving puzzles and unwinding mysteries in front of us, we notice fast. If the puzzle or mystery happens to be similar to something we've tried to solve ourselves, successfully or not, we become intrigued. Stories that work for us intrigue us because they solve mysteries we care about.<br />
<br />
Now, I use the words "puzzle" and "mystery" loosely here. A social challenge. How power is wielded. Dealing with death. Exploring new lands. Surviving hardship. Finding love. Making community. Having children. Living in peace. The nature of consciousness. What we want. What we fear. All this and more.<br />
<br />
Story is puzzle solving, done well.<br />
<br />
I start to see how the canonical rules of storytelling fall naturally out of this principle. Why is it so important we identify with the character? Because if the character isn't enough like us, we can't follow the pattern to the solution. Why the escalating challenges? To show that the character is dealing with a non-trivial problem, one worth solving. Why must the character transform? Because they can't solve the problem at the story's start and at the conclusion they can, so the problem changed, the character changed, or it's a lousy story. To see how we might follow in their path, the change must be evident. Why an unexpected solution? Because we already know the expected and obvious ones. I could go on.<br />
<br />
As humans, we are keenly aware when anyone tells us they've untangled a knot. It intrigues us at a very deep level. When Story draws us forward irresistibly, it is offering to solve a mystery for us.<br />
<br />
When it delivers, it gives us great satisfaction, because that's how we and our clever minds are put together.<br />
<br />
So I've solved my mystery. The crinkly ball is mine.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-23007655453842497192015-05-01T13:00:00.000-07:002015-05-01T13:00:07.468-07:00May Day, Map Day<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><br />Return the map! It will bring you great danger.</i></div>
<br />
The map is not the story, but if your characters leave the house and wander around at all, you'll need a map. You can have it before you begin, or you can draw it as you go, but you need a sense of location or you'll get lost, and no one likes it when the author -- the tour guide, after all -- can't find their way around.<br />
<br />
My maps are minimal. High Fantasy has a history of being extravagant with unnecessary details, and I resist that -- I tend to follow the maxim "Cut out all the parts that aren't interesting" (<a href="http://www.jlake.com/2010/12/22/process-the-best-writing-advice-i-ever-got/" target="_blank">Ray Vukcevich, to Jay Lake, as related here</a>)<br />
<br />
So, yes, I have my maps. Right by my computer so I can see where the action is happening and where my people are going. Check that it all makes sense.<br />
<br />
Still, somehow, it didn't occur to me that the reader might also like to know where the action was happening and where the characters were going. So I was surprised when my editor said, "we'll need your map, of course."<br />
<br />
Need my map? But... but... I'm not a map person. I just have these sketches...<br />
<br />
No problem, my editor says, we have a guy for that.<br />
<br />
I do a little research on their guy and I'm suitably impressed; he's discussed with reverence and awe. His job is to take my map and make it look good. I provide the raw materials and he makes it sparkle and shine.<br />
<br />
I slowly exhale. I don't have to worry about the map after all.<br />
<br />
Well, wait -- I have to give him something, and it has to be correct. I take a closer look at the sketch I'm planning to send him, and I realize some of the details are, ahem, not quite right.<br />
<br />
Oh, not the book -- the narrative itself is flawless, as to places and directions. Ahem. But primarily it's my map that needs fixing. Provinces where they should be. Villages and cities moved to the right -- if general -- location. Major rivers inserted. Show the Great Road. Things that if you're going to bother with a map at all, need to be present and correct enough to elucidate rather than befuddle.<br />
<br />
Here we go into the warm part of the year. The well-lit part of the year. Good light by which to draw.<br />
<br />
Map Day.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-5697150708900947292015-04-15T19:44:00.000-07:002015-04-15T19:44:34.139-07:00The Seer: Signed, Sealed, Delivered<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xpGH4nrKdk/VS8XzogoIGI/AAAAAAAAAkY/KphQJuESTmU/s1600/arunkel_for_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3xpGH4nrKdk/VS8XzogoIGI/AAAAAAAAAkY/KphQJuESTmU/s1600/arunkel_for_blog.jpg" height="200" width="100" /></a>I've been waiting until today to tell you what happened two weeks ago. Before I do that, let's back up a bit.<br />
<br />
Early last year <a href="http://www.baen.com/" target="_blank">Baen Books</a> told me that, yes, they were interested in my novel, <i>The Seer</i>, but that they wanted changes. Big changes. In a long conversation, they outlined the revisions they wanted. Totally understand, they said, if you'd rather not.<br />
<br />
Thing was, they were right. The editors had, essentially, called me out on all my short-cuts, weak characterizations, arcs that needed to go farther, an ending that needed more closure.<br />
<br />
Yeah, I said: count me in. I'm in. All in.<br />
<br />
Then I went to work. The revisions they wanted were huge -- plot-changing, character wrenching -- and in many cases they did not play nicely with each other. I realized that I needed to find new ways to tell a story that was fast becoming more complicated than anything I had laid hands on before. Bluntly, this story was going to require a better writer than I was to finish it. Somehow, I had to become that better writer.<br />
<br />
I wish I could tell you it all blossomed in magic born of necessity, and there were some rare times when the words just flowed and it felt like some kind of magic, but most of the time it was me just reviewing plot-lines, checking maps, consulting my experts, and putting one finger in front of the other to write what too often felt like the clumsiest prose I'd ever fashioned.<br />
<br />
I took out a lot of words. All the way through and in the final rewrites. My outtakes file is about half the size of the final manuscript, and that isn't short. (Though, I hasten to add, shorter than <i>Game of Thrones</i>. Ha!)<br />
<br />
But most of the time what got me through the current scene or chapter was something akin to terror: I had signed a contract -- I had taken real money -- I had a deadline. Sure, I could quit, but then I'd have to flee the country and live in shame under an assumed name for the rest of my life.<br />
<br />
There were moments where that seemed the better option.<br />
<br />
I lined up some powerful allies. First readers. Friends. Experts. Advisers. My Muse. My Reader Advocate. (I'll explain later.) I warned them all that there would be times when I would loose faith in my ability, and that their job was to get me to the finish line. And they did. Wow, did they. More on that in another post.<br />
<br />
As a writer I took a lot of risks with this book, with the story-line, characters, tensions, symbol choices, and so on -- things I hope my reader never notices consciously. I had no idea if the publisher would like what I'd done.<br />
<br />
Sometimes I would lie there trying to sleep and think about all the risky things I'd done that they could object to, all the strange twists and turns I'd made, all the ways in which I'd incorporated the changes they wanted, but gone a fair bit beyond what might have been enough, all in order to tell the story that needed to be told.<br />
<br />
In the last two months before the deadline, it came to me -- in my gut, not intellectually -- that I had to write the story the best I possibly could -- so that, if the publisher did not like it after all, I would know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that it wasn't because I'd held back.<br />
<br />
I didn't hold back.<br />
<br />
Then, the last day of March -- two weeks ago -- I shipped it. That's what I wanted to tell you.<br />
<br />
I was surprisingly calm about it. I had, after all, given it everything I had. If it wasn't good enough, well, so be it; I knew I hadn't taken any shortcuts.<br />
<br />
Today my editor at Baen wrote me back. He said he'd finished the book. The fixes he wants are minor.<br />
<br />
He called it wonderful. He called it excellent. He said I'd made all the changes he'd hoped for and more. He said he was proud to be publishing it.<br />
<br />
Me, too. Very much so. <i>The Seer</i> is scheduled to hit ink in spring of 2016.Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-4770426343493564222014-11-05T16:12:00.002-08:002014-11-05T16:12:41.771-08:00The Everything of LifeI don't usually write about food (with <a href="http://lyris.org/fiction/#chefs_surprise">"Chef's Surprise"</a> as a notable exception) but this I had to share.<br />
<br />
Low carbing? Gluten-free?<br />
<br />
Bet you miss bagels, don't you.<br />
<br />
It's the <b>everything</b> you really miss.<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason you've decided baked goods just aren't worth the downside, I'm with you. But gods, I miss the everything.<br />
<br />
You, too?<br />
<br />
Sometimes these inspirations come from the sky. Me, I was walking by a bakery.<br />
<br />
I have a solution. Not the perfect solution, but remember: the perfect is the enemy of the just-darned-good-enough. This is good enough and then some.<br />
<br />
Just fry up some cheese. Add the everything mix. Brown slightly.<br />
<br />
Pretty simple stuff, the everything: salt, poppy and sesame seeds, dried unions and/or garlic. Which you can <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/everything-topping-mix-for-bread-and-bagels-384750">make</a>, buy on-line, or do what I did: walk into the bakery and ask for some. They might double-take, but if you have money, they'll hand it over.<br />
<br />
Then fry up your favorite cheese, baked, with some everything on it. It's so good you will be tempted to send me fan mail. (Please do.)<br />
<br />
Because yum. Because <b>everything</b>.<br />
<div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PzH8mxnya1Q/VFq7EWgg11I/AAAAAAAAAjA/nvgTAAIwm18/s1600/2014-10-09%2B13.13.02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PzH8mxnya1Q/VFq7EWgg11I/AAAAAAAAAjA/nvgTAAIwm18/s1600/2014-10-09%2B13.13.02.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's everything you ever wanted</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-20575719107677112782014-09-27T15:41:00.000-07:002014-09-27T15:46:10.872-07:00How Facebook ate my blog and what I'm going to do about it<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WqLHcyDm5o/VCc8SWOA5eI/AAAAAAAAAio/tMdhOteHWe0/s1600/facebook_ate_my_blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WqLHcyDm5o/VCc8SWOA5eI/AAAAAAAAAio/tMdhOteHWe0/s1600/facebook_ate_my_blog.jpg" height="200" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook ate my blog</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I don't blog here as much as I used to. I blame Facebook.<br />
<br />
Why? It's easier to whip up a quick-and-dirty witty comment there than a reasoned and thoughtful post, here. A lower bar to hit. I don't have to be as detailed, as nuanced. Full sentences not required. No one cares about my typos.<br />
<br />
I appreciate responses. Far more likely to get them on the old FB feed.<br />
<br />
Maybe even generate some back and forth. More like casual conversation between humans rather than a high-school essay. Gathering around the water hole.<br />
<i><br />Can you believe what the giraffes are on about?<br /><br />The elephants are sure making noise tonight. Not much signal, though.<br /><br />What, again? Will these idiot birds ever learn how things really work?</i><br />
<br />
<br />
And then there's micro-reward of the LIKE. A touch of sweet dopamine. Food for the social animal, even the most anti-social among us.<br />
<br />
I tell myself I'm not happy about all this. That my blog needs me. That I'm not going to take it any more. Going to do something about it.<br />
<br />
So I write this post.<br />
<br />
But if I want a response I'd better mention it there. Even if the theme of Facebook distracting humans from the more important things in life (like blogging?) is well past its sell-by date, someone there will agree with my sentiments.<br />
<br />
Oh yes, they will.<br />
<br />
Just watch my feed and see. Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-77374173311170267922014-06-25T05:07:00.002-07:002014-06-25T09:28:27.336-07:00Things Jay Lake Told MeWe lost <a href="http://www.jlake.com/">Jay Lake</a> on June 1st. A lot of us, as it turns out. And yet we each lost our own personal Jay. Not quite the same critter as the next missing-Jay sufferer.<br />
<br />
Me, I lost a friend who gave me some things no one else ever had, who held my hands and my confidences gently.<br />
<br />
A lot has been said about him in the time since, but a few things haven't been said yet and I'd like to say them.<br />
<br />
Jay believed in love, yes. But he also believed in touch and sex and adamantly and passionately believed that there was nothing wrong with either.<br />
<br />
One day when he was visiting me, I turned on the tape recorder and got him going on various subjects, which wasn't hard to do.<br />
<br />
Jay liked to talk. It was one of the many things he did well.<br />
<br />
About people and how to treat them:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Way too many people don't get listened to, or experience kindness, or touch. If you pay attention and you're nice about it and you gently offer touch, it's amazing how people respond."</i><br />
<br />
About sex and death:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We are put on this earth to do two things: fuck off and die.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"We fuck off to make more of ourselves, and we die to get out of their way. Since we only get to die once, we may as well work on the fucking-off as much as we can."</i><br />
<br />
I laughed at this. He smiled and added, <i>"I'm saying that funny, but I really do believe it."</i><br />
<br />
And he did. Among the things I learned from Jay was that there are lots of ways to do sex.<br />
<br />
Now that he's gone, I realize he also showed me there are a lot of ways to die. His way was to leave it all on the table.<br />
<br />
Or to take it all off the table.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Two of the greatest things in life are sex and food. Sensory input. I approach them similarly."</i><br />
<br />
Sensuality. The stuff of life. He wanted it all.<br />
<br />
The morning Jay died I went into a cafe and got myself a large cup of whipped cream. I drank it to his memory.<br />
<br />
One day, many years ago -- pre-cancer -- I was complaining to Jay about something or another in my life.<br />
<br />
You do your best, he told me.<br />
<br />
No, that's not what he said at all. What he said was this:<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>"Here’s a twenty sided die, a jar of anchovies, an accordion, and a lug wrench. Good luck."</i><br />
<br />
He meant that we go forward with the tools we have. Maybe not quite the tools we'd hoped for. Maybe not even sufficiently good tools. But they're the tools we've got. So use them, he meant.<br />
<br />
The gifts Jay gave me - his love, his insights - are among my best tools.<br />
<br />
Along with the twenty-sided die, of course, which I keep handy for those occasions when I'm without a jar of anchovies, an accordion, or a lug wrench.<br />
<br />
<i>"The entropy of the universe tends toward the maximum. Our role as human beings is to stand against that tendency."</i><br />
<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hcxk-NyUW8k/U6q_YCmAl3I/AAAAAAAAAho/GpH2rCJz_-0/s1600/jay_as_postage_stamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Hcxk-NyUW8k/U6q_YCmAl3I/AAAAAAAAAho/GpH2rCJz_-0/s1600/jay_as_postage_stamp.jpg" height="200" width="173" /></a>And he did.<br />
<br />
I'd like to think that through those of us who remain, missing him and loving him, he still does.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<i>"Love while you can, live as you must."</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i><br />
Yes.<br />
<i><br /></i>Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-82006748031486177172014-05-11T19:40:00.000-07:002014-05-12T08:21:22.503-07:00I'm a Grown-up Now<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhq1Ke0T8RA/U3AzvPol-7I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/stFlrUG1iGU/s1600/hot_dish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mhq1Ke0T8RA/U3AzvPol-7I/AAAAAAAAAhQ/stFlrUG1iGU/s1600/hot_dish.jpg" height="111" width="200" /></a></div>
You know how when you go out to a restaurant, the server brings you a warm dish, puts it down in front of you, and says:<br />
<br />
"Careful now -- that's hot"?<br />
<br />
Let me ask you something. What's the first thing a kid does when you tell them not to touch something?<br />
<br />
Yeah.<br />
<br />
Also, I don't know what my server means by hot. Frankly, most people are wimps. So I touch it, just to find out <i>how</i> hot.<br />
<br />
Typically not very. I like hot. Hot soups, hot drinks. Really hot. Most lattes are lukewarm by my standards. When I'm ordering from a Barista, I say, "make it dangerously hot. Put me at risk." Gets my point across.<br />
<br />
So imagine my delight when, last week, a steaming, baked pesto-tomato-egg dish was put in front of me with no warning at all.<br />
<br />
Just like that.<br />
<br />
I grinned like a fool. I told the servers how delighted I was and thanked them profusely for treating me like an adult. I might have scared them a bit with my enthusiasm.<br />
<br />
Oh, and the food was fabulous, too.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4053430807670822229.post-53610979078466017842014-03-19T20:14:00.005-07:002014-03-19T20:16:10.874-07:00Seattle Driver Backs up While Texting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x3mDffdCwOc/UypbH1BckTI/AAAAAAAAAgc/5YAiWlk6qpQ/s1600/SMSdriving.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x3mDffdCwOc/UypbH1BckTI/AAAAAAAAAgc/5YAiWlk6qpQ/s1600/SMSdriving.png" /></a>Yes, I recently watched a woman do this. Luckily not from behind her car.<br />
<br />
Whether you walk, bike, or drive, you are at risk from those who take their attention off the road to see what's on their phone. For what? A cute cat picture? Something to pick up from the store?<br />
<br />
Is it worth a life?<br />
<br />
As my regular readers know, I have <a href="http://noiseandsignal.lyris.org/2011/08/cell-phones-dont-kill.html" target="_blank">some strong opinions</a> about using a cell phone while driving that go well beyond "don't."<br />
<br />
At highway speeds, in the time it takes you to glance away from the road to look at your phone, even just to see who called, you're covering the length of a football field.<br />
<br />
How many bodies is that?<br />
<br />
Remember when cigarette smokers claimed they weren't hurting anyone but themselves so they should be able to smoke where and when they liked? Smoking laws arose because enough people decided that it simply wasn't true.<br />
<br />
When the cellphone-while-driving body-count gets high enough, maybe we'll decide it isn't true that drivers can safely share that much attention with the road.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, while the pile of bodies is still not large enough to get our culture's keen attention on the matter, how do we convince people not to text and drive?<br />
<br />
One way is to insist that they do. In 2012, a Brussels Driving Centre required teens to text during a driving test. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbjSWDwJILs" target="_blank">See what happened here</a>. What would it take to include something like this on the practical part of the drivers' test?<br />
<br />
Another way is to use the technology itself. It would be relatively easy to write an app that tracks cell phone motion patterns to determine if someone is driving or not, and then whether they are texting or talking, and report that to their auto-insurance company. Or the police. Anyone working on this? Can I help?<br />
<br />
And lastly, social condemnation can move mountains. You know that look you give someone when they light up a cigarette near the picnic table at which you and your family are eating? Do that. Scowl. Shake your head. Wag your finger.<br />
<br />
Just be careful and stay out of the direct line from their car to your body. Bad judgment while driving is not limited to cell phone use.<br />
<br />Sonia Lyrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03972394773253330964noreply@blogger.com0