I’ve been tagged. By which, of course, I mean that I woke up
in my backyard with a floppy plastic card dangling from my earlobe and a radio
transmitter affixed around my neck. It wasn’t painful, but I’d still like to
have a word with fellow Billings author and inimitable raconteur Craig
Lancaster (www.craig-lancaster.com) for giving my name, location, and species
to the alien biologists who are clearly responsible. But why do aliens care
about such things as the work habits of individual human authors? The answer
should terrify us all…
ZZZzzztttt.
Ow. The collar just shocked me. I think I’d better get on
with answering their specific questions.
1)
What are you working on?
I’m currently writing Belief:
Book Two of the Vanilla Cycle, the sequel to Legitimacy. I've chronicaled the state and origins of this book in this previous post.
Belief picks up the
story a year after the events of Legitimacy.
CEO Matthew Valdosky has been called before a UN Investigative Committee to
answer for the Valdosky Company’s role in the Angel-37 asteroid colony disaster.
But before he testifies, he learns from an unexpected source that accepting the
blame and resigning will play right into the hands of Dwight Yarrow and the
NAIAD group conspiracy. Changing his mind may not be that easy, though. Matthew
has his own secrets to hide — secrets that could shake civilization to its very
foundations.
2)
How does your work differ from others of its genre?
I write science fiction. I love science fiction. However,
with the exception of a few key authors, I don’t actually follow the genre very
closely, nor do I adhere to any trend or subgenre. My reading list tends to be
very eclectic. I’ll read almost anything and seek out good stories anywhere I
can. I’m often inspired by works outside my genre. Most notably (or
egregiously), I borrowed liberally from the plot and themes of W. Somerset
Maugham’s Of Human Bondage as I wrote
the character of Teague Werres for Legitimacy.
I prefer to write hard, near-future science fiction, where
the technologies seem plausible and the future history feels possible. However,
I’m not a scientist. Rather than fill the worlds I create with minute scientific
details, I allow my characters to experience new technologies as would any
consumer at any point in history. Yes, certain technologies may impact my
characters’ lives, but I work hard to let my characters drive their stories.
Science fiction is at its worst when it’s the other way around.
3)
Why do you write what you do?
As a reader, I cut my teeth on science fiction, so it feels
like home. But I’ve found that sci-fi is a wonderful tool for safely exploring many
facets of the human experience. Writers can explore even the touchiest of
subjects without breaching taboos or causing direct offense. And, done well,
sci-fi rises above simple allegory and can touch off discussions that actually
impact humanity’s future. I would love to start one of those discussions.
I also love epic, sweeping tales, but I’m as much a
historian as a scientist. Science fiction conveniently frees me to sprawl my
stories across time and space without having to adhere to all those pesky
historical facts.
4)
How does your writing process work?
Like a charm… ZZZZzzzttt. Sorry.
I’ve been teaching myself the craft of writing for the past few
years, and I’ve experimented with many strategies for getting through a manuscript.
I’ve yet to hit on a single successful process. I outline when I feel I need
to, but just as often, I write from my head (or the seat of my pants, as the
writers’ trope goes). I begin with a large sense of each book: the cast of
characters, the basic plot, backstories, themes, and where I’d like it to end.
On my first pass, I tend to include everything, and as such, I create bloated
first drafts that contain way, way more than will ever see a Kindle screen.
I’ve tried to write leaner, but when I’m flowing, it all just comes out, and it
just feels wrong to staunch anything.
I know it’s cliché, but it’s during the revising phase that
the real writing happens for me. This was one of the toughest things for me to
learn. When I started writing, I wanted my prose to flow forth, needing only a
snip here and a tuck there. I hated the idea of touching my words once they
were on the page; they seemed so right at the time. But I’ve learned to hone,
trim, cut, paste, slash, burn, gnash, gnaw, chew, spit, and polish, and have
grown unafraid to do whatever I need to do to get things right. And now, after
having gone through the process a couple of times, I live by it. In fact, don’t
tell anyone, but I enjoy revision as much as, if not more than, filling a blank
page.
This can be a slow process, but I’m also beginning to
understand more what works and what doesn’t. Each new first draft is just a
little less onerous than the last.
I’m suddenly getting a message. The aliens are telling me
that I’m supposed to pass on the names of a few other fellow authors for
tagging. I sure hope they’re not going to come down and probe me for this, but
I’m going to have to defer this now. I’ve put some feelers out, but I’m leaving
on vacation soon, and this will post before I can include their names. I’ll
update with a few names when I’m able.
So there, aliens, I’ve done what you asked, and have
provided you with the data you require for your nefarious study. Now, please
come back. This collar’s getting kind of itchy.
Craig Lancaster's alien study data can be read here: http://www.craig-lancaster.com/2014/06/05/waiting-for-the-wait-to-stop-my-writing-process/ He, in turn, was tagged by Montana author David Abrams, whose entry can be found here: http://davidabramsbooks.blogspot.com/2014/05/screen-staring-and-hand-cramps-my-stop.html
I’d also like to acknowledge author Marsheila Rockwell, a friend
of my wife’s, for kindly tagging me with this meme back in March. Of course, I
promptly neglected to actually write anything then, but I thank her for not
setting aliens on me for her trouble. Her write-up can be found here: http://mrockwell.livejournal.com/172427.html
