Month: July 2005

I was reading this MIT paper on construction and reconstruction of the self in virtual reality and I kind of realized that, in a way, that’s a lot of what writing is for a lot of us — a chance to reinvent ourselves endlessly and sometimes repetitively in the wider boundaries of another realm. On paper, we give ourselves a chance to encounter the decisions we could not make in our present realities, we force ourselves to confront the villain, the bully, the snob, the jock, the fathers, our alters, and replay scenarios where we end up better off, worse than, different. We race down the hallways of a Choose Your Own Adventure book, make tracks through our heads, and rattle every doorknob to see how things will end.

I’ve always had the idea that it would be an even better game to make up clue cards listing made-up towns, include a sketched map of the city centers of these towns, including public schools, private schools, churches, malls and hospitals, add a couple of random families listed by street, and then put them all in a box, and have a group of YA writers blindly choose a town, then from another box a topic (for instance race, gender, family structure, marriage, etc. – really broad topics), and then roll a die to a gender identity – GLBT – or a race – or a sex. Then, each writer would have a weekend to come up with a short story based on the town selected. In the end, the best stories could be polished up and pulled together to form some kind of linked cycle.

That would be so way cooler than role playing. I’ll reconstruct my identity on paper anyday.

Yes, I know it’s the big weekend for Harry Potter fans, but before we get to that, first I have to say that the NPR “All Things Considered” update of the story of Owen and Mzee, the baby hippo tsunami refugee who became the foster child of a giant tortoise, is a kind of magic all its own. Of course there’s a children’s book in the works! Props to NPR for the sneak peek.

Meanwhile, we’re still wild about Harry! A few cities actually proclaimed an All Potters Eve, and I’m glad to see it wasn’t just the adults having fun. I sincerely hope this next book is worth the wait, worth the hype, though I have my doubts about that, from the sort of whinging and hand-wringing that went on in the last episode. I do, however, send good wishes to JK Rowling… and I really hope she’s well on her way to fabricating another universe, and another set of lovable characters, because boy this series is going to be a hard act to follow! On the other hand, she certainly will have an eager (to make more cash) agent and loyal readers waiting to pick up whatever falls from her pen…

So, good reading to those of you who went right out and got Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, camped out for the midnight book release, dressed in your Hogwart’s Academy best, and partied like it was …Book VI. I was with you in spirit, though I was far too lazy to get out of bed and ride my broom. However, for my next ‘pay it forward’ mitzvah activity of the year, the plan is to buy a couple of books, read them, and donate them to the public library in the next few weeks – so no spoilers, people.

In many ways, the Harry Hype is overrated, overdone, commercial, Madison Avenue derived crap, and is not even about the book, (or at least not about the writing or the storyline) anymore at all. On the other hand, when was the last time people got this excited about reading — even reading an imperfect series of books? Back when Tolkien was writing, or when The Narnia Chronicles came out, I hear. So, it’s been awhile… Even though I think sometimes the storyline is plodding, and that editing these tomes might do them (and us!) a world of good, I love the excitement of a new link in the saga. It’s so cool to read. And to all the people who bought me books that fed my imagination when I was a kid – then or now, “I can no other answer make, but thanks, and thanks, and ever, thanks.”

The 4th of July (also known as Chinese Pyrotechnology Appreciation Day) is over, and now we’re sitting down all too early with afterimages of fireworks burned on our retinas. Well, the happy consolations for the writer are thus: SmartWriter’s 2005 Write It Now Contest has announced its winners — and, in a burst of ubercool, has announced a short story contest as well. The rules are posted on the SmartWriters website, and read them carefully, possums.

The Writer’s Digest is pulling out a new short story contest, the WD Popular Fiction Awards. Um, so “popular fiction.” The antithesis, I guess, of literary fiction? Anyway, they’re looking at five categories: Romance, Mystery/Crime Fiction, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Thriller/Suspense and Horror. The Grand-Prize Winner will receive $2,500 clams, $100 worth of Writer’s Digest books and paraphenalia, plus a manuscript critique and marketing advice from a Writer’s Digest editor or advisory board member. Everyone who places gets a mention in Writer’s Digest magazine, which is a good way to get your name out there to sharp editorial assistants. The deadline is a reasonable distance away, and the fee isn’t expensive, either, which is always good to hear.

Meanwhile, the Fiction Open at our dearly beloved Glimmer Train Press has a July 15 deadline, so there’s still time to enter that fabulous story you know is within you. Courage, dear ones. Crank up the a/c, and once more into the breach!