Banned Book Day.

I found out about this through a few sites, but The Rejectionist gets straight to the point about it: write a review of your favorite banned book as a protest against the fuckwittery that is censorship.

A lot of books I admire and love are on this list, which isn’t even comprehensive beyond one decade, and some of them are really mind-boggling. After the red cleared from my eyes, I chose two to review: The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, and Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause.

There’s something ironic about a novel on censorship being censored, isn’t there? Add that to the fact that The Handmaid’s Tale is one of the best dystopian stories I’ve read, and you bet I’m picking it for the spotlight.

In a world that used to be a lot like ours, women are relegated to strictly enforced roles in their society. They have no rights and no privacy. Some even have their personal names taken from them. They are only hands to do work, wombs to carry children, and tongues to spread propaganda, depending upon what role was chosen for them.

Main character Offred is a Handmaid, whose only duty is to get impregnated by her Commander (a man of the ruling class) so he can have an heir. Offred’s point of view is written as stream-of-consciousness — disjointed flashbacks, memories, and perceptions that slowly form a bleak picture of totalitarian rule.

Now I know some spec fic readers and writers cringe at The Handmaid’s Tale because it’s unapologetically feminist and feeling-oriented and eewwww, that’s not really dystopian. My reply is fuck you, it is. The fact that it is consistently banned is damn good proof of its power to push buttons and provoke, and I can’t think of anything more reflective of dystopia. It’s ambiguous, frighteningly realistic, and best of all, written to treat readers as a perceptive, intelligent audience that can be left to draw its own conclusions.

In comparison, Blood and Chocolate may seem like a bit of fluff, banned not because of the concepts it represents, but for mundane reasons like sexual content and violence. But I think that glosses over a lot of what this YA novel offers.

Sixteen-year-old Vivian is a werewolf, part of a pack that recently moved after their alpha (who was also Vivian’s father) was killed by suspicious humans. As her pack struggles to regroup and find a new leader to guide them, Vivian finds herself enamored with a human named Aiden. He seems sweet and gentle, unlike the rougher males in her pack. A nice change of pace.

Yet at the same time, one of the alpha contenders, Gabriel, warns her that she can’t trust a human to not break her heart, should she ever reveal herself… and when Vivian does, the consequences become life-threatening.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if Blood and Chocolate isn’t banned so much for descriptions of gore and sex than because Vivian is a teenager aware and comfortable with her sexuality. Not in a “HOYEAH SCHOOLGIRL SLUT FANTASY” way, but in being straightforward with what she wants and who she wants it with. It feels very lupine, the sort of “This is my body, this is what it feels, so why question these urges?” mentality, and actually works really well in separating her mentality from that of a human’s.

On a more general note, it’s really unusual to find werewolves who feel primal even as humans, and it’s this characteristic that lifts Klause’s work above the swarm of werewolf novels out there. For that alone, this book should not only not be banned, but given a gold star.

Three Months Later…

I keep doing this, don’t I? Hopefully this latest three-month absence will also be the last one. Truth is, I hardly know what to blog about, since I like to keep my projects mostly under wraps, and hell if I know what I’m doing well enough to write articles on writing.

But I figure I’ll open up a little and reveal what’s stewing in the creative cauldron. Also, I’m going to join NaNoWriMo this year, so that’ll offer a lot of material to work with.

So on that note, here’s my project stats:

The Bone Grind. Urban fantasy with werewolves, metal familiars, and people that can turn their hands into guns. Currently in second draft stage, and tentatively scheduled to be finished and sent to betas by the end of this year.

Ruby Fed. Dark fantasy about a serial killer who agrees to a political marriage and unexpectedly falls in love with his new wife. Currently in early planning stages, and tentatively scheduled to be this year’s NaNo project.

The Thirteenth Rib. Science fiction with flesh harvesting factories and a MC searching for his sister in a city where nothing is safe and no one can be trusted. Currently in planning stages. The first draft will commence after NaNo.

Wolf Healer. Dark fantasy novella about an apprenticed healer whose village “cures” werewolves through bleeding and contagious magic. Will be lengthened into a novel-size manuscript.

First Impressions.

I’ve just started reading a book I picked off the shelf on a whim. It’s not my usual cup of tea — space opera — but the title caught my eye and after thumbing through a few pages, I decided to give it a try.

The villain is introduced immediately, which doesn’t bother me. What makes my head tilt to the side much like a puzzled dog’s is that he is introduced as the villain immediately, if that makes sense. In other words, the kind of actions that make a reader go, “Holy shit, they’re a twisted, maniacal kitten killer!” are the first impression of this character.

And it’s done well. Really well, actually, in that I was horrified by reading it. Vivid, creative, effective. Yet… I feel like I’m cheated a little as a reader, as if it could have been even more effective if my first glimpse of this character had happened during his “safe” mode, creating a gentler first impression that would have been turned upside down as it extended into the full scene.

Instead, the character is firmly entrenched in my mind as Crazy Madman Baby Eater, and he’s going to stay that way. Oh sure, depending on where the story goes, he may become Crazy Madman Baby Eater who likes to quietly garden, or Crazy Madman Baby Eater who loves his pet mutant bird, but these details, if they happen, will remain secondary.

Why? Because first impressions stick with us, no matter what. Even if further characteristics smudge them. Even if a twist ending completely obliterates them. They’re still there, a faint outline that can’t be completely erased.

I’m Alive!

Oh. Oh wow. There’s dust everywhere. And look at those cobwebs! Jeeeze.

Yeah, I disappeared for a while, didn’t I? Apologies to anyone who’s been following along, and I really regret dropping the ball on the Creativity Workshop. Honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll get back in the saddle, since I’m working hard on the second draft of a novel-length manuscript, as well as putting together extras and info for an eventual page for it on this site. However, I will resume reading and commenting on the blogs of other Workshoppers. I look forward to catching up with everyone!

My Writing Issues

Merrilee Faber over at Not Enough Words has encouraged those of us participating in her Creativity Workshop to make a list of writing issues we’d like to tackle.

Being a self-flagellating sort, I’m tempted to say, “ALL OF IT.” But that’s not very productive, and anyway I had enough low self-esteem in my teenage years to last for a lifetime. I burned all those photos, though, so don’t ask for evidence.

ANYWAY, after rifling through projects new and old and looking for patterns, I’ve come up with a solid list of issues that need to be destroyed dealt with:

Uneven descriptions. I love writing descriptions, but only for characters. Ask me to describe a room a scene takes place in, and I run away screaming. Obviously, I must learn to love describing architecture and landscapes, and keep my characters from hoarding all of my adjectives and similes.

Length. All of my projects err on the short side. It’s a huge struggle for me to come up with counterweight scenes that space out plot points without turning into useless filler.

Consistency. I have a huge problem with sticking to a daily word count, especially when I’m working on my science fiction manuscript. Practice and plonking my ass in a chair for an hour without distraction would do a lot for this problem.

It’s not a long list, but the items on it are definitely my biggest weaknesses. Here’s hoping I can spear the white whale shrink them down into manageable issues during the span of this workshop.

Don’t Feed Me Split-Pea Soup.

Well, I’m 10,000 words into this new urban fantasy project. I’ve been working on it for four days. This is a personal record for me, and frankly a bit terrifying. If I begin speaking in tongues and scratching at my arms, call an exorcist.

Brain, You and I Need to Talk.

I try to be productive every day in some shape or form. Whether this means painting faster, or strengthening my contour sketches, or tightening dialogue, it doesn’t matter. What does matter to me is that I try to strengthen my two crafts on a daily basis, either through practice or polish.

Well not today. Today, my brain quit on me after working a few hours on a commission. That essay I’d planned to write ahead of time so I could finish off that class? Not happening. The two personal art projects waiting for me, half-finished? Not one stroke further. TTR? Forget about it. At least I cleaned the cat’s litter box.

That’s not to say I sat like a zombie for the rest of the day. No, I wrote a complete, three-page outline and the first 1,000 words of an urban fantasy that will be the literary equivalent of a fried Twinkie. I wouldn’t be surprised if I wrote another 1,000 before tonight’s out. It’s really the antithesis of TTR: light-hearted, stereotypical worldbuilding (Werewolves, guys. When have I ever used a trope so common?), romance that is meet-cute instead of gut-punched… yeah.

I’m not sure what to do now, with two in-progress manuscripts vying for my attention. This story doesn’t have me by the throat like TTR, but it’s flowing out of me at a good clip and has a fairly detailed outline that is plot-hole proofed. I guess I’ll alter between the two whenever I need a break from one.