A Sense of Place - Fantasy and unusual settings

We've talked about this before on the Prosers, but a lot of reading for people is comfort. Sometimes, we want to settle ourselves into a familiar theme, group of characters, or story structure, and just get carried away on the drift of the story without wondering - wait, what just happened? Comfort reads are amazing, wonderful things that are integral to my relaxation. But sometimes, I want something new.

Many a comment has been made about the tendency for fantasy literature to be set in medieval northern-European type forests. I mean, if you think about it, it's kind of ridiculous, how unvarying the settings can be. Many of my favorite authors - Patricia McKillip, Lois McMaster Bujold - are firmly ensconced in their dark, cold forests for their main fantasy series. But as I sit here, wracking my brain, I can come up with an extremely limited list of fantasy that's not set in your typical northern-European forested land.

To be specific, I'm  not talking sci-fi here, or alternate histories set in a recognizable US or European or Asian setting (or South American - thank you Aliette de Bodard!). And I'm not talking urban fantasy either, which does a better job by at least taking place in a diversity of city types, or at least visiting them from time to time. And sci-fi is often all about visiting unique planets where the sense of place can vary as widely as the author's imagination. I'm not even talking YA fantasy, which does a pretty excellent job of utilizing unique settings (e.g. Sorrow's Knot by Erin Bow, or Vessel by Sarah Beth Durst).

So - where is the sense of unique place in standard fantasy fiction?

Here are the few examples I could think of off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm missing quite a few obvious examples.


N.K. Jemisin - the Dreamblood Duology

 

These two books take place in a richly detailed North African setting, with bonus unique magic. I love these books so, so much. Jemisin also gets bonus points for her setting in the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I'm still reading the first book, but the heroine's kingdom is clearly non-European, even if the main setting of the book is more European-like.


Saladin Ahmed - The Throne of the Crescent Moon

Middle Eastern fiction and setting is starting to be a Thing, and I'm quite happy about that. See also Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson (though that is admittedly urban fantasy).



Terry Pratchett: Interesting Times, the Last Continent, Jingo, and others

  
Oh, Terry Pratchett. You had multiple books set everywhere from the Discworld's version of China, to its Australia and its Middle East. I'm still so saddened by your passing.



And... that's it. I couldn't think of any books in tropical settings (pro tip: googling "tropical fantasy" did NOT give me the list of the books I wanted).


What is my list missing? What are your favorite traditional fantasy novels with unusual settings?

Those pesky pronouns

A little less than a year ago I was reading Anne Leckie's Ancillary Justice (and if you haven't, you should read it immediately, if not sooner. A lot of people say it starts out slow then proceeds into the breakneck tale of revenge that made it the darling of all. But I'm digressing) and I had this nagging sense that I was missing something, I just couldn't put my finger on what it was exactly. It took Breq explicitly pointing out that personal pronouns were hard for her for me to realize that she was using the same pronoun about all the other characters. My native language, Finnish, has only one pronoun "hän" that is used about everyone. Male, female or in-between. So while my command of the English language is better than some native speakers, I keep getting tripped up on the pronouns. Especially whenever I'm tired I either start mixing them up or just dropping one altogether.

A few weeks ago I took to facebook to note about my slight problem and a friend supplied me with this link: Sex-based and Non-sex-based Gender Systems. It's an interactive map on various languages and the pronouns they use categorized on whether or not they're gender-based. The thing that becomes obvious pretty soon once you start playing around with it is that gender-based pronouns are in the minority.

Map illustrating the prevalence of gendered pronouns across world languages. Image via Wikimedia

This makes me slightly sad. So few speculative fiction titles use the possibilities inherent in the variety of human language. For example in Grebo (a language native to West Africa, roughly speaking Ivory Coast and Liberia) there are four different pronouns, split into two groups; humans and other large, important things and everything else. So, for example a spaceship and a human could be referred to by the same pronouns. And that's just one of the possibilities. Pretty much my favorite possibilities but you know, who's counting?

The few pronoun systems used in fiction that I can think of are all gender-based (with the exception of the Imperial Radch series). Which seems to me very much like a wasted opportunity given the strangeness of all the different kinds of aliens we writers have come up with over the years. In A Fire Upon the Deep the Tines become an actual sentient individual only once four to seven dog-like units form into a group. In the book, the Tines speak in a 20th century American accent, which was apparently a conscious move on Vinge's part, to make it easier to relate to the aliens given how strange they were to begin with. How many other fully fictional, but humanoid races, however culturally and biologically different all nonetheless operate under the same gender-based pronoun system as native English speakers? Why is it naturally assumed that however much languages vary based on culture that all of them would still have the same pronouns?

Probably mostly because it's easy. Some of it may also be about our own blindness to the assumptions we make based on the culture we live come from. I am fully aware that I'm mostly blind to this myself. Until a few weeks ago I couldn't imagine there being a pronoun system that wasn't either based off some definition of gender (which is a whole other post) or a "one pronoun to rule them all" type situation. But I also think it's a colossal waste of potential in terms of reader transportation.

So, given the variety humans can come up with, given their different cultures but biological similarities, what is the pronoun system of your alien race?

Holiday Book Recommendations

Looking for a book to pick up this holiday season? Shopping for a young adult/middle grade reader on your list? I've got some recommendations that are both on my to-read and have-read piles.

First, of course there's this great up and coming author of YA and MG Science Fiction that you should TOTALLY read. Her space-set book CONVERGENCE is really fascinating, a great read for kids (ages 10 and up or so.)

(buying link here - available in paperback and ebook. This is my SF novel, just in case you hadn't caught on yet.)

How about a little steampunk train fantasy which feels just a wee bit science fictiony? My kids and I really enjoyed The Mark of the Dragonfly by Jaleigh Johnson this spring, and it's worth a look for readers of all types.

How about military SF cyberpunky stuff for teen readers? Very appealing to boys? The series that starts with the book INSIGNIA, by SJ Kincaid, is excellent. Another bonus, the series is complete, which means you don't have the long wait for another book in the series. YES, I'm looking at you, STEELHEART! (Steelheart is a great book for teen readers featuring a future Chicago with superheroes, only the superheroes are the bad guys. Excellent story, but the second book is only JUST coming out in January. Firefight's publication date is listed as Jan 5. We've waited so long!)

What else is out there? In fantasy, we adore the Magic Thief series by Sarah Prineas, and this fall a fourth book in the series came out, called Magic Thief Home. This one is great for younger readers, too. My kids began reading this series around 2nd grade. There are a few dark bits but not too much, and the books tend to end on a hopeful or upbeat note.

In older kid fiction, I'm really enjoying Blue Lily, Lily Blue, which is the final book in the Raven Boys series by Maggie Stiefvater. I recommend it to (older) teen readers and adult readers alike. It's a complex story of magic set in the modern day. I think what I like the most about this series is the complicated relationships the author sets up between the characters. Here in the third (last) book, I find myself just *understanding* the relationships between characters so deeply that their reactions to situations make sense even at the beginning of the book. I love an author who can characterize so deeply. There's also such a dreamy quality to the way the author describes the area, she clearly both knows and loves the environment she set this book in. Due to some strong themes of drug/alcohol use and abuse in the second book in particular, I don't recommend this younger than teenagers.

I'm just finished with a long bout of audiobook listening (a listening jag? Does that even work) of the Lois McMaster Bujold Vorkosigan series. It was an absolutely stunning ride, I'm still smiling. I love these books and as a friend suggested, I'm going to make my wishes known to my family that if ever I'm in a coma and they don't know if I'll recover, I want them to play these audiobooks in case I can hear. You, dear Prosers Readers, are responsible for reinforcing that wish if it ever comes up. I recommend starting with Shards of Honor. I really enjoyed this in audiobook, loved the narrator, but it would work in print as well. It's an older teen and up book, though, not for kids.

No matter what direction you read in this holiday season, I hope you read, read often, read lots, and share books with those you love. I've become "that crazy aunt who gifts books" and…I like it. (Gave my nephew a signed copy of The Mark of the Dragonfly, from above, for the holidays!) Enjoy!

Blogging from Taos Toolbox - a Master Writing Class in Science Fiction and Fantasy

For two weeks I am in Taos, New Mexico at an advanced writer's workshop called Taos Toolbox held by Walter Jon Williams and Nancy Kress. So far, it has been quite the learning experience. There are things I've known on the periphery but never fully understood the importance of until discussion and explanation crystallize their importance here.

The setting is beautiful, high up in the mountains. There can be some issues with altitude. More than a week in and I still get a little more winded than I should going up a flight of stairs, but not as bad as the first day. We've seen squirrels and chipmunks, mule deer and some of went on a horseback ride even higher in the mountains. Some people have gone to the gorge, others to Taos Pueblo. Sounds like a lot of fun, and it is. But mostly we've been working.

My purpose in coming to the Toolbox is to improve my plotting skills. I want to write novels, but I'm never sure how to sustain tension and interest over the course of 100,000 words. This is almost funny because usually, when I sit down to write a short story it ends up a novelette. Writing long comes easy. But spinning threads and adding layers and texture, which requires world building in addition to plotting isn't just about writing long. You have to do a lot of things to keep you reader in suspense, wanting to turn the page. That's one of the many things I'm learning here.

I will tell you, there is nothing better than sitting around with a group of smart, like-minded people who are kind enough to lend their energy and time to help you hammer out your plot. In Hollywood it's called 'plot breaking'. I call it, 'thank you all so much for helping me figure this monster out'. Mine especially, since it's a science fiction mystery, has a lot of different threads, with different color post-its. I needed tags for not only the plot and sub-plot, but for clues, red herrings and the crazy neighbor. Yes, even though there's murder, it's a lighthearted tale.

Don't misunderstand, the workshop covers character and world building, as well as many other things. It's just that plot was my bugaboo, and thus, my focus.

The other great thing about workshops like this are the wonderful, creative people you meet. It's a room full of support and friendship where you can geek out to your heart's content and no one is going to look at you strange; heck, they'll join in. These are people I will be calling on in the future when I'm looking for help and support and I expect and hope they'll do the same. These are people I'll always hope to see at cons, or have dinner with if we're in the same town. These people are awesome.

We have three more days, and while there are things I'm missing from home, I'm going to miss these people, and the whole learning experience, when I leave. If/when you're ready, check out the Taos Toolbox. It's a workshop you'll never forget.

Writing a Novel in 90 Days

I lost a month. April disappeared, acted like it never happened. One minute it was Fool's day, the next, it was May Day. Sheesh.

"How do you lose a whole month?" you ask.

Well, I started a story in March that turned into a 16,000 word novelette. And because I was in a bit of a slump, I committed myself to finishing this monster piece no matter what. I continued on, even knowing there will be very few markets to send it to. And then suddenly I realized that Taos Toolbox is only two months away. This advanced workshop I will be attending focuses on novels and I want to walk in with a project in progress. Crumbs. I'd better get to work.

Enter, The 90-Day Novel by Alan Watt.

This book takes you from the humblest beginnings of an idea to a finished first draft in 90 days. You know what almost sounds crazy? You don't start actually writing your first draft until Day 29. Impossible? I don't think so. The first part of the process is all about exploring your characters and story in a loose, free-write style with no pressure. There's a big emphasis on 'holing your story loosely' so that it has a chance to evolve and grow. This actually makes a lot of sense and can prevent you from launching into a story you're not ready to write. I am currently on Day 6 and I will give you my impressions so far. In future posts, I will include an update on my progress so you can see how this unfolds. This is going to be an interesting experiment.

My project: A hard-boiled science fiction mystery set on a planet far, far away. At the beginning of this, I have a 700-word scene introducing the crime. Nothing more.

The first couple of days were fun and easy. Writing didn't feel like work at all. Since I knew this was just an exploration, I got a notebook and a pen and dove in. I don't expect any of this material to make it directly to the page or I would work on the computer. I hate typing from hand-written material. I find a nice bit of freedom working like this. It's a method I can easily see myself applying in the future to help loosen my brain.

By Day 4, I noticed some things I liked and some I didn't. I like the low pressure approach. With every exercise Watt makes sure you know that none of what you're writing is committed in stone and encourages you to explore different facets of your story. This is good. The down side is that a number of the questions presented in the exercises to explore character are rather repetitive. You know, like those personality tests that ask the same question in different ways to see how you respond. I found this a little tedious and if it continues to happen, I will probably start skipping the repetitious questions.

One other thing that is not really a down side but something to note is that the book is geared toward new writers. There are recommendations about how long you should spend on the process and other didactic remarks that a writer who knows their abilities can adjust and work at their own pace.

If you write science fiction or fantasy, I've been warned that little time is left for world building. I'll need to either do my world building separately, alongside the book's exercises, or I will have to allow more days than the 90-day program suggests. Also, I'm expecting this novel to fall in the 60-85k range, but if I were writing an epic 120k monster, I might expect to take more than 90 days. I see both of these solutions as acceptable while staying within the concept of the book. Ninety days is an ideal, not a deadline.

On Day 6 I was supposed to write a one to two paragraph synopsis of my story. I wrote two pages and plan to write more tomorrow. My justification is that my story is a mystery and it requires more plotting than some novels. I had to figure out who the villain is and what his motivations are before I can go much further. Also, this is my first time writing a mystery and I'm very concerned about plotting and creating a good puzzle. The character generation that Watt's book is taking me through this first week is something that comes natural to me and I've been hankering to get into the meat of things.

That leads me to my current feeling about The 90-Day Novel. It's a good concept and well executed. If you're new to novel writing I would suggest following the program pretty closely because I think it takes you through a lot of important steps. If you're a more experienced writer I still think this is a good program, but feel free to deviate from it as needed to suit your style and your story's needs.

If all goes well I will be walking into Taos Toolbox with a solid outline and about 30k words written. This feels like a good place to be. Wish me luck.

PS: Above I linked to the product page on Amazon, but if you're interested in buying the book, I strongly encourage you to find it in your local book store or ask them to order it for you. We need all the independent book stores we can get. Show them your support.