Author: Kelley

Dangerous wordle

It’s “the writers discover Wordle” day in our house. While Nicola was teasing the world with her new book, I was busy uploading the entire 25,000 words of “Dangerous Space” to see what I’d get…

"Dangerous Space"

(click on it, it gets big)

Wordle is fascinating in the way that one can manipulate the presentation of the word cloud — which can greatly change the impact, the meaning, the “story” behind it. I went through about 4 or 5 iterations of font, color scheme, layout that didn’t inspire any response in me. And then found this one and thought This is it. The way that the smaller words fit inside the letters of Duncan’s name, the way that random positioning of two words close together takes on a meaning of its own… so interesting to see the story in this way.

Wordle will do this for any text or url. Go on over, have fun.

Wilhelm and Murdoch

[Kelley’s note: I’m combining two questions into a single response here. ]

I know Kate Wilhelm was a co-founder of Clarion, but I know her best as a prolific and wonderful writer. I have read all of her stories about Charlie Meikeljon and Constance Leidl, some of her science fiction, and the novel Death Qualified, which is based on chaos theory. I know you have probably read her stuff.

And have you ever read anything by Iris Murdoch? I discovered her work by reading her biography by Peter Conradi. She mingles her peculiar perspective of fantasy with hard reality in a way I really enjoy. Readers love her because she wrote a lot of books, some better than others.

Please tell me what you think. Thanks.

Barbara

Kate was one of our instructors at Clarion ’88 — the one whose presence most excited me going in, the one I most wanted to like my work. I looked up to her.

So you may imagine that I was like a bunny in the headlights walking into the private conference with her and Damon. And there Kate told me, “You’re a writer.” I still remember how that made me felt.

She also taught me a lot about how editors (and, it turns out, screenplay readers) approach submissions: when she critiqued our Clarion stories, she drew a red line at the place where she disengaged from the story for whatever reason. A lot of those red lines were on the first page…

So yes, I’ve read her work (grin). I highly recommend the Constance and Charlie stories — wonderful characters, and I love the elements of sf and mysticism behind the mainstream mystery murder setups. I also very much like Death Qualified for that same approach.

And I love that her characters are grownups. Charlie and Constance are in their 50’s, I believe, and they are smart, capable, in love, truly married (with all the understanding and empathy and head-shaking not-again frustration of long and successful relationships), funny… characters whose stories always end too early for me, because I like spending time with them. That’s one of Kate’s real strengths as a writer, in my opinion — both in her series books and her standalones.

Have you read her collection of novellas Listen Listen? Absolutely fantastic. There’s one of my favorite Charlie and Constance stories (“With Thimbles, with Forks, and Hope”) plus the fabulous story “The Winter Beach.”

Here’s her bibliography. Start anywhere, they’re all good.

Iris Murdoch — wow, you caught me off guard with this. I read some of her work many years ago, so long that I can’t remember titles or details. I wish I had something intelligent to say about her, but instead I will thank you for bringing her back onto my radar. I will definitely read something — can you recommend a book to begin with?

First Lady crush

CNN reporter Jack Cafferty has a crush on Michelle Obama.

Me too.

Not an art crush (where I wish passionately to work with some amazing actor or musician or artist or writer, or to witness their process up close). Not a mad-sex crush (I’m sure I don’t have to explain that kind to you). It’s a friend-crush — I think Michelle Obama would be totally cool to hang out with. And definitely a First Lady-crush. I have never had a FL that I could look up to in this way. Not even Hillary, although I admire her extremely, did such a fantastic job of carving out her own distinctive space so quickly. Maybe it’s because I have always seen the Clintons as a political team, and I see the Obamas as a married couple both in highly influential political roles.

I do know that Michelle Obama is as much of a role model as her husband, and that she’s going to influence a lot of young (and not-so-young) lives by being smart, savvy, energetic, empathetic, engaged with people around her. By being a strong woman whose First Lady leadership puts a human face on her husband’s presidency.

And she has great biceps. Maybe I have a gym-crush…

Whatever it is, I think she’s fantastic, and she’s on my party list for sure. The President can come too (grin).

When you think about it…

… writing really is kind of like a passionate romance, and writers (even the married ones) are serial flingsters. (Except for those wanton multi-project floozy writers out there. You know who you are). Story, novel, screenplay, it doesn’t matter — it always starts with those lingering glances exchanged across a crowded brain with an irresistible character. Or more than one (oooh, those crazy pantextual writers). And before you know it, there you go again, slipping away from your sweetie to rendezvous with the story. Oh, by the way, I started working on something today…

And then the fun really begins.

I will let Maggie Stiefvater explain this part to you, because she does it so well. If you are a writer, this will help you explain the daily drama to all the people who look at you funny when you’re working. If you’re a person who thinks Someday I’ll write that novel, well…. the thing is, writing is like romance. If you fall hard, no one can talk you out of it. Just don’t fool yourself into thinking it’ll be any different for you.

Enjoy your Monday.

To women

Today is International Women’s Day.

Thank you to all the women who have helped me survive, grow, learn, fight, love, laugh, hope, cope, and appreciate the beautiful things of the world. To the women who taught me languages and why communication matters, who taught me poetry and prose. To the women who taught me by good and bad example how to behave in public, in business, in life. To the women who gutted it out during some bad time, and I know a million of you: you are all magnificent. To the women who dance and the women who watch, who write and read. To the women who reach and fail and reach again and touch the sun; and then go on to do the next thing that must be done.

I wish every woman in the world a life every bit as real, as full, as safe or risky or quiet or exciting as she herself has ever wanted. I wish that no one would ever again say “a woman can’t…” I wish that people would stop being so damn surprised when a woman they know turns out to be fully human, with all the grace and fear, potential and skill, short-sightedness and clear vision, caring and cruelty, horror and healing, cowardice and courage, and fierce yearning dreams that any human is capable of.

To the women who have enriched my life with your love, wisdom, and silly jokes; who have tended my wounds, held me while I cried, made me food, stood up for me; with whom I’ve shared books and television and movies; and secrets; who have showed me the world, and taught me that the world is just as real in my own back yard; who have believed in me fiercely, forgiven the hurt I have caused them, hauled me up short, told me hard truths; who have shown me the bright beauty of human kindness in a simple act; who have been unkind, frightened, flawed, hurtful, less than helpful, downright mean. You are all a part of me, and I love you.

Trek crack

The movie. May 8. ‘Nuff said. Bring on the Oh-Oh Theme Girl! (Yes, I have just dated myself as someone who grew up on the Star Trek TV show, yes, that one, with James T. Kirk and the green-skinned dancing girl… and the theme song of a woman’s voice singing oh oh oooooooo).

Friday pint

Every Friday I transfer posts here from the Virtual Pint archives.

March is such a tease. The microscopic buds on the tree outside my office window have exploded pow! into little fuzzy puffs of tree-stuff that look just like spring is here to stay. But I’ve been down this road with March before. I know that as soon as I drag out the t-shirts, the freezing rain will begin again…

But it sure is pretty right now. I hope it’s nice where you are, too.

Today’s pints are all topics that I still think long and hard about — love, hope, daily choices. Seems like no matter how far down any particular road I go, I always come back to these things.

Enjoy your Friday.

Being there

Today — as I write this — the California Supreme Court is hearing arguments on Proposition 8. The outcome is very important to me, and even moreso to the thousands of people in California whose marriages may be invalidated as a result.

We won’t know that for a while. Not so long ago, we wouldn’t even have known what arguments were being made until it was reported in general in a newspaper, followed perhaps weeks or months later by more detailed reportage/analysis in a magazine.

Ah, but today… today we have the internet, webcams, blogging, instant messaging, twitter, digital cameras that fit in the palm of a hand, video cameras in mobile phones, PDAs… and we have the social media networks to use them. And so, you and I can be at the hearings through live blogging. Here’s a blogger providing a detailed picture of the argument as it proceeds, one post at a time. Here’s another blogger (friend and author Malinda Lo) giving us minute-by-minute reportage on which any of us may comment at any time — thereby turning the Court hearing into an international conversation.

These things are amazing. Amazing. We can be present in our world in ways we never have before. We can be connected. We can observe or participate. And, of course, we can be observed, we can be the object of participation whether we want it or not. Connection is never a clean issue. It’s rarely exactly the way we want it to be. But I believe in social and political and business transparency, and I am grateful to the inventors, the technology producers, and the people on the benches and in the trenches who share what they are seeing and hearing with the rest of us.

I’ve been thinking about these issues for a little while; and screenwriter John August wrote a thoughtful post recently that made me think more. Today, I am struck anew by the power — the occasional ferocity — of the human desire to know and to participate. Millions of us took ourselves to Washington D.C. to see Barack Obama inaugurated. Millions of us can, if we choose, take ourselves to court today. What next?

Life, really

Here’s a post I like from writer JA Konrath. The topic is writing, but really it’s about Life in the Real World.

I would love to talk more about all the ways these writing truths are also life truths, but I’m in Duck Mode today (as opposed to Daffy Duck or Duck on Fire modes)… Oooooh, duck metaphors! I’ve always enjoyed watching ducks swim — so graceful, so smooth. Then when I was little, I found out that underneath the water they’re whap whap whapping with those webby feet, working like hell for the forward motion. So that’s me today, places to go and things to do, and paddling like hell. Moving forward, I hope, with a certain duck-on-water grace. The other duck modes are not so pretty (grin).

Quack quack to you all.