Cool Down from the Summer of Sci-Fi

Hello! I’m alive and kicking. I’m anxious about blogging again; however, it’s officially autumn and time to talk about the results of my Summer of Sci-Fi.

Back in May, I chose nine, well-known science fiction books to read by the end of September. How did I do?

I faced a couple unexpected challenges, mainly with acquiring books. My city’s sole library announced that it’s infested with bed bugs, making all of its books, in my mind, potential carriers of the parasite.

There’s a library near where I work that has a surprisingly tiny offering of science fiction. Even when I was able to walk (despite a sprained ankle) and willing to pass by the disturbing regulars in the area – such as bored cat-callers with uncomfortably creative pick-up lines; lonely, drifting, drunken men who mistake my wary smile for an invitation to converse; and those especially annoying people who enjoy smoking on busy, public sidewalks – I still wasn’t able to get my hands on a few of the books from my list.

Fortunately, I did read:

• I, Robot by Isaac Asimov
• Moving Mars by Greg Bear
• A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Out of these, Fahrenheit 451 is easily my favorite, followed closely by A Canticle for Leibowitz. The Time Machine is probably the least impressive of the group–but then, I’m not fond of Victorian stories.

Still to be read:

• Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement
• The Forever War by Joe Haldeman
• Ringworld by Larry Niven

The Forever War is next on my reading list, if I can find a convenient copy this week.

How about you? What was your favorite book this summer? Are you looking forward to reading a particular book this season?

This for That

Every decision in life requires a trade-off. As the cliché goes, for every door of opportunity that opens, another closes. That’s especially true when there isn’t enough time to turn around.

As usual, I’m racing through tight corridors.

I’ve been exchanging writing for sleep during my bus commutes for the past month. This has helped me get through the workday as my body struggles to heal (from a sprain, overworked muscles, migraines, etcetera) but leaves me feeling a bit unsatisfied by the time I arrive home.

Choosing to work on DeCo (my adult sci-fi novel) at night after fight practices, I use up time for house cleaning, socializing, and blogging.

More complicated trade-offs are made with changes to the novel. For every new direction in a scene, I must rewrite other scenes. Of course, a few of those scenes are “darlings”, favorite passages that I want to retain even when they no longer fit with the overall story.

Obviously, I’m not great with world building, character design, and plotting; otherwise, I wouldn’t realize half-way through drafting that the supposed good guy acts badly too often, the characters’ living arrangements aren’t believable, and I’m missing essential transitions between major scenes early in the story.

I can’t trade off DeCo for a simpler project, unfortunately. By doing so, I would lose something indescribably important. I’m learning about myself from this project in addition to learning about how to write fiction. I’m certain that a simpler project would not give me enough opportunities to grow.

I’ll stay in the maze until a better offer comes along.

Buzzzz…

That’s the sound of me flying through my land of shadows to yell out the cockpit a “Hello!” and “What? ‘What’s up?’ Well…”

My sister and her family (out-of-staters) might come to visit for Independence Day. In preparation, my husband and I must try harder to clean up every day until their potential day of arrival.

You see, they are allergic to furry pets. We have two.

My sister is also clutter intolerant. Unfortunately, my husband and I have more hobbies, fascinations, and professional commitments than we have any right to have and are therefore in the running for King and Queen of Non-Lethal Clutter.

In addition, we’re trying to think of what food normal Americans might appreciate. Not everyone likes Udon soup as much as I do.

While we’re preparing for family, we’re also preparing for a Korean martial arts tournament that we’ll co-host, our martial arts school’s autumn programs, and my out-of-state taekwondo test.

In remaining, uh, free time, I’m writing.

Ohh, okay. I’d landed the plane. Here’s the update on my fiction.

I’m expecting feedback tomorrow from a test reader on a short story draft that I’m itching to send to a market.

I need to choose where to send another short story. The previous market–sheesh, what was I thinking? My story wouldn’t have ever fit there. At least the slush reader dug my story out of the pile relatively quickly.

DeCo continues to give me a headache; I think that’s why it exists. The part of me that cares about test readers’ feelings currently wants to cut a side-character than a darker part of me has viciously woven into the main plot. I think removing the character’s thread will allow for a stronger–and less demoralizing–story. However, I feel that removing him is wrong.

It’s a heart versus head issue. Are these issues ever resolved?

The Grind: An Update

A bad attitude waited for me at home–my own bad attitude. For the first few days back from my recent trip, I felt like I was being ground down again to the miserably exhausted Ann-impersonator that had taken vacation two weeks ago. With help from coworkers, friends, my husband, and the pleasant weather, I managed to find enough calm moments to lose that feeling.

Moving Mars (from my summer reading list) is moving slowly. I’m not particularly fond of the protagonist, and the proportions of character and milieu aren’t working for me. Perhaps I’m reading the novel too slowly to see how the parts fit together.

I’m again working on DeCo (adult sci-fi novel). Two generous friends test-read the first chapter and helped me determine which information can be presented earlier in the opening.

My sister generously offered to type RITN (young-adult sci-fi/romance novel) for me–as soon as I can bring myself to send it her.

A couple short stories have progressed–one went to a new market (magazine) after its latest rejection and I’ve been polishing another that hasn’t yet gone to a market.

Summer of Science Fiction

It’s embarrassing; I write science fiction but feel like a stranger to sci-fi classics. (By the way, I know not everyone likes the term “sci-fi”. That’s too bad.)

Later this week, I’ll leave for an out-of-state visit to see family. I’m expecting down time. (Down time! Imagine!) And I realized: What could be a better opportunity than a vacation to start three months of literary exploration?

From now until the end of August, I will read for the first time (all the way through) the following nine, well-known books.

I, Robot by Isaac Asimov

Moving Mars by Greg Bear

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman

A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.

Ringworld by Larry Niven

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

I’m not sure which I’ll start with…it will depend on how much room is in my suitcase and on the selection at my sister’s library. However, I’m eager to read them all.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?