Zombies: A Metaphor For Our World
Dec
06, 2010 |Filed in:
Uncategorized
It’s 2011 and the zombies are not coming. They’re here. No, I’ve not gone off my rocker and incidentally, I’m not discussing the traditional brain-sucking undead, either. It is my contention that we are in the age of zombie literature. The undead in recent literature are a metaphor for our fears that nothing is new. We, as a creators fear we have used all of the creative verve the universe has to offer and all we can do is cannibalize upon what has come before. The is mirrored by society, terrified of pseudo-resurrections from our various malaises (including economic). We don’t want a zombie existence where we’re alive, but only in the most technical of ways. Nonetheless, we suspect our best, strongest hope is to be pallid, undead vampires who sparkle.
Fifteen years ago my husband made the utterly ridiculous claim that we had arrived at the literary age of plagiarism. All literature would be based on the work of others and, in the most extreme cases, would BE the work of others with only the byline changed. I scoffed. (Sorry, honey.)
I’m not laughing anymore. The last fifteen years has seen the consistent use of fairytales for retellings and previous stories as jumping off points for more stories: Happily Ever After, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 
being a few. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is comprised of 90% of the original Jane Austen novel mixed with 10% of Seth Grahame’s original material. Please understand, I am not knocking Grahame’s achievement. He saw the potential there and I applaud him. I am not complaining about this trend, either, as I’ve used Mother Goose rhymes in one of my strongest short stories and my first novel is based on “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” No, I am a part of this trend, but as a fantasy writer, I do seek to understand it and perhaps stay ahead of it.
being a few. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is comprised of 90% of the original Jane Austen novel mixed with 10% of Seth Grahame’s original material. Please understand, I am not knocking Grahame’s achievement. He saw the potential there and I applaud him. I am not complaining about this trend, either, as I’ve used Mother Goose rhymes in one of my strongest short stories and my first novel is based on “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” No, I am a part of this trend, but as a fantasy writer, I do seek to understand it and perhaps stay ahead of it. So what are your thoughts? What caused this fear? Fear of the A and H Bombs brought on monster movies fifty years ago and one can easily see our present love affair with the undead is an extension of that time period. Still what was the modern bomb and where is the trend headed?
CZP/RANNU FUND FOR WRITERS OF SPECULATIVE LITERATURE
Dec
05, 2010 |Filed in:
Uncategorized
These links and many others were found at Hope Clark’s Fundsforwriters.
The Fund, brought to you in collaboration with ChiZine Publications,
offers two awards per year of $500 CDN each, one for fiction,
one for poetry, granted to two writers of speculative literature
(i.e., science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, surrealism,
etc.), of any nationality/place of residence, at any stage of their
career. The next round of submissions for this award will be
accepted between November 15, 2010 and January 15, 2011. The
winners will be announced May 15, 2011. Submit up to 5 poems
(unpublished work), not to exceed 10 pages -single-spaced.
Submit one short story or a novel excerpt (unpublished work)
of no more than 7,000 words-double-spaced. If submitting a
novel excerpt, include a brief synopsis. All entries in both
fiction and poetry MUST be “speculative literature” in content;
in other words: science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism,
alternate history, steampunk, etc. Two Honourable Mentions in
each category will win $50.
offers two awards per year of $500 CDN each, one for fiction,
one for poetry, granted to two writers of speculative literature
(i.e., science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism, surrealism,
etc.), of any nationality/place of residence, at any stage of their
career. The next round of submissions for this award will be
accepted between November 15, 2010 and January 15, 2011. The
winners will be announced May 15, 2011. Submit up to 5 poems
(unpublished work), not to exceed 10 pages -single-spaced.
Submit one short story or a novel excerpt (unpublished work)
of no more than 7,000 words-double-spaced. If submitting a
novel excerpt, include a brief synopsis. All entries in both
fiction and poetry MUST be “speculative literature” in content;
in other words: science fiction, fantasy, horror, magic realism,
alternate history, steampunk, etc. Two Honourable Mentions in
each category will win $50.
THE NATIONAL CREATIVE SOCIETY
BARNES & NOBLE CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER
FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
BARNES & NOBLE CHRISTMAS FUNDRAISER
FOR STUDENT SCHOLARSHIPS
This is an organization whose goal is to encourage students’
creativity as well as their participation in the creative arts.
This year among our other outreaches we will be funding seven
separate scholarships for college-bound high school seniors.
As part of our annual fund drive, we are having a book fair
from Dec. 2 through Dec. 5. IF you were going Christmas shopping
during those dates anyway, and IF you were planning on buying
some books as gifts, and IF you were going to make those
purchases at any Barnes and Noble Bookstore or online at BN.com,
THEN please consider using one of our coupons when you make your
purchase.
The National Creative Society will receive a donation from
Barnes and Noble equal to 10% of your purchase. You will
receive a warm feeling deep down inside because you did the
right thing, and it won’t cost you a penny more than you were
going to spend, anyway. It’s a win-win situation, and you
don’t even have to print out the coupons in color.
creativity as well as their participation in the creative arts.
This year among our other outreaches we will be funding seven
separate scholarships for college-bound high school seniors.
As part of our annual fund drive, we are having a book fair
from Dec. 2 through Dec. 5. IF you were going Christmas shopping
during those dates anyway, and IF you were planning on buying
some books as gifts, and IF you were going to make those
purchases at any Barnes and Noble Bookstore or online at BN.com,
THEN please consider using one of our coupons when you make your
purchase.
The National Creative Society will receive a donation from
Barnes and Noble equal to 10% of your purchase. You will
receive a warm feeling deep down inside because you did the
right thing, and it won’t cost you a penny more than you were
going to spend, anyway. It’s a win-win situation, and you
don’t even have to print out the coupons in color.
http://www.nationalcreativesociety.com/homepage.html
Click on “2010 Barnes and Noble Book Fair”
Thanks.
PS: If you get to the store and have forgotten your coupon,
just mention the National Creative Society book fair and
the salesperson can take it from there.
Click on “2010 Barnes and Noble Book Fair”
Thanks.
PS: If you get to the store and have forgotten your coupon,
just mention the National Creative Society book fair and
the salesperson can take it from there.
This Is Hysterical
Dec
01, 2010 |Filed in:
UncategorizedIf you have no idea how the publishing industry works – or how it gets screwed up by hopeful writers and sharks, take the time to watch this:
You might just save yourself from making a horrible faux pas with an agent, editor, or publisher.
On a separate note, if you want to suggest a great Christmas present for yourself, send folks to Irene Goodman’s site. She’s a literary agent who routinely (once a month) auctions her time away for a good cause. She’s raising money to combat her son’s illness by offering writers critiques. This month, there are fifteen critique auctions! Many thanks to Cat Woods for the info.
Addendum: Many thanks to those who let me know the link wasn’t working!
When You Have Nothing To Say
Nov
30, 2010 |Filed in:
UncategorizedIt is better to remain silent, I’m sure. I can’t do that since today would be my second Silent Monday and I don’t want to set a bad precedent.
I really have nothing to say. I’ve participated in NanoWrimo this month in a minimal way in that I’ve written between 150 and 200 words every day. Those of you who have written thousands of words every day, feel free to scoff. I’m dealing with my third or fourth consecutive month of poor health, and I have no more energy for writing than the occasional blog post and 200 daily words will cover.
What about you? If you check in today, please let me know how you’re doing. Not (just) about how your Nano project has gone, or how your agent search is going (though I’m interested). I’m interested in how YOU are.
Grateful For So Much
I have so much to be thankful for, not the least of which are my followers. To all of you, whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or not, may you have a wonderful, family-blessed day.