
267 total views, no views today
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2020 – It was the worst of times, it was the . . . worst of times. Let’s leave it at that. As to writing, I focused on short stories, and wrote a plethora of stories. Or was that a surfeit or superfluity of stories?
I read 67 books in 2020. By category, Fiction 31, Politics & History 16, Science 9, Writing 5, and Table Tennis 6.
I’m attending the Odyssey Online Workshop, “Emotional Truth: Making Character Emotions Real, Powerful, and Immediate to Readers,” with Scott Andrews. We’ll be doing a lot of reading and analyzing (eight stories or articles as part of the pre-workshop assignment), with two-hour online sessions on Jan. 6, Jan. 20, and Feb. 3. I’m already well into my reading and analysis – I’ve already picked up on some interesting things in one of the assigned readings, “Carnival Nine” by Caroline Yoachim, where she treats emotions like, well, a ping-pong ball. I found another fascinating method she uses to re-enforce emotions which I may elaborate on later, and may bring up in the online sessions.
I had 16 stories sold or published in 2020.
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I’ve had a good three weeks, with three “pro” sales. Earlier this week I sold “Nanogod,” 4600 words, to Dark Matter Magazine, which pays 8 cents/word. What happens when a microscopic nanobot, designed for brain surgery, is damaged and becomes an egomaniac that travels the galaxy, conquering civilizations and forcing them to build huge monuments in its honor? It forced us to build the Great Pyramids 4600 years ago . . . and now it’s back and wants more! The story (then titled “A Monument for ME”) was critiqued at the 2016 Never-Ending Odyssey by Jeanne Cavelos, Chip Houser, Lauren O’Donnell, Chris Kenworthy, Kat Kohler, Michael Main, and Terry Edge. Special thanks for their help! Side note – the editor asked if I could do a sequel! I’ll get to that soon.
In late May I had two sales. “Journey to Perfection,” 3700 words, went to Unidentified Funny Objects #8, the annual SF and fantasy humor anthology by Alex Shvartsman, at 10 cents/word. A wealthy, snooty “doctor” buys the newest car model, and with a few misunderstandings, they’re off to see and meet some rather strange places and people, including Jimmy Hoffa’s burial site, Jesus on Mars, and the “Perfect” place!!! It’s my second sale to them.
The other was “Philosopher Rex,” 900 words, which sold to Zooscape, which pays 8 cents/word for flash. It’s about a philosophizing T-Rex that meets our earliest ancestors – lemur-like creatures – during the final days of the dinosaurs, and how their attitudes toward each other change after this pivotal meeting. (No talking animals, but we get the T-Rex’s thoughts.)
Now I’m focused on getting ready for “The Never-Ending Odyssey,” the annual nine-day writing workshop set up and run by graduates of the six-week Odyssey writing workshop. (I went in 2006.) This will be my 11th! I’ve done the critiques for all three rounds. I’m debating which story to read in the “Slam Reading” – I could use “Philosopher Rex,” but I’ve got about ten other possibilities, and for this I usually go with something humorous. I’m leaning toward “Prototype Solar System with Strings Attached,” a humorous flash story I sold to Galaxy’s Edge in January – another “pro” sale at 8 cents/word. Alas, it’s a sad and sort of an historic sale – it was the last story bought by Editor Mike Resnick before he died about an hour later. (Lezli Robyn is their new editor – she, Mike, and I co-wrote the novel “When Parallel Lines Meet” three years ago.)
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I have two new short story collections, both coming out today! This coronavirus thing left me nothing to do but get these two done! Both are on sale at Amazon in both print ($10) and kindle ($6) format. They are:
Here’s a listing of some of the stories.
Still More Pings and Pongs
(the third volume, after Pings and Pongs and More Pings and Pongs)
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Lancer Kind did a four-part podcast interview of me at Sci-Fi Thoughts. In the interviews I talk about the importance of IDEAs in science fiction, and argue that, while many say “Character is king,” I think they should be at least equal.They range from about 6-10 minutes long.
On a side note, I’ve had some recent sales and publications.
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Wow! Not only did I get a story in the current issue of Analog, but they also interviewed me! I got to talk about how the story came about, my writing process, and pretty much everything else about my science fiction writing.
I’ve been watching all the news on TV with growing disgust. I might have to write a sequel to “Captain Exasperation Woman Meets President Trump“!
It’s been a wild month. I had three new stories published:
Better still, I sold five stories! (I also have two stories that are “finalists,” at Apex and at Abyss & Apex. If both sell, it could be the Apex of my career!)
Better still, I wrote three new stories:
Last weekend, Sept. 28-30, I was at the Capclave SF Convention. I had two author signings, and was on three panels, moderating two of them:
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This has been an exciting time for me as I gradually work my way up the science fiction writing ladder. This month I have three stories out in three major publications – including my first story in Analog! (Here’s the Table of Contents for the Sept/Oct 2018 issue, now out in newsstands – I’m the “Probability Zero” story, “The Plaything on the Tesseract Wall.” The story is about a 4-D being, a little girl, who plays with a 3-D being (a little boy), and in inadvertently becomes a bully – with a surprise result.
I also have stories in both the current and upcoming issues of Galaxy’s Edge. In the current (July/August) issue I have Satan’s Soul; in the upcoming (Sept/Oct) issue I have “Death, the Devil, and the President’s Ghost.” In the first, Satan is depressed as it’s the night before Armageddon and he knows he’s going to lose – but then a higher-dimensional being shows up, and after some negotiating, Satan sells his soul to it in return for winning the next day! In the second, the president has just died and his ghost is taking the elevator down, accompanied by Satan and Death – with a surprising turn.
Perhaps my favorite recent story just came out in “Alternate Theologies: Parables for a Modern World,” which is an anthology of stories that satirize bad religion. In my story, “An American Christian at the Pearly Gates,” a hypocritical Christian meets a surprising Saint Peter, who does a surprising thing!
Last month I was at “The Never-Ending Odyssey,” a nine-day annual writing workshop for graduates of the Odyssey writing workshop. I had three stories work-shopped there. All three are now rewritten, along with about seven other stories I’ve been working on periodically this year – and all are now making the rounds. I’ve sold 92 short stories, but sales are “tougher” these days as I’m pickier about where I send them – I rarely submit to the non-pro markets anymore. (I’ve sold 26 to SFWA “pro” markets.)
And now I’m deep into research for my new novel, now tentatively called “Election 2050: The Return of George Washington.” I’ve read several bios of Washington and lots of other stuff on his personality and psychology since he’s going to be the main character. I’ve got several great characters planned out to go along with him. I’d initially written 7000 words of the novel, but after a compete rethinking of it, I plan to start from scratch, once I’m done with the research and planning stage. (Originally I had the first ten U.S. presidents in the novel.) Assuming it eventually sells, it would be my fifth novel.
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I’ve had four nice sales recently. Feb. 23 was a banner day as I made my first sale to Analog, as well as my 13th to Galaxy’s Edge!
I recently bought the rights to www.larryhodges.com, so my science fiction & fantasy web page is either that or www.larryhodges.org – they are identical.
This July I’ll be attending “The Never-Ending Odyssey,” an annual 9-day writing workshop by graduates of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. (I’m a 2006 graduate of the six-week program.) As part of this we’ll each get to send in three stories or chapters for critique. I just sent in my first one, and now have six that I have to read and critique. I’ve already done two. In addition to critiquing, we also have a number of “Master Level” writing course we teach ourselves. This year’s focus is “Learning from Top Pros.”
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When Parallel Lines Meet (and other stories)
My fourth science fiction novel comes out on Halloween, Oct. 31 – “When Parallel Lines Meet,” which I co-wrote with Mike Resnick (ever heard of him? Five Hugo awards and 37 nominations) and Lezli Robyn. You can advance order now in all three formats – print, kindle, and audiobook.
Make sure to order your copy! Here’s the book description:
When Keelarah, Lead Interrogator in the Neuropsych subdivision of the Cartheeli Military Caste, first meets the alien, she is prepared to do her duty. He is a trespasser on her planet, has caused the death of someone dear to her, and it is imperative she find out where he’s come from and whether his kind poses a threat to her and her people.
Often ruthless in her techniques, the interrogator uses her telepathic and empathic abilities to assault his mind, to draw out any whisper of information that can give them a better idea of what – who – they are dealing with. But she isn’t prepared for the prisoner to defend himself with comparable talents, to disarm her with equally astute observations. Chief Surveyor Forrest Brown might not be the best example of humanity, but he doesn’t have to be to show Keelarah what it is to be humane.
As they get to know each other, the line between captor and prisoner blur, which begs the question: is having different origins a more important factor, or the ability to find common ground? What if mutual alienation leads to the most profound bond of all?
I also have two short stories coming out. On Oct. 27, my dark fantasy Running with the Dead was published by Astounding Outpost. It’s the story of a dead high school kid – yeah, a zombie – who just wants to go to school and try out for the track team as a miler, and the rejection he faces from everyone, especially the “Mile Mafia,” the high school kids who rule the track team. (It’s basically a civil rights allegory.) Strangely they put my name at the end of the story instead of the start, as is the norm.
I have another short story coming out on Nov. 1 at Galaxy’s Edge, “The Nature of Swords” (in addition to my current story there, “Theater of Death,” which comes down on Nov. 1). “The Nature of Swords” imagines a distant future where all that’s left of mankind are the magical swords he created, which spend their days playfully fencing (they can fly) and reminiscing about the days of man. One of them decides to travel the world in search of man – with tragic results that say more about the nature of man than sword.
I recently self-published another story, “Captain Exasperation Woman Meets President Trump.” This is a satire that mocks Trump as it systematically goes over his countless lies and broken promises. Here’s the story description:
Can Captain Exasperation Woman Save the Planet from Complete Exasperation?
Captain Exasperation Woman, the world’s greatest superhero, has the power to exasperate anyone and anything into utter perplexity by simply telling the truth. Fences, helicopters, secret service agents, and many others will face her wrath. When she goes up against the mighty T-Rump known as President Trump, she will confront him with his countless lies, scams, business and moral failings, and the utter ineptitude of his presidency. But she will find her powers are useless against one who is not fettered by truth or conscience. She must bring out her full bag of tricks, from the Spirits of Presidents Past, Present, and Future, to the Devil himself, and even the Exasperation of the Galaxy itself.
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This year’s session was July 21-29. Wanting to avoid rush hour, I drove up from Maryland the night before (Thursday), leaving at 9PM and arriving in Manchester about 5AM. (I drove non-stop except for a 20-min break in the middle.) Once there, I planned to sleep in my car in the parking lot until they opened, but couldn’t sleep, and so read until 11AM, when I was able to get into my room at Saint Anselm College.
This year there were 17 of us – here’s the official group picture. (Here is the TNEO “Vacation” pictures – 12 pictures where we visited Darth Vader, Hogwarts, the Enterprise, the Moon, Game of Thrones – see above, the Cracks of Doom, and the Titanic, and visit Satan, a T-Rex, a dragon, and Godzilla. Here are more TNEO photos.) Hosting TNEO was Jeanne Cavelos, the director of Odyssey, who also joined the groups as one of the critiquers, with chapters of her novel in progress getting critiqued. Barbara Barnett-Stewart and Samantha Weiss were the Resident Supervisor and Moderator, and they, along with Jeanne, did a super-human job of organizing and running everything. (Actually, their work was beyond super-human, but the English language is just too limited to adequate describe it.)
Before going to TNEO I (like others) we each submitted for critique three stories or chapters. (You could do either short stories or novel chapters, up to 15,000 words in three segments. There is also an Extended Novel Group which submits and critiques more material.) I did 13 critiques of fellow student’s stories or novel chapters. They ranged from about 1000 to 2000 words (2-4 pages single spaced), and covered all aspects of fiction writing.
I tend to do my critiques systematically, using the following sixteen categories: Immediate Reaction, Title, Writing, Beginning, Main Characters, Dialogue, Point of View, Setting, Exposition and Pacing, Theme, Genre and Originality, Plot, Ending, Page Notes, Strongest Aspect of the Story, and Weakest Aspect of the Story and How It Can Improve. For the critique sessions, we’d go around the circle, with each person generally having up to ten minutes to give their critique, and then the one being critiqued had 18 minutes to discuss the story, respond to the critiques, and ask questions.
This year’s topic for the Master Classes was “Creating Powerful Emotion in Your Fiction.” There were eight lectures, most of them with interactive exercises, most ranging from one to one and a half hours long:
Other segments included:
I had three stories critiqued. From the critiques, the main problem is I need to challenge my characters more – they solved their problems too easily, so I’ll be giving them more problems in my rewrites. I also need to follow the three-act structure more closely. My stories were:
My main volunteer activity was as a pack mule, helping move heavy boxes and other items around. Alas, I hurt my knee doing this on the first day, and limped the rest of TNEO, wearing a knee brace, which ended my pack mule activities.
The ride back was mostly uneventful except for a few times where my GPS on my phone went crazy. A couple of times it froze up, and so I’d miss exits, which led to an ill-fated 30-minute excursion into New York City. A few times the GPS would say something like, “In a quarter mile…” and then it would cut off for 30 seconds or so. Then, after I’d missed the turn, it would finish the sentence. Worse, for an hour in the middle of the trip it was consistently off by about 20-30 seconds. Sometimes I’d make a turn, and then listen to the GPS spend the next 20 seconds telling me to make the turn I’d already made.
Then came the weirdest GPS thing. I stopped at a rest break while on the New Jersey Turnpike. Nobody had physical access to my phone, which was strapped to my belt. But when I got back on the Turnpike, it told me to take the first exit off, which I knew was wrong – I had another hundred or so miles to go before exiting. So I pulled over and checked the phone – and somehow it was trying to get me to some local address! I have no idea how that happened. So I had to reprogram it to take me home. The drive back took about ten hours.
I’m already looking forward to next year, with three more stories. I’m already planning new ones – half the reason for going to TNEO and other workshops might be the inspiration! So if you are an Odyssey grad, perhaps you should join us next year? And if you are not an Odyssey grad, then why not consider taking a six-week “vacation” next year that will change your life AND dramatically improve your writing and chances of getting published?
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