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At World Fantasy there was a one-hour panel on the Google Book Settlement with Russell Davis, Karen Wester Newton, Charles Petit, Jay Lake, Christopher Kastensmidt, and Dan Gamber moderating. Though all agreed that the panel was too short it covered some good ground.

Sorry you missed it? Not to fear, Rick Kleffel’s Agony Column has the full podcast of it.

Here’s what the website/little book had to say about this (death) panel:

“The Google Books Settlement has caused worldwide controversy and will have a marked effect on every author and publisher. Hear various viewpoints on this issue.”

It’s sort of like saying, “Well, you can throw this match in that pool of gasoline, but there might be some side effects.”

Animated does not do this panel justice. So, let me say, up front, that, whatever they’re paying Russell Davis for being the Prez of Sifwa (Science Fiction Writers of America): It ain’t enough. It ain’t nearly enough. That guy is a rockin’ firebrand, folks and if you doubt my words, well …

Click through to read the rest of his review of the panel or follow this link to the MP3 of the full panel.

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catherinehaines

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme run by The Story Siren which explores the books that have been delivered to our mailbox. Since pretty much all of my are books are ones I have purchased (I rarely receive books for review, unlike many other book bloggers) it’s also my opportunity to showcase books that have been out for a little while or are simply a few steps off the beaten track, one might say.

Wings, by Aprilynne Pike

Laurel was mesmerized, staring at the pale things with wide eyes. They were terrifyingly beautiful—too beautiful for words. Laurel turned to the mirror again, her eyes on the hovering petals that floated beside her head. They looked almost like wings.

In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

 
Wings was kindly provided by HarperCollins New Zealand for review.

Mirrored from On The Nightstand.

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In an announcement that has scientist and science-fiction authors alike reeling with the new possibilities, NASA announced today that it has found a “significant amount” of frozen water on the moon.

Preliminary data from a dramatic experiment on the moon “indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater,” NASA said in a statement.

“The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon,” it added, as ecstatic scientists celebrated the landmark discovery.

Read the full article for more details. Our question is: How many science-fiction books and stories have just become out-dated, do you think?

via Brandie Tarvin

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bhagwanx

So in the last two days, I may well have written more words about writing than I’ve officially commited to the page.

1100 and change on Thursday, and 700 in one 30 minute sprint after a quite excellent dinner with my friends Shelly, Mark and Kij Friday night.

After waking up (or rather, giving up on the concept after a few hours) with a very clear plan of the next 20k or so words Thursday morning, the excuse fairy came to visit me, leaving behind a host of reasons to do other things like watch movies, do laundry, and go shopping for groceries.

Well, fooey. The 700 just now flowed fast and free, and I really should be continuing it instead of writing more about how I was writing less.

Bright and early tomorrow, I’ll be baking bread and continuing the process. Just starting this section, getting the words out of my brain into a “permanent” format is a relief.

There should be some measure of restful sleep tonight, after which more words, more progress, and more internets.

43k and climbing. Now giving serious thought about where to sell it over the winter, assuming I find an agent to help it grow and prosper.

A topic for another time. Punjab just pulled Annie off the bridge, Rooster’s in custody, and the sun might just come out tommorow.

Originally published at Bhagwan @ Large. You can comment here or there.

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by Juliette Wade

Neural networks are really amazing things. In my last post I talked about how a word brings up all of its meanings simultaneously; today I’m going to talk about how that’s not all it brings up.

I’m talking about connotations and allusion.

Along with all of its meanings, the mention of a word can bring up all the contexts in which we’ve encountered it. With exceedingly common words, there may not be a particular context that stands out, and the word may have a more generic feeling. With less common words, we may really notice how they evoke the context in which they were created (Quidditch, anyone?) or in which they were used. Regardless, these contexts always tag along, and they influence the way we hear a word.

Has anyone ever tried to use the word “ejaculate” as a dialog tag? No? It used to be common enough, but I’m guessing you can see why we don’t use it so much that way any more. (Dialog tags are out of fashion anyway because they can be distracting.)

This reminds me of a discussion I had on the Analog forum about euphemisms. They tend to get “used up” and replaced by others quite quickly. Why? Because of the contexts in which they are used. If those contexts are considered dirty or low, then the quality of the context will be evoked in the speaker or writer’s mind with every occurrence of the word, and eventually the word will be sullied by its association with that context.

In my classes at the school of Education at UC Berkeley, occasionally the word “intertextuality” came up. It essentially means that a word will evoke in the reader’s mind all the texts in which they have seen it. “Monster” can bring up Frankenstein, or Monsters Inc. or any number of other things. This is one of the reasons that my friend Paul Carlson was able to put together his list of words that evoke particular genres (find it here).

When you’re writing, it might be daunting to remember that there are a million layers floating behind everything you say, particularly when you choose a word that doesn’t occur so frequently as to become semi-generic. Almost any word can become more than it is, much like the few critical words used in ancient Japanese poetry (I’m thinking primarily of tanka, not haiku).

Daunting, sure – but what an opportunity! This stuff can allows you to imbue a scene with a sense of foreboding or excitement. The other thing it can do is allow you to illuminate your point of view character. All of the judgments of value inherent in a particular word will reflect on the user of that word. We see this all the time in oral language when we judge people based on their use of cuss words or insulting words for others. In a piece of narrative writing, all those judgments will be associated with the point of view character. It’s one of the ways that point of view can extend into your writing far beyond the simple first and third person pronouns.

That’s it for today, but stay tuned for the next installment.

Juliette Wade is an author of science fiction and fantasy who loves language and its cultural consequences. Her fiction appears in Analog and other short fiction magazines. She has degrees in Linguistics, Anthropology and Japanese.

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simargl_wings

Originally published at Linkspam. You can comment here or there.

These are my links for November 13th from 09:08 to 19:18:

• Myriad Rivers - The Artwork of Mathia Arkoniel -
• Rat-eating plant discovered in Philippines - Telegraph -

ogre_san

Probably triggered by the fact that I stopped work today on page 42, but this is me thinking out loud again. I do that. Except I do it on paper most of the time and call it a story. It doesn't always work that way, for instance, now. I was thinking about my reaction to the news that this writer or that writer was going to finish Big Writer's last incomplete novel or continue another's series. For example, when I heard that Eoin Colfer was going to continue Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy(HHGTTG henceforth), my immediate reaction was typical -- extreme indifference.

( Musing Semi-Rant Hidden Unless, You Know, You Really Want to. )