HOW DOES YOUR BRAIN WORK?

Fantasy writers can make up all the details of their fictional world. Authors who write about real life can observe what goes on around them. For the rest of us, there’s research. The research I’m doing for the novel I’ve just begun to write (my fourth) is about consciousness, and how the brain works. And it’s enough to make my brain stop working.

Considering we’ve all got a brain (yes, even that @#$*&X driver in front of you), and we think we know how we think, there’s been an awful lot of ink spilled in attempts to explain it. The French philosopher Descartes is famous for saying, “I think, therefore I am.” And one of his main beliefs about how we think has become deeply ingrained in our collective knowledge, because it fits what we intuitively believe about the process of our thoughts. It seems evident that, for every bit of information taken in by our senses, there’s a specific moment when we become conscious of that information, and the details surrounding it (“Oh, look, there’s a very solid baseball coming straight at my face at high speed!”) So each moment of awareness is kind of like an image projected onto a screen in our heads (what some philosophers call the Cartesian theatre). But that forces the question: who’s looking at the screen? It presupposes there’s an inner mind, a deeper you or me who sees the projections on the screen and then does something about them—presumably a center spot of the brain where consciousness happens and decisions are made.

Neuroscientists have never found such a place. Philosophers now discredit the idea of the Cartesian theatre and will fill a book with thought exercises to show you why it’s wrong (a book so thick it qualifies as physical exercise just to lift it). Prevailing theories suggest that consciousness is more like a stream of activity with information coming in constantly, being processed, gaining priority and triggering action, or failing to achieve priority and being discarded. If you think it’s hard to wrap your head around a concept like that, imagine trying to absorb and retain it, along with dozens of other facts about neuroanatomy, brain-scanning technology, cognitive evolution, and more, while you try to write a good old-fashioned yarn about average people and the trouble they get into.

I guess the real question is: was I conscious when I decided to make a living this way?

HOW TO WRITE SCIENCE FICTION

The title of this post is not mine—it’s the title of a workshop given by Canada’s most successful SF writer, Robert J. Sawyer. I was lucky enough to catch it at the “Social Science on the Final Frontier” conference at Laurentian University in Sudbury, but you can read a lot more of Rob’s advice on writing at his web site www.sfwriter.com . It’s must-read material.

Before you do, you should know that Rob has said in a keynote address that the days of the SF novelist who can make a living at writing are numbered. He estimates there might be ten years left before the well dries up (http://sfwriter.com/blog/?p=2413 ).

If you’re still determined to soldier on, the most important point Rob makes about writing is that you must have something to say. The kind of plot that’s just one damn thing after another will not make your book stand out. You’ve got to have a strong theme that will get people talking about the book.

Before you do anything else on your manuscript, decide on your theme and then choose a character who’s opposed to it (like the astronaut Taylor in the original Planet of the Apes movie, who begins the movie sneering at the faults of humankind as he leaves it behind forever, only to end up in a courtroom defending the human race).

Rob points out that the number one reason people will buy a particular book is author recognition, but the number two reason is because someone else recommended it. So talk at the watercooler translates into sales. Don’t try to be blandly acceptable to everyone—make a point, and don’t be afraid to be controversial. That’s the only way to make something of lasting quality. And wouldn’t we all rather leave behind a body of work that will still be remembered by generations to come?



SOCIAL SCIENCE ON THE FINAL FRONTIER

Last week I had the pleasure of attending my first-ever academic conference: “Social Science on the Final Frontier” at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario. Academic types presented scientific papers about subjects relating to SF, from comparisons of stories involving criminal rehabilitation using time travel, to the ins and outs of Community Economic Development in Space. Conference organizer David Robinson proposed that Science Fiction might be considered a true social science, and also analysed the economics of a space mining colony (it doesn’t add up without cheap and very fast transportation, meaning that such colonies would almost certainly result from political policy rather than business interests). Co-organizer Alain Boulay reminded everyone that we do a disservice to science when we portray scientists as stereotypical fanatics and obsessives—science is done by real people, with hard work and dedication.

I found myself drafted (very willingly) into the role of “chauffeur to the stars”, which meant that I got to spend extra time with old acquaintance Robert J. Sawyer and delightful new friends Julie E. Czerneda and her husband Roger. Rob gave an informative talk about an SF Writer’s View of the Social Sciences and an even more informative workshop on “How To Write Science Fiction”. I’ll give more detail on that workshop in a future post. Julie gave convincing proof that SF is a great tool in the classroom, and offered a very informative 2-part workshop with tips and resources for the subject.

Without disparaging anyone’s papers, my favourite part of the conference was the chance to hang out with Rob and Julie as well as the other writers and SF fans in attendance. Networking like that is the highlight of most conferences and scheduling should always provide lots of opportunities for it.

The conference suffered some hiccups from a) being a first effort, and b) taking place in mid-August, but it was still very worthwhile, and I congratulate and thank the organizers for bringing it to life. I hope it’s just the first of many more to come.


How To Be An Editor's Dream

I took in the 2010 Ad Astra Science Fiction Convention in Toronto. Yes, it can be a circus, watching stormtroopers and Jedi knights mingle with zombies and characters from “Dr. Who”. But there were also some good sessions, including one about how to get on a book or magazine editor’s good side. Four editors revealed what they like and don’t like.

• The first thing is to do your homework: read an issue of their magazine or some books they’ve published so you don’t send them material they don’t publish. That just wastes everyone’s time. Pick a publisher who puts out work you like. Then read the submission guidelines and follow them. Every publisher who accepts unsolicited manuscripts will have guidelines for authors. Not following them just looks unprofessional.

• Your query letter is your first impression. Show professionalism in every aspect. Don’t give away the story’s ending. Don’t claim your work is the next Da Vinci Code or Harry Potter series, although more realistic (ie. less arrogant) comparisons can be helpful (particularly in an elevator pitch). Just don’t make any claims you can’t live up to. Only include the best of your credits, and only personal info that’s relevant to the work.

• Don’t feel entitled, as if you’re shopping for someone good enough to handle your masterpiece. You’re asking someone to invest in you.

• Have a good attitude: positive, open-minded, willing to accept hard criticism. Because editors really do want to work with great writing and great writers—harsh criticism means you’re going to get somewhere in the end.

• Never ever badmouth an editor at a convention, online (it stays in cyberspace forever), or anywhere else. They have long memories.

• Bottom line: be totally professional and make their job easier, not harder. As one of the editors put it, 90% of his experiences with writers are positive…because he never works with problem writers a second time.

A Book Review

You're a writer. You want to sell your work, preferably to a mass market. So the big question is: Do you need to have an agent?

The title of Richard Curtis' book "How To Be Your Own Literary Agent: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published" seems to suggest that the answer is, "No". But by page 11 he is unabashedly making the case for getting an agent, reasoning that (and he has the numbers to back it up), "…an editor will read the most dismal piece of junk faster and maybe even more attentively than he will a good book that comes in on the slush pile." Curtis himself is a literary agent, and has been for over forty years. He's also an author, with more than fifty books to his credit. So what gives?

His purpose in writing this book is really to help authors understand the publishing business and how it works, so as to have a relationship with their agent and their publisher that will be a well-informed one. That can only be a good thing.

With chapters like "Negotiation", "The Basic Deal", "Termination and Reversion of Rights", "Royalty Statements", "Movie and Television Deals" and many more, he walks the reader through the whole process, from seeking an agent to well past publication, and he does it with many contract samples and other excellent illustrative examples. His writing is always accessible, often self-deprecating, and frequently entertaining, so the chore of slogging through this vast legal 'briar patch' isn't as daunting as you would think.

Curtis also recognizes the paradox we authors face, namely that, "You can't get published without an agent, and you can't get an agent until you've been published." He even offers a possible solution, but for that you'll have to get the book -- there's no room to get into it here!

This is not a book you can read and retain. There's just too much information. You'll need to get a copy and keep it as a resource. Parts of it you'll want to re-read with each new work you try to sell. If you can't find it at Chapters or other bookstores, you can order it (new or used) from Amazon.com, and it's not very expensive. The direct link can be found on Curtis' website at http://www.curtisagency.com/about.html .

Personally, I consider this book a 'must-have' for the author who is serious about being published for large markets. It teaches us about the 'dark side' of our beloved work: that it is a business! We don't have to embrace that, but we do have to know enough to get over our squeamishness. This is a book with the right mix of medicine and mirth to make that pill a little less bitter to swallow.

"How To Be Your Own Literary Agent: An Insider's Guide to Getting Your Book Published" by Richard Curtis. Published by Houghton Mifflin 2003

Doomology

My most recent acceptance to date is from an upcoming anthology called “Doomology: The Dawning Of Disasters” to be published by the Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press. They’ve published quite a number of anthologies and other books, with most of their experience being in the horror genre. They accepted my story “Tartarus Rising”, though I’m still waiting for the contract. It’s a different take on the disaster story, that warns us an alien invasion won’t necessarily come from above.

New Old Transistor

If you’ve been complaining that your brand new laptop still doesn’t have the processing speed you need, some old science is coming to the rescue. As described in Scientific American, a transistor design that was first patented in 1925 might be the key to putting even more circuitry on computer chips.

Standard transistors, based on a design from the 1940’s, allow current along a sandwich-like semi-conductor strip depending on whether an electron “gate” in the strip is open or closed: the “on” or “off” states computing depends on. But the dividers between the sandwich layers—the junctions—are becoming too hard to define at increasingly smaller sizes. A design by Austrian physicist Julius Lilienfeld doesn’t require sandwiched strips. Just a single nanorod with a gate in the middle opened and closed by an electric field that deprives the gate section of its electrons to cut off current flow. Physicists at the Tyndall National Institute in Ireland have built one of these, and claim not only that it can be made with existing technology, but also requires less voltage, producing less heat and allowing faster processing speed.

Moore’s Law claims that the number of transistors a computer chip can hold (translate that into amount of computing power) doubles every two years. Lately that progress rate has been stalling. This new/old transistor design could get Moore’s Law back on track.

Molar-size supercomputers anyone?

"The Wind Man" in On Spec

My story “The Wind Man” was purchased by On Spec in August of 2009. It tells the story of Skelly Gilgoohen, a lifelong storyteller for whom an old Irish blessing has become a curse. In April of 2010 I corresponded with copy-editor Robin Carson about the story (he loved it), so I’m hoping it will be showing up in the magazine soon. I’ve been listed in the “Upcoming” section at the back of the magazine for a couple of issues now.

Ad Astra

Ad Astra was the first SF convention I’ve attended, but only the first of many to come. It could have started better—the first person I met at the hotel was well-known anthologist John Robert Colombo, only to learn that neither of two stories I’d submitted for Tesseracts 14 had made the cut! I also met his co-editor Brett Alexander Savory later, but the rest of the weekend had more than compensated for the initial blow to my ego.

An SF convention can be a little strange at times (or maybe I just have to get in touch with my inner Klingon), but whether you’re a fan or a writer of SF—and writers are among the biggest fans—it’s a great way to learn about the genre and learn about the craft. I got a kick out of panel sessions like “Putting the Science in Science Fiction” (how much technical info do you really need?) and “Genre Crossing” (the perils and pluses of a romance novel in an SF setting, or an SF mystery). I also got practical knowledge from “How To Get An Agent” and “An Editor’s Dream”. But the biggest draw is being able to meet the best authors in the biz. I’ve met and interviewed Robert J. Sawyer a number of times, and Canada’s most successful SF writer is just as great a guy as you hope he’ll be. I also had a chance to snag a few minutes with Peter Watts, James Alan Gardner, Karl Schroeder, David Nickle, Douglas Smith, Adrienne Kress, Ian Donald Keeling, and Dan Falk. You really don’t get opportunities like that anywhere but a convention, and the registration fee is dirt cheap. So if you’re a convention novice like I was, Google the dates of the next con anywhere near you and take that step. You’ll be hooked.