Meanwhile…

Woke up to a fresh new rejection today, this one to “The Organization,” a flash piece I wrote a while back. It’s a sort of romantic comedy/GIJoe-super-espionage parody piece. I like it, but I can see why they rejected it. If you’re not familiar with the sort of genre the piece is having fun with, it would seem like a lot is being left out. I suppose I could expand the story, really flesh out the universe and everything, but it seems like the people who would have fun reading this story might find that unnecessary and even tedious. Like sitting down to Get Smart but having to sit through twenty minutes of someone explaining to you what a spy is.

That’s part of the danger of writing genre I suppose, especially these days. We often rely heavily on what’s been written before, and simply stand on previous writers’ shoulders.

You can see that flaw really well in Cameron’s Avatar. All the characters and even the technology are derived from archetypes that are used all the time in science fiction. One glance at Sigourney Weaver’s character will tell you she’s the Compassionate But Stubborn Scientist that we’ve seen so many times before. Five seconds after he appears on screen, we understand that Giovanni Ribisi is the Greedy Corporate Guy. Then meet Hardass Military Dude. He’s got scars. Trust me when I say they do deep!

Similarly, most of the technology in the film we’ve seen in dozens of video games and even Cameron’s old movies. Those dropships and armored exoskeletons all look awfully familiar!

It’s all shorthand. The writer doesn’t have to spend much any time developing these personalities because we immediately know who they are, how they’re going to act, what their motivations are, etc. It’s just unfortunate when the writer doesn’t bother to take them further than the attributes and stats on the pre-generated character sheet (which Cameron, unfortunately, doesn’t do).

It is handy for some situations, though. In flash, for example, you don’t necessarily have space to do more with a character. So you can reassure the reader that this is Standard Security Guard Sleeping At His Post or Pseudo-Lesbian Who Doesn’t Shave And Wants To Save The Whales and move on. Nothing particularly lost. In parody and satire, you’re relying on those sorts of archetypes, even if it’s your job to show how they’re silly or shatter them. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was based purely on reversing the Blond Running From a Monster Does Something Stupid and Dies archetype.

Either way, if the audience doesn’t know the archetype, the effect is lost. So do I try to shop the story elsewhere, where the editors and audience will immediately recognize the genre parody, or do I try to expand the story and try to net a larger audience? Hurm.

(You can do it in comedy, too – one of my favorite running gags in Monty Python’s Flying Circus was that any time someone started to tell a “If I could walk that way…” joke they would be interrupted. We all know how that would have ended, so there’s no need to finish it – you can basically get two jokes with one stroke by interrupting them.)

Vacation, amIright? I spent the last couple of weeks wrangling in-laws and seeing friends I don’t see nearly enough and playing lots of Rock Band.

Yes, I created Virtuoso Of The Serious Combat on Rock Band, so if you’d like to get into a drum-off with the Iron Acrobat, match guitars with the Secret Earl that Grasps, or sing a duet with the Eighth Unspeakable Warden, this is something we can make happen.

Saw Up in the Air, which was excellent, but didn’t get to see Sherlock Holmes (don’t worry, I will). Drooled over Star Trek on Blu-Ray. Went to a hockey game. Tinkered on the cars a bit.

But last night before bed I felt the writing urge start to hit. Ideas percolated. That part of me that needs to write was letting me know it’s time to get back to work.

Goals for the year:

• Some rejection letters from pro markets. As Erin indicated a few weeks ago, our writing group has decided to focus on producing stories that might be publishable at the pro level. Having just received a loss at the latest Writers of the Future, I feel like I’m a step ahead on this one.
• More writing in general. I don’t feel I was particularly productive this past year, for whatever reason. I need to get back to pumping out lots of writing exercises, as that’s usually where I get my published flash pieces from. I want to keep up my goal of submitting at least one story a month somewhere. Since I set that goal late last year I’ve basically just been meeting the minimum, which really isn’t enough.
• Reading more. I am by no means a slow reader, but damn it takes me forever to get anything read nowadays. I need to make more time for that, because it’s an integral part of being a good writer.
• Finally finish revising several stories I’ve got gathering dust. I have a few stories that I’ve gotten great notes on from the writing group that are just sitting around. I need to finish revising them. In particular I want to finish my rewrite of my Dr. Strange-style urban fantasy, and decide what to do with my feature-length Chuck Chaykin story.

I don’t have too much to add to the chorus concerning James Cameron’s new movie, but I will say this – if you don’t see it at a digital theater and in 3D, you are doing yourself a grave disservice. The film is mind-staggeringly gorgeous. Why we even still have non-digital screens is beyond my comprehension, but there you go.

Happily, 3D has gotten much better since the last time I saw anything in the format, which is when I was like 9.

I finally got around to watching the animated Wonder Woman DC produced this year.

I thought it was pretty great. The voice cast is excellent – Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, and Alfred Molina lead, with smaller roles for the likes of Rosario Dawson, Oliver Platt, and Virginia Madsen (oh, and now I see it also featured Beth from NewsRadio – I’ve always liked her). It’s a solid telling of Diana’s origin story that doesn’t pull any punches (though there’s a suspicious lack of blood on the swords – I guess decapitating someone is okay unless there’s actually blood, then look out!). My only complaint would be the same as with Justice League: New Frontier, that it needed another twenty minutes or so for some character development.

On a personal level, I thought it was awesome that they didn’t give Wonder Woman the ability to fly on her own. She had to use the old invisible jet to get around (actually, I always thought a jet would be the best way to get around even if you can fly – I imagine it would only take one mid-flight bug swallowing to send you scrambling to your local superhero vehicle dealer). As I watched her kicking the crap out of a monster in a dark New York alley, I couldn’t help but think of my Scarlet Ranger (whose origin is rooted in Greek mythology as well). In the Justice League animated series I never quite connected the two, as Wonder Woman was always flying around, but here I really saw it. Really, Kelly and Diana are nothing alike in terms of personality, and Diana is a far more skilled combatant, but it was fun to to see how Kelly might look in battle.

It put me in the mood to write her again, so we’ll see what comes of that.

Friend and fellow Writer’s Inker Sandra has a new story out over at Rose and Thorn. Check it out! She needs to write more.

Also her name looks like a court case! There’s got to be some sort of metaphor there ripe for fictionalizing.

(with apologies from Warren Ellis)

Reading

I’ve nabbed a gargantuan tome of short stories by T.C. Boyle, on Gay’s recommendation.

(Speaking of Gay, she’s got a pair of new stories up that you should check out, here and here.)

I do occasionally venture into that world of non-genre, contemporary fiction. A quick perusal of my bookshelves will find Rick Bass’s The Watch, Mark Richard’s The Ice at the Bottom of the World, and Eudora Welty’s A Curtain of Green. As I recall, each had at least a couple of stories I found excellent, though it’s been some time since I read any of them.

There’s also Colson Whitehead’s The Intuitionist, which I loved. It’s sort of an absurdest espionage story involving elevator inspectors that delivers some sharp social commentary. Great stuff. I really need to look into getting some of his other books.

A month or so ago TwoMorrows had a sale on their Modern Masters books, and I nabbed a couple (actually, looks like they have a sale going now, too, though not quite as good as the one I got). Volume 9 featuring Mike Wieringo, and Volume 10 featuring Kevin Maguire.

Mike was artist on an excellent run of Fantastic Four (along with writer Mark Waid) and an great visual storyteller. These Modern Masters books present a lot of the raw pages he drew, and even without the dialogue I have no trouble at all following the story. His art is full of fun, contagious energy. I identify a lot with Mike, the kinds of stories he likes, the moods he enjoys evoking, his unwarranted insecurities concerning his art. His sudden death a couple years ago pretty well crushed me. One of these days I’ll get a copy of his creator-owned Tellos. I don’t know why I keep putting it off. Maybe because I’ll feel awful, knowing that he won’t be able to produce more?

Maguire was artist for the (in)famous Justice League International era of DCs premier superhero team back in the late ’80s, early ’90s. For those unfamiliar with the period, this was shortly after DCs big Crisis reboot of the Universe. Their big heroes (namely Superman and Wonder Woman) were all sort of tied up being modernized, so the company put together a new Justice League of lesser-known characters. There are few heroes I love more than the 2nd stringers, they guys who should never win but manage to anyway, and Maguire’s expressive art really made you love them. He’s one of those artists who doesn’t work as often as I’d like, and it’s a treat every time he pops up. His recent Batgirl arc of Batman Confidential was a hoot.

I finally read V for Vendetta, by Alan Moore and David Lloyd. I particularly liked the film version and the book didn’t change my opinion. They both work in their own ways. The film solved a few problems the book had and updates it for modern audiences, but it delivers a different philosophy, so I see how people might be a little irritated by it. People like to say the movie is an attack on the Bush administration, but I think that says more about Bush than the film. Plus I don’t get people saying Evey was a prostitute; she tries to be, for like one panel on page 2. What would people say about my entire summer of 2001?

Watching

I recently obtained a Playstation 3 and holy crap does Blu-Ray look good. We nabbed Superman and Goodfellas for cheap and they look amazing.

(FYI, if you ever want to see my cry like a baby, you’ll put on Superman and queue the scene where Superman saves Lois from the helicopter crash. Goddammit it gets me every time.)

Last Friday I decided to bring my little daily hint fiction exercise to an end. It was great to keep me writing during these past overtime-laden months, but it’s starting to become a chore. I need to get back to my regular writing. There are 73 little nano-stories over there. If I’d realized the number I might have churned out a couple more just to hit that nice round 75. A handful of them are actually good.

Oh, and I forgot to mention it before, but the talented Rumjhum Biswas wrote a nice article over on the Flash Fiction Chronicles that complements my “Make it Fun!” article.

(Though I’m not sure it really left?)

I’m not even sure where to start on the topic of sexism in genre fiction. My purpose essentially is to defend genre fiction, though it’s kind of a damning defense. Really, there’s no winning for anyone on this topic. This post will likely be full of images of the cheesecake variety.

The first item I wanted to address is the idea that it’s a one-way streak. Women aren’t the only ones objectified in fiction. Is Power Girl unrealistic? Maybe, but when’s the last time I met someone that looked like Dick Grayson? And why does Namor go around wearing nothing but his underwear? Next you’re going to tell me David Boreanaz was cast for Buffy based on his acting talent. New Moon just made a babillion dollars because the producers have given up pretending the attraction isn’t all about hot shirtless dudes.

I’m not saying it’s not still lopsided. We’re much more likely to see an ugly male character than an ugly female. And female villains typically are gorgeous, as opposed to the archetype of the hideous male villain. Even Madame Masque, who has a terribly scarred face, hides her mutilation and has a fantastic body (and was beautiful before her injuries). In the current Iron Man cartoon they even remove the damage to her face entirely, and she’s just another cute girl. To be fair, art styles have changed, and even male villains more ugly back in the ’60s and earlier than they are today. Other than a sinister sneer and that terrible haircut, Norman Osbourne isn’t particularly unattractive. Doctor Doom and the Phantom of the Opera were rocking masks long before Whitney Frost.

I would say sword and sorcery fantasy art is even more complicated. Red Sonja is running around in a chain mail bikini, sure, but Conan is often wearing even less. And that princess in distress is awfully shapely for a long line of inbreeding and pretty darn clean for living in an age when people thought bathing was for the birds. Is it better or worse that high fantasy art is often not even telling a story, and just marveling in the beauty of the setting and the human form?

You could say that sexism is particularly bad in the comic book industry, a market in which the vast majority of both creators and audience is male. But I say thee nay! And this is where I bristle a little bit and get to the heart of what bothers me. People talk about science fiction and fantasy as though those are the only places sexist imagery exists. Who do they think they’re kidding?

Why yes, I would like some - wait, this is a trap, isn't it? The redhead is hiding an axe or something.

I took a tour of a Hollywood studio a few years ago. There was a display that featured some of the clothes worn by the “Friends” stars. I’m pretty sure I could have wrapped both hands around Courteney Cox’s waist. Tiny! And this is an actual human being.

Not my first choice to take on Mr. Freeze, is all I'm saying

In some ways, it’s worse. If some comic book artist drew a superhero they way women are portrayed on, say, a fashion runway, I’d probably drop the book. Check out that image of Batgirl’s back I posted up top. Babs has some muscles. There is meat on those bones. She’s a superhero for gods’ sake.

Beyonce can’t sing, but she looks great doing it badly. In her prime, Britney Spears could bounce any number of bright shiny things off her abs, and we could watch her do it all day, but, again, no real talent (though she does got some mad dancing skills). Are those Victoria’s Secret ads aimed at my wife? I don’t think so. And Hollywood’s idea of a high school girl and what I remember from high school are vastly different.

It’s all fiction of some form or another. Fiction exaggerates life for entertainment purposes or to sell things (probably both). Genre fiction takes that exaggeration and adds more to it; when you punch someone, they don’t just get annoyed, they go flying through a wall. Spies have gadgets that allow them to see through walls and can shoot people half a mile away from a moving helicopter. It’s natural that human physiology is going to be exaggerrated as well. But please, critics out there, stop pretending like the exaggeration or the exploitation of the human form, male and female, is unique to our humble genre fiction, or worse. We’re not doing anything that the rest of the world isn’t already.

And since you can’t apparently discuss this topic without her:

I’m a big fan of Power Girl. I think in a lot of ways she’s a better role model for young girls than Wonder Woman. But all people ever see is that boob window. I’m also all for closing up said boob window, primarily for that reason.

I dunno. Am I just a chauvinist trying to excuse cheesecake? Am I looking too much at context instead of simply the images and how some of these characters appear to outsiders? Or simply totally crazy? Or do I simply think the world needs to get off our back and start looking at its own behavior more?

A Thousand Faces is having a sale for today only – everything is 25% off with the coupon code CYBERBOOKS. If you have any interest in superhero fiction you should check it out. Issue 4, featuring my story “Shades of Red” (as well as some great stories by Erin and Jens), is only $8.97, before the discount! These are great deals, people.

What also may be of interest is that the latest issue is out, featuring a story by Erin and holy cats now I see one by KC Ball as well.

Man alive. I’m the superhero guy and you’ve all left me in the dust. I need to get back on that.