A thought.

Jan. 1st, 2025 11:28 pm
matt_doyle: (Default)
I bet if I talked about those 238 books I read, it would remind me to blog more often.

Though it would also make anyone reading this say "Matt, are you trying to become a Subject Matter Expert on spicy literature about polyamorous goblins?"

To which I would say "Yes. Shut up, or I'll tell you more about the subgenre than yoi want to know."
matt_doyle: (writing)
In 2024 I read 238 books (including novellas and 6-issue or more volumes of comics) out of a goal of 365.

Out of an initial goal of 75k words but hoping for 120k, I wrote 79,389 words, of which 36,883 were RPG sourcebook intended for publication, and 42,506 were prose fiction.

I didn't used to count fanfic as prose written, but I do now, because who am I, a cop? I still don't count my session prep notes, even though of course they "count" in some ways, but

a) it would be a much bigger logistical pain in the ass than it would be a balm to my ego, &

b) the process is so fundamentally different than writing prose that it would be very little help as any sort of sensible quantitative metric. I've had notes for a three hour session be as short as two words for mood & vibes & the names of three monsters, & I have had sessions with 8000 words of logistics & flow charts, but since they aren't made to be read by others, it just doesn't make sense to consider them as I do prose.

Maybe this means I need a metric like "hours spent butt in chair producing creative work?"

Anyway. This was a great year. I was at 120k/year for two years before my anxiety attacks started in 2013, & I was back at this point by 2019, before the pandemic once again screwed my wordcount, and then switching to professional dungeonmastering in 2021-onward took so much of my creative energy that my prose wordcount cratered again.

It's not the number of words itself that matters to me this much anymore as it is the fact that I know, if something throws me creatively, I can rebuild my capacity, and each time the rebuilding process is faster & smoother.

Also, 2024 is the only year I've ever had even one month of 30k+ words, and I had two - January and the mid-November to mid-December holiday crawl. That's not sustainable for me right now (and it feels silly that 70+% of my wordcount comes from under 20% of my year) - but it's a thing I didn't know I could do, and I did it! Yay me.

That said, in 2025 I'd like to write 60k words prose fiction & 60k words role-playing book(I have a hard time quantifying this as fiction or nonfiction, as a mix of prose and technical writing).

I'd also still like to try to read 365 books a year. This may be a little pie in the sky (though I have done it repeatedly in the past, usually I did so in years where I spent a lot of time alone or on public transit), but since I am mostly past beating myself up when I fail to reach these goals, I'd like to aim high! Why not?

This year, as all previous years for more than a decade, I renew my Resolution to admit out loud in the presence of another human being when I realize I am factually wrong. This one thing has made my ego healthier, fought insecurity & defensiveness, & just generally kept me from becoming an obnoxious know-it-all invested in Always Being Right as my identity.

I have been that guy, & I'd rather avoid being him again (I am still an obnoxious know-it-all. I'm just an obnoxious know-it-all who mostly no longer feels threatened when someone shows me I am wrong. I love that for me. I never want to be closed off to learning, and I never want to be a dick to people who are kind enough to correct my errors).

(Nota Bene: I am not required to admit I was wrong to the person I was wrong at, nor in the immediate moment I discover my wrongness. This kindness to myself is the only reason I have a near-spotless record at actually keeping this resolution. Sometimes it is intolerable to let an asshole know they were technically correct, and sometimes my soul needs to hide in shame when I uncover my errors. I let it, although obviously, it's preferable to be prompt & fix the error at the source.

Also, when you call people up late in the evening to apologize for having accidentally conflated a Court Baron & a Court Leet while drinking, they both do not understand why you are doing so, feel a trifle intruded upon, & think you are weird.

I don't mind them knowing I am weird, but I prefer to let them know it genteelly and with less baggage. My resolution is for my health, not theirs.)

I'd also like to blog a little more this year. We shall see how that goes.
matt_doyle: (Default)
The job was always going to be to get up each day, take care of ourselves, and fight fascism.

I am not saying this result does not matter, it matters a lot. It matters that this happened, that the fight is harder now, that this appears to be a genuine win of the popular vote. It will matter. when we know more, that we understand why.

*We* matter, all of us who are endangered by this.

But fascist movements have never been defeated in one day, at a polling place. This work is generational work, is the work of shifting culture and paradigm.

We were always going to have to fight, and the good news is, we have already been fighting. If you are reading this, you are a resilient survivor, or you would not be here.

You have survived every disaster this world has thrown at you. Maybe they didn't feel like wins, probably we all have lasting traumas, but *we are here* and that means nothing has beat us yet.

In any marathon, self care is the essential work. You don't need to jump into action today.

Make sure you are rested, fed, hydrated, medicated, and yes, entertained.

Touch base with your loved ones, chosen family, allies. Make sure they're looking after their needs as well.

We're going to lean in and we're going to do this. But that means a commitment to our own survival & capacity. Don't exhaust or overwhelm yourself.

It's not only okay to live your own life in the face of this shit, it's essential, because that's where our energy comes from.

My last thought for now, I guess, is this.

I believed in us yesterday morning when I thought we would win this round.

But my belief did not depend upon our success.

Even when we fail, I believe in us.

Because this isn't platitudes. I am regularly in *awe* at the strength of my communities - in a time when being our authentic selves is a fraught and dangerous act.

I'm proud of us. We haven't given up. We fall down, we backslide, we keep learning.

We're going to keep going.

That's what I got.
matt_doyle: (Default)
 I have been away on other social media for a very long time, but the isolation of quarantine and the utter disaster that is he world just now have been making me think very fondly of LJ and the days of yore.

Anyone still here and reading?
matt_doyle: (Default)
 This year, I wrote two stories!  

The first was Hunting the Phoenix, historical RPF about Antinous and his affair with the Roman Emperor Hadrian.  It's kind of... a meditation on the unknowability of Antinous while he was a live, from Antinous' perspective.  The more I researched this story the more I had questions with no answers, and I wanted to write something that reflected that rather than putting in my own glib answers.  Of course, I did put in my own glib answers, too.  But I tried to be subtle about it, to the point where my primary beta reader missed them entirely.  Readers, I ask: what did you see me say on the matter?

The second was The Child Eaters, Greek mythology/Greek drama fic about Electra, Orestes, and Pylades after the murder of Clytemnestra.  The idea was to blend the wrenching verisimilitude of Sophocles with the over-the-top cynical strangeness of Euripides and add a soupcon on Tarantino, and I'mm not quite sure if it worked, but I had fun trying and I might want to tamper with it a little more.

Yuletide!

Dec. 25th, 2013 10:32 am
matt_doyle: (Default)
 This year I received None So Blind, a Nazca-centric Gentlemen Bastards Sequence fic, and it definitely brought a smile to my morning.  The character voices are keen and the mini-episodes amusing.  

I haven't had time to start reading and reccing anything else yet, but I shall, which will actually give me something to blog about for a change.

And I wrote not one but TWO stories this year, both of them, I think, very distinctly my handiwork - guess either of them correctly and I'll reward you with flash-fiction of some kind.  Guess both before the reveal, and I'll write you something longer.  

Oh, and I guess Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, too.
matt_doyle: (Default)
 Registration is now open.  Megan & I will be going back for sure.
matt_doyle: (Default)

Request 1: Persona 3  

I'd like to see what happened in between Persona 3 FES & Persona 4 Arena, with a special emphasis on the ladies of SEES. If you chose a FeMC route, Shinjiro, too.


I’m especially invested in/curious about Mitsuru, Fuuka, & Aigis; but the story could focus on as many or as few of them as you like.  Chihiro would be a nice bonus!



Request 2:  Otoyomegatari | The Bride's Stories  

Either 1) Shippy fluff with Amira & Karluk, preferably set somewhere after their current troubles have been resolved; or  2) How Smith wins his bride back? If there are additional Great Game shenanigans, that's a plus.


In case you’re not familiar with it, the Great Game is detailed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game and the role it could play in the Bride’s Stories canon is especially fascinating to me.



Request 3:  Scott Pilgrim (Comics)  

All I want from life is a where-are-they-now 80s-movie-ending coda, showing as many of the cast as possible a few years later.


Ramona, Knives, Kim, & Wallace are the characters I’m most interested in, but I do love the whole cast, so I’m not very picky.



Request 4:  Gentleman Bastard Sequence - Scott Lynch  

Pre-TLOLL, anytime from age 7-21, Nazca & Locke (and the Gentleman bastards, optionally) getting into trouble together.


What it says on the tin.  I like caper stories and I adored what little we saw of Nazca & Locke’s friendship.  I’ve read Republic of Thieves, so feel free to draw from there as well.



Overall, I guess I’m not really picky this year.  I prefer dialogue and action to vignettes and introspection; I like to see the details of the world around the characters, and I have a great love of banter and shenanigans and capers, which I think nearly any of these requests could lend themselves to.  Ideally I want a fluffy story, mostly gen unless it’s Bride’s Stories but with plenty of shipping welcome as long as it isn’t the focus, and an ensemble cast of active characters pursuing their goals in creative ways.

Thank you so much for writing for me.

No Subject?

Oct. 9th, 2013 09:42 am
matt_doyle: (Default)
 My blogging renaissance seems to have been temporary.  I haven't given up on it, exactly, but my interest has flagged yet again, and my creative energies are dispersed thither and yon, which is less than conducive for focusing on, y'know, my novels, let alone a blog lying fallow.

Revising Running In Her Veins continues apace.  I'm still stuck at the 75% mark in Hellion Prince.  I've had a few other novelistic impulses in the last few days, like The B Team, my garage-band superhero notion; and I'm having all kinds of feels about Steve Brust's suggestions on playing with structure.

So far this year, I've written 30,000 words, which isn't terrible, but it's about 25% of where I wanted to be.  Maybe i'll try to pick up a NaNoWriMo project this year.

That's all I've got at the moment.  Hopefully, I'll have more to say soon.
matt_doyle: (Default)
 I'm sure you'l all be relieved to hear that dreamwidth/LJ wasn't the only social media site I was neglecting this year.  I also forgot to update my YouTube channel as frequently as intended.

You didn't know I had a YouTube channel?  Well, that would be because I started it earlier this year and, er, forgot to mention it.  Honestly, I think it's worth watching just for the expansion and contraction of my facial hair from video to video, but there are also frequent cameos from my cat, readings from novels, and a song I wrote.  Oh, and my impression of Kaworu from Neon Genesis Evangelion participating in a rap battle.

It's pretty clear between the meandering subjects and the terrible production values that I don't really know what I'm doing on YouTube, yet, but I'll probably continue to noodle around there until I do.  After all, it can't be worse than my first 12 livejournal posts....
matt_doyle: (Default)
 As you know if you've been following me on other social media, I've been thinking a lot lately about returning to academia.  I've been out for five years now, and career-wise I'm at a dead end - I have a solid resume for community organizing work, but I'm in a town where community organizers only get hired for election season; and I can't afford (nor do I want) to move at this time.  Job prospects on other fronts are pretty dismal... and this isn't just me being depressed and negative.  Since 2009 I've put in over 700 job applications and gotten nothing but temp work (mostly community organizing and canvassing work).  I've workshopped my resume twice.  I've networked as much as I can, although I'm admittedly bad at selling myself.  It's just not the Minnesotan way.

And all along, I've wanted to go back for a higher degree.  I just haven't seen a practical way to achieve that goal.

Well.  One of my local universities has both a master's program and a doctoral program in literature.  I can't pick and choose between schools the way I'd like to - doing that pushes my goal of a higher degree unseeably further into the future.  But I can pursue a master's degree in 2014 or 2015 right here, and get started.  It's not an ideal path, but it's an achievable one.  Tuition is reimbursed for TAs and the stipend they tack on on top of that would make grad school frankly the most lucrative career choice I've ever considered.

There is, of course, a catch.  In my last undergraduate semester, I was unable to take out the loans I needed to cover all of my tuition.  That means that at the present moment, I still owe $4600 directly to my alma mater, so they won't release transcripts to me, which means I can't apply.  At current irregular rates of income it would be between five or ten years before I could save enough to pay my current bills and still pay that down.

So I'm asking for help.  My debt to my college, GRE costs, application fees, and miscellaneous student activity fees at my school of choice total at $6035, and I'm trying to raise that money through... well, through asking friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers to offer me money.  In the last ten days I've already moved a staggering 10% of my way to that goal, more than I'd ever hoped... enough to bring me at least a year closer to that dream, but not enough yet to get me there by 2014 or 2015.

So I'm asking all of you, too.  Here is my gofundme page.  If you can spare even ten or twenty dollars, you'll be giving me a gift I will never forget.  I feel audacious and ashamed even to ask for this, but as far as I can tell, I've exhausted other viable options (the head of financial aid at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and I had a long talk about it -- she's a great lady, very professional and very funny, and she returns her phone calls promptly, but even she didn't have any constructive suggestions for me -- and her office was hardly the first place I've called).

Why should you donate to me?  Well, maybe you shouldn't.  But I'm passionate about literature and the study of it.  I've (almost) always done quite well at school.  If you help me, I won't disappoint your expectations.  I will live my life and pursue my career fiercely and gratefully.  When an opportunity comes to help someone the way so many people have already helped me, I will take it (actually, that's true whether or not you give me a dime.  I'm already committed to the notion of crowdfunding education as a viable supplemental thing, better than more loans by a longshot).  I've also promised that, by request, I'll write short fiction for any and all donors at 5 cents a word.  Donate $10 and you get a couple drabbles.  $50 and you get 1,000 words, and so on.  You can commission me as specifically as you'd like and I'll do my best to deliver.

 I can't really offer a lot of incentives other than that.  Pictures of my cat, maybe.  My undying goodwill.

I've got a dream.  I'll get to it on my own, someday.

I'd like your help so that I can get there sooner.

ETA: My writing is over here if anyone’s wondering how worthwhile commissioning me might be!
matt_doyle: (boom de yadah)
 When I enter that into google, the top result is a calculator informing me that that's 14515 kg.  Wikipedia informs me that there are numerous Russian parody versions of the song (because it's apparently a huge hit in Russia) in which 'sixteen tons' is the weight of a bomb.

Mostly, after three days of constantly humming it, I want recommendations of other tunes by deep-voiced bluesmen that will drive it out of my head.

(Yes, I know it's categorized as country and not blues, but as genres go, I prefer blues.  Indulge me?)


matt_doyle: (Default)
 My productivity's more stable than it was last fall when I dropped off the face of the blogosphere, but I'm not quite comfortable back in the saddle yet, and there are days when a given blogging subject seems to have too many handholds  and I don't know where or how I want to climb onto it.

No profound essays today, but I'm still here, still intending to stick around.and keep posting.  My profound thoughts today are all centered around the notion that two Italian kids with no money seemed to be able to compile as much data on the Soviet space program as the entire apparatus of NASA did.  I'm a touch skeptical, given the source, but it's an interesting tale.

Second, have the unexpected delight of the Red Army Choir singing 'Sixteen Tons'.  I've been doing some reading lately on Russia & the USA's political relationship, currently and historically, and so I find this especially substance-rich.  How much common ground is there between what the song means to me and what it means to them?  How vast is the distance in perspective between the unshared grounds?
matt_doyle: (meta)
I have four damn novels in progress already; why did I start writing a new one at 5 AM this morning?
Read more... )
matt_doyle: (Default)
 I'm going to start my discussion of 4th Street with the tale of how I sassed a bunch of panelists.

First of all I want to emphasize that the panel discussions were good at Fourth Street.  I think someone described the experience as a postgraduate seminar for literary fantasy nerds, and that's not wrong.  They were enthusiastic, opinionated, well-informed, receptive to the audience, never once bent on self-promotion and in fact very shy to draw on their own works by way of example... they guided discussion and questions by the audience rather than dictating to us or lecturing us.

It was f***ing brilliant.

And as I also noted, they were exceptionally gracious and did not mind being corrected.  For which I am thankful, because if it were otherwise, I would never have had the nerve to sass the august assembly.

The particular panel was a discussion of the journey in fantasy, with an emphasis on the aftermath, and what the heroes bring home with them, and how that is significant to the worldbuilding and development.

In passing, Lord of the Rings was mentioned, and dismissed as a series in which 'what you bring home with you' was not significant.

At which point my hand shot up and I began compiling notes.  The audience was very active, so waiting my turn took the better part of half an hour.  The discussion had moved on, and I almost let it go.

But, dammit, they were wrong.  I have poked numerous holes in Tolkien's masterwork on this blog before, but the man worked with deliberation and finesse and this was something he knew about, and something he illustrated beautifully.  So, by the time I was called on, what i had was less a correction and more of a manifesto.

Bilbo brought home the Ring, for starters.  I mean, seriously.  He brought home enough gold and silver to have a measurable effect on the economy of Hobbiton, but he was a parsimonious investor (it lasted him more than sixty years) and he was rich already, so let's pass by that.  He brought home a mithril coat, a significant enough cultural artifact that it was put in a museum.

Gandalf, world traveler, brought fireworks to the Shire.  He seemed to be their only source.  He was also a primary factor in the export of pipe-weed to other nations.  He reportedly took with him many young and adventurous hobbits, and while we do not see their impact on the world outside of the monumental developments they're instrumental in in Lord of the Rings, well, it's still something.  But Gandalf's return journeys aren't primarily what we're concerned with, but rather, the return of others from journeys he instigated or facilitated.  It is worth noting, however, that he brought Saruman's attention to the Shire, so Saruman being "brought home" is the result of a journey's aftermath, and critically shaped the society and economy of the place.

Frodo brought home a severe case of PTSD, resulting in his inability to remain in the Shire, ending a dynasty of Bagginses.  

Sam brought home a number of invasive elven species of flora which, we are told, flourished in the area.

Merry and Pippin brought home a new respect for militarization from Gondor and Rohan, which was instrumental in ousting Saruman's regime, and whose effects clearly lasted, as we're told in the appendices.  Hobbits becoming invested in their own border defense is a big deal.  I believe we're also told that their heirs kept the Ent-draught tallness their parents acquired?  So that's a legacy of sorts too, a congenital conditions whose effects would be visible through generations.

Aragorn brought home to Gondor a lasting elven alliance & intermarriage, restored Numenorean traditions and knowledge and style of rule, replanted the Tree... he revolutionized the nation because of the things he brought from his lifetime of journeying.

Legolas & Gimli brought home a renewed interest in peace, understanding, and cultural exchange between their peoples.  Aglarond & Lorien, friendly nations in proximity to one another, were surely greatly affected by this one friendship that resulted from the aftermath of a journey.

In short, everything we see after the fall of Mordor falls under the heading of "what they bring home with them," and the cavalier dismissal of Lord of the Rings as a source of material for discussion was a grave oversight.

... I got a lot of laughs with the "invasive elven species of flora" line especially, although really, I wasn't joking. This provoked a later discussion, post-panel, of whether or not magical beneficial plants could be considered invasive species, but I don't recall the details, although Megan might.

Your thoughts, my friends? 


matt_doyle: (Default)
 

When you owe someone a drink, it’s usually pretty easy to set up a meeting with them.  Recently, I sat down with Steven Brust and Skyler White (Skyler, I guess I owe you a drink, too) to discuss their new book, The Incrementalists, out on September 24th.  (You can pre-order it on Amazon here)  Of course, this is a convenient fiction.  I sat down at my computer, and they sat down at theirs.  However, I was drinking while I did it.


In any case, The Incrementalists is a fabulous tale about a group of immortal personalities who’d like to make the world a better place just a little bit at a time.  When one dies, they choose someone new to inherit the memories and persona of the deceased, and the work continues.  The fact that this may not be an uneventful procedure is central to the book, but apart from that, I wouldn’t want to spoil you.  Except to say that I’ve read the book; and found it to be incredibly engaging and enjoyable.  I hope you will too.  With a concept this broad in scope, there are any number of questions to be asked, but this had to be an interview that would fit neatly in a blog post, so I stuck to just the best ten questions that occurred to me (I was tempted to ask seventeen).  Skyler, Steve, feel free to answer jointly, take turns, or give separate answers - whatever works best for you.  If my questions are asked in the wrong order to give smooth answers, feel free to flop ‘em around.  And thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this.  I’ll get you those drinks.  Really.  Ever tried baijiu?


1. Why did you decide to collaborate on this project?  Who started it?  Which came first, the notion that you should work together, or the notion you’d be working on? Please pretend this is all one question.


Steve: The idea for The Incrementalists had been hanging around for years, ever since Tappan King suggested it to me.  Sitting around with Skye one evening talking about Art and Craft and such, we got to talking about collaboration, and putting the two together was kind of obvious.


Skye: Yeah, I think I’d been griping about missing the collaborative aspects of theater and Steve said something like, “So why don’t you co-write something?” Mind=Blown.  I had no idea you could do such a thing.  



2.  How was the collaboration process different from writing the book alone?  (Wow, that’s a little broad).  Er… how did you find that working together changed the way you’d looked at the novel, and what sorts of things did your co-author add that you could never have throught of on your own?  Brag about each other for a moment.


Steve: God.  Where to begin.  Every time I’d get a section I’d drop everything and read it.  I mean, seriously, I’m glad none of my kids had to go to the ER just when an email from Skyler arrived.  It always kicked me--I don’t think I ever knew what was coming, and I don’t think I ever had to think for more than a few minutes about where it should go next; even though I hadn’t had a clue before reading that section.  The story simply unfolded in front of me, each new twist and turn and surprise feeling natural after the fact.  Above all, in addition to plot twists and symbolic Easter eggs (some of which I’m just now picking up on) I think Skyler added grace, sensuality, and nuance of characterization.


Skye: When Steve and I started working together, I’d published two books and knew exactly enough about writing to thoroughly screw myself up. I was working on a huge, near-future YA whose ideas and characters I loved, but the execution was killing me.

I’d learned enough to recognize my mistakes as I was making them, but not enough to stopping making them.  It was like once, in a ballet class, mid tour jete, I forgot what foot I was supposed to land on –  you have to understand what a horror an irate ballet teacher can be – and  my mind went, “Left foot? Right?” and my body went “Face!”  Every sentence I’d start, I’d stop midway because something wasn’t right -- I was telling, not showing; there was  -- oh, god!—an adverb; I’d head-hopped; I’d slipped into passive voice; that analogy was cliché.  I was a cliché – the sophomore slumped, writer’s blocked writer.

But Steve is nothing if not original and he writes with such glee, with such love, that it’s contagious.  He taught me how to loosen up and fix the oopsies in edits.  Working with him allowed me to out-source the judge. He lent me his confidence.  I wanted to be a better writer and the only way I know how to be better is to work harder, but I was working so hard I was in danger of killing the love.  He taught me how to play. Sharing the work, borrowing his confidence, leaning on his strengths to cover my weakness, allowed me to give the work enough space that the love could breathe.  Cause there’s no point in being a better writer if you hate writing.  



3.  There’s a lot of finnicky worldbuilding involved here, especially when it comes to the Garden.  I didn’t know how to describe it briefly in my summary.  Can you say a few explanatory words about what the Garden is and what it means to the Incrementalists?


Steve: Oh, but, man, that would ruin it.  I mean, one of the fun things is discovering that, letting the information seep in.  One of the great joys of science fiction is how revealing the world to the reader happens as part of the uncovering of character and the movement of the plot.  They go together to make Story.


Skye:  The garden = Werner Herzog’s ‘Cave of Dreams” + David Chalmer’s “The Extended Mind” + Steve & Skye + whiskey.  


4.  What, exactly, was the original driving notion of the story, and how did it develop into the intrigue and romance that we’ve got now?


Steve: The original driving notion was, simply, a group of immortals who have been around since the invention of symbol, who want to make the world better.  The framework and mechanics were, for the most part, created by following up on that premise and, as Sturgeon would say, asking the next question.  And then having friends try to pick holes in it, and then plug those holes.  You were a part of that process as you recall.  The rest of story simply told itself; we discovered it as we were writing it, and wanting to tell each other the next cool thing.  Then, of course, there was going over it all to make it look like we’d known what we were doing all along.


Skye:Yeah, that really is about it. Tappan King had this charmingly optimistic idea that, if you consider how improbable, fragile and stupid we are, it’s stunning we’re still around.  Things could have been, really should have been, so much, much worse.  Maybe there’s a secret cabal helping us out.  On the other hand, things certainly could still be better so obviously they’re not divine or even super-human.  So what would they be?  What could they do and not do?  Why would they do it?  And we were off.  



5.  Why would a group of immortals organize themselves in this way?  While there’s certainly a lot of dissension, overall they’re a remarkably harmonious group of people, I think.  What lead them to become Incrementalists as we see them now?


Steve: I really believe that there is a drive in many people to make the world better.  I believe there is also frustration that, in the real world, there is so little an individual can do.  The next step is wish-fulfillment--what if we, as individuals, really could make a difference?  And the step after that is: examine the consequences.


Skye: I think part of it is how lonely immortality would be.  To a certain extent, they are all they have. Incrementalists have only their relationships with the others in the group and their relationship with the world for as many lifetimes as they get. Everything else, to them, would be fleeting.   There’s altruism, but there’s also a simple utility in trying to get along as well as you can with that which is with you through multiple lifetimes.



6.  Of all the fantastical (or science-fictional) conceits in the story, which is your favorite, and what would you say is most central to the tale?


Steve: Good question!  (“Good question” is code for, “Fuck, I have to think about that.”)  I think my favorite is the precise means of securing immortality--that it requires the cooperation of the recruit, and that there are no guarantees of survival.  What is most central to the story is the meddlework itself, and the moral ambiguity inherent in it.


Skye: Yeah, and I love that it’s the mechanism of that transfer which they, the remembering ones, forget.  



7.  The Incrementalists prefer to stay behind the scenes, but they’ve been shaping human history for centuries.  Would you care to give some examples of events they meddled in for our benefit?  Bonus points if they’re not mentioned in the boards or in the novel itself.


Steve: The Incrementalists had a hand in bringing Nixon down, and getting FDR elected.  They were involved in organizing the IWW and the CIO.  They had a hand in ending apartheid in South Africa and ending Jim Crow in the USA, and in bringing down the Shah of Iraq.  They influenced Vikings in Britain to settle, rather than continue to destroy.  They were, in part, behind the Third Servile (Sparticus) Uprising in ancient Rome.  They encouraged the search for knowledge during what we call the Dark Ages, and helped bring about the Enlightenment.


Skyler:  In 1928, an Incrementalist convinced Anita Berber to go sober, but it was too late, and I’m pretty sure Maud Allen and Margaret Gage were Incrementalists or meddled  with by one.  I feel like there was probably some serious meddling at work in the discovery of the dead sea scrolls and the tomb at Sutton Hoo.  The lawyer Theodor Niemeyer was an Incrementalist and so was Olympe de Gouges.



8.  Likewise, one of the great aspects of this story is that anyone throughout history could have been an Incrementalist.  What historical figures do you imagine as having been part of the group?  What historical figures definitely weren’t, but had an incrementalist sort of jogging their elbow to make things turn out better?


Steve: Very few of the well-known historical figures were actually Incrementalists, but there was a great deal of elbow jogging going on.  I think there was some influence on Andrew Jackson when he fought to remove the property requirement for voting.  They helped give Madam Curie room to carry out her work. They worked on William Wilburforce to end the British slave trade. Martin Luther King had an Incrementalist nearby, as did Susan B. Anthony. They certainly meddled with Tom Paine.  I’d say Robespierre was meddled with a bit.  I have a suspicion that Simon Bolivar had someone behind him.  And more than likely Ghandi.


Skye:  I sorta rolled this question and the previous one into one and answered it above.


9.  So i kind of know the answer to this one, but let me ask it anyway.  What comes next for the Incrementalists?  What other plans do you have in this world?


Steve: I have a short story coming out from Tor on September 25th.  Skyler will have one later.  I’ve written another, and we’re working on a sequel to the book.  I would very much like it if this universe opened up and other people wanted to write Incrementalist stories.  That’d be cool.


10.  My favorite maybe-helpful, maybe-pain-in-the-ass way to end an interview.  What question haven’t I asked that you wish I would? (and what’s the answer?)


Skyler: All Incrementalists appear to fall somewhere in the political spectrum from the Left-central to the far Left.  Why is that?

Steve: Because I cannot believe in a character who is simultaneously intelligent, compassionate, knowledgeable in history, and Right Wing.  Any three of those I’ll buy, but not all four at the same time.


Steve:  What’s up with all the pirates?

Skye: We’ll never tell!


matt_doyle: (modern me)
... I'm dusting off the blog for at least a few days, un-retiring myself for a few very important reasons. If it catches, maybe I'll stick around and get back into the swing of things; if it doesn't I won't, but I won't be worrying about that very much right now.

Hi, everybody. It's good to be talking to you all again.

I still haven't managed to write up a blow-by-blow breakdown of 4th Street, but I'm going to launch right into an informal one here, then get around to discussing why I'm bothering to post (other than to indulge the corner of me that still pines for you all, which would be a perfectly legitimate reason because it's a fairly sizable corner. But it's not why I'm doing this. Honesty, best policy, etc.)

Anyway. the 4th Street Fantasy Convention was one of the most amazing weekends of my life. Beyond having a programming track that was simply amazing, I met a wide range of wonderful people - Elizabeth Bear, Scott Lynch, & Emma Bull, all in passing, but all as cool or cooler than reputation would dictate. Steven Brust & Skyler White, at considerably greater length, who did me the great and gratifying honor of being nearly as excited to meet me as I was to meet them. Jon Singer, laser wizard, one of the most erudite and interesting gentlemen it's been my pleasure to be educated by in a very long time, & Ctein, undoubtedly some other kind of wizard. These two held a tea-tasting which was simply incredible, and I have extended anecdotes about everyone on this list that I hope to get to in future posts I hope to make.

Megan & Tricia & I were also taken under the wing of Cathy Hindersinn & her family, who I can only describe as Heinlein heroes & heroines made flesh, & who were our guides and introductions to the con, making the experience immeasurably better. There's also Fade, whose private post-panel panel was one of the most fascinating symposia I've ever attended.

Really, this post could just be a list of acknowledgements and it would go on for pages. Future posts. Anyway. Friday evening there was a massive storm and a power outage that lasted twenty-four hours... and which, as far as I could tell, disrupted the con not at all. Even without lights or air conditioning, everything continued almost without a hitch, and really only added to the drama and excitement.

Of course, I wasn't staying at the hotel, so I could retreat across town to somewhere with hot water and working lights in the bathroom...

I had the great honor and pleasure of interrupting a panel on Sunday and comprehensively telling them off about how they were wrong about Lord of the Rings, and they were gracious enough to look amused and maybe grateful to my tirade.

Really, that was the thing about 4th Street, above all the others. Everyone was delighted to hear you speak, and even more delighted to be told that they were wrong. There was very little in the way of hierarchy placing authorial guests at the top... this was two hundred passionate and literate folk come to kibitz and take pleasure in one another's company.

I cannot recommend it highly enough to you all. I will certainly be going next year. And, I hope, expanding a great deal in posts about wizards, new friends, panels, memorable quotes... it's a rather belated retrospective, I know, but I took nine pages of notes while I was there, including some about albino crocodiles, and I'd like to share them all.

So, what made me get off my ass and post this now?

Well, I recently had the great pleasure of interviewing Steven Brust & Skyler White about their upcoming novel, The Incrementalists. I promised them I'd post this interview today or tomorrow, and without discussing 4th Street, I felt it'd be a complete non sequitir to explain how I ended up talking to them about all this.

There's another reason, too, but it will wait for another post, after I put up that interview, because that'll give me the motivation I need to stick around at least one more day, and because delving into it immediately seems crass and opportunistic.

Hopefully that'll be enough of a teaser to get you all to come back and read it.

If you're still around, oh my oldest and best audience, I'd love to hear from you. What have I missed? Every comment will be adored, lavished with love, and replied to with gratifying promptness. This I swear unto you.
matt_doyle: (Default)
And thinking I might actually have a few things to blog about, for the first time in months.

Watch this space.

So.

Apr. 26th, 2013 11:55 am
matt_doyle: (Default)
 Is anyone else going to the 4th Street Fantasy convention in the Twin Cities this year?

Still not re-enthused by blogging, alas.
matt_doyle: (Default)
 Posted Chapter Thirty, if anyone's still reading.

I've still been entirely absent from this portion of the blogosphere.  Not writing, and sadly not reading.  It just hasn't caught my interest.  It isn't that I don't miss you all, because I do.  It's just that with depression and anxiety, I have to triage my time to get anything done, and this is one of the things that got cut.

Maybe as the weather gets nicer (and I get more productive as a result) I'll return.  I'd like to, certainly.

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