Holly Black, No Longer Dry Like a Martini
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Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003, 07:19 pm
'tis the Season to Be Jolly, Muaha-ha-ha-ha-hahahaha
Have returned to working in the basement after sojourn in living room. New printer is hooked up, huge monitor is hooked up, full-size keyboard is hooked up and I am recalling the delights of actually having a real office. My programming schedule arrived from the kind folks at PhilCon. I'll be on the following panels: Fri 8:00 pm Reading: Holly Black (1358) [Er, as usual, I have no idea what I am reading. If only I didn't hate everything I've done so far on Valiant, I would read some of that. But as it is, I don't know what to read. Also, er, this is me saying this. It isn't the summary that is on the website, thank goodness.] Sat 12:00 pm Supporting Your Fans (140 What can the writer do to keep their fans interested in them and their work? Sat 3:00 pm Get Rid Of Those Inconvenient Parents (78) Why is it that so many heroes in Science Fiction are orphans? Sat 4:00 pm Harry Potter and the Future Reader (79) Will Harry Potter be the source of an entire generation of new readers? Sun 11:00 am The Creator as Icon (146) When and why does the fascination shift from the work to the person who created it? Anyone have any thoughts on these topics? By the way, the programming at this year's PhilCon looks great--I am honestly excited to hear what people are going to say about these topics. Also, since so many people asked for pictures of snow, here's me (looking like an engorged tick in a fuzzy coat) in snow: 
Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 04:15 pm (UTC)
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) helcat
On the matter of orphans: there's a long tradition of orphaned kids in fairy tales as well. we studied that motif in depth in my folklore class. so many mothers used to die in childbirth and fathers died in wars back in those days that it was a real concern. the trope has definitely carried over. on harry potter: that book got my son into reading. He was a voracious reader until this year, when he sort of ran out of books. I'm writing one for him, I guess. I think we're at a kind of bridge point wherein he wants more challenging books but he's not really old enough to handle all their content yet. I expect he'll catch up with himself in a couple of years. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:11 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Have you looked at "read-alike" lists for HP? There are a lot of books that might be good for him. Redwall, for example, seems to suit kids that are reading so far ahead that content is a problem. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:21 pm (UTC)
helcat
He's read all of them. I used to be a bookseller, so I have all the Harry Potter read-alike lists (in fact I got Diana Wynne Jones onto a lot of them.) I'm trying to find more skiffy science fiction because he responded so well to Ender's Game, but no luck so far. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:35 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Yeah, the lack of (good) SF is a real problem in children's publishing. How about the Heinlein juveniles? Has he already read those? Do you think they're too old to keep his interest? Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 06:18 pm (UTC)
phoenixfury
Heinlen is, ah, interesting. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 09:03 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Not those! Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 07:05 pm (UTC)
oneminutemonkey
On the same line of thought as the Heinlein juvies, how about the Asimov Lucky Starr books? Or maybe the Jupiter series by Pournelle and Sheffield... books like the Billion Dollar Boy, or The Cyborg From Earth. Tor's Starscape line has been reprinting some good stuff. :> Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 05:35 am (UTC)
coyotewatches
I was going to suggest the Lucky Starr books but you beat me to it. I cut my teeth on those as a kid and started my slow upward spiral to all the other Sci-Fi classics. Sci-Fi, in the last 6 years or so, has really taken a back seat to all the Harry Potter/Lord of the Rings interest as well as the superhero boom coming off the latest string of movies. It will come back around again. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 06:32 am (UTC)
oracne
I got on the "Heinlein females" panel, but it's Saturday at one, sandwiched uncomfortably between several you're on. And I get to put on my anthropologist's hat for "People Eating People." Heh. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 10:07 am (UTC)
blackholly
Theo is going to be attending that panel for sure! Wed, Dec. 10th, 2003 12:49 pm (UTC)
pnew8: Try this one?
Brian Stableford has a science fiction novellete, "Nectar", in the January issue of Asimov's Science Fiction which impressed me. (It's the cover story.) Mr. Stableford is presently marketing a longer version of this story for Young Adult fiction. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 07:01 pm (UTC)
oneminutemonkey
Hmmm. Eragon, by Christopher Paolini? Diane Duane's Young Wizards series? Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles? The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonanthan Stroud? We're currently living in a great time for YA sf/fantasy. :> Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 07:41 pm (UTC)
pjrampolla
The Circle of Magic series, by Tamora Pierce? Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 04:21 pm (UTC)
hildekitten
Ooooh snow! *is jealous* And those topics do sound interesting indeed, I wish I would be able to say something useful but the only things I ever write are some short bits and pieces that are roleplay related. I'm more into drawing :-) Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 04:52 pm (UTC)
boniblithe
Wow, thanks for posting the link to that con. I wish I was going now - look at all the Buffy panels! *drools* The snow is lovely, isn't it? I hope you didn't have to drive too far in it. It looks like you guys got a few more inches than we did up here. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 04:55 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Urg. We drove all the way to Brooklyn and back last night. Blech. That's why I'm all gussied up. Am sad you are not coming to PhilCon too, as was hoping to meet you one of these days. Perhaps when Ivy is down? Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:15 pm (UTC)
boniblithe
Here's hoping! Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 04:57 pm (UTC)
phoenixfury
Why is it that so many heroes in Science Fiction are orphans?*goes into a mad coughing fit* There was actually an article about this on one of my communities a while ago. I'll see if I can find it for ya. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:09 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Thanks so much!!! *scampers off to read* Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:09 pm (UTC)
phoenixfury
No problem :) Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:22 pm (UTC)
blackholly
Great article! Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:05 pm (UTC)
blackholly
That would be awesome. I mean, I have some ideas, mostly (a) angst is always good (b) it gets the parents out of the way as restrictors of action and as sources of aid, plus (c) it makes the child seek new family, which is always fun for plot. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 05:41 pm (UTC)
blueyedwonder: orphaned heroes
I don't really know why most heroes are orphans but I personally think its because it makes them seem vulnerable so then they get more sympathy from the reader Tue, Dec. 9th, 2003 02:15 pm (UTC)
lauramc: Now you've got me thinking
I definately agree with all that's been said, but especially b. If a parent is on top of things s/he is going to try to protect, especially if the kid's young. Parents get in the way of the plot. Other thoughts: orphans, or kids with physically or emotionally absent parents, are common in children's/teens lit historically. Think A Little Princess or The Secret Garden, Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer. Jane Austen, George Eliot, and Charles Dickons all frequently had orphan characters or characters with absent parents of various kinds. Even farther back, Perault and de Beaumont, the Salon writers writing specifically for children, had stories full of dead mothers or parents, etc. And these are drawn from older folkloric storytelling conventions. Also, there's the metaphoric aspect. As we get older, we learn our parents can't protect us from everything. We have to find our own difficult way. The orphan in the story is the stand in for us, feeling all alone and lost as we learn how to become adults. And, to me, sf/f and fairy tale retellings can be so full of metaphor because of the freedom to use fantastical elements. Just some thoughts. Laura Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 08:46 pm (UTC)
harlequincy
*is jealous* Wah, now I wish I could go to that. Are you planning on posting about it afterwards? I'd be incredibly interested in hearing what people had to say. Sun, Dec. 7th, 2003 08:48 pm (UTC)
riggimortis: hero's being orphans
Making the hero/heroine an orphan removes all of society's strictures from them. It also removes their primary source of information, history, and experience and sets them adrift so that they may have adventures worthy of a tale. You may move the character where ever you wish physically, choose who he/she will be friends with or whom he will fight, without having to impose any logical reservations. And you may introduce him/her to situations no child would be exposed to if parents were around to prevent it! I am not so sure that historically that wasn't the same thinking, despite what todays "experts" would have us believe. Without vulnerability we wouldn't have much of a story. After all, it is through his/her vulnerability we get to know our hero and his/her strengths and weaknesses. It is through his/her vulnerability that most things that occur in the tale begin. If the hero/heroine has the protection of a home and family, they have a place to escape the "bad" people or things that, in the tale, will force him/her to call upon inner resources and grow. ergo: no orphan status, no story. Obviously this is not always true but it seems to hold true more often than not. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 01:03 am (UTC)
theambertrap
Snow! Aw, I miss snow. Christmas just doesn't seem...christmassy without it. Blah. Those panels for PhilCon sound really interesting! Once again, wish I could go. I'd never really thought about how common it was for protagonists in sciencefiction/fantasy to be Orphans, or lack a strong family base...but come to think of it, whenever I write stuff, it's usually the same. Even when you're a little kid, and you're playing 'imaginary games' with your friends, your characters are usually parentless. How curious. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 05:56 am (UTC)
coyotewatches
Jumpin in... Stop and ask yourself how many animted Disney characters are orphans or are orphaned by the first third of the story. Like the comment above mine, it helps get the main character out the door, onto the path, and makes them subject to the horrible stuff you, as writer, are going to do to them. *grin* Interestingly enough, the orphan theory does not apply to the live-action Disney movies. Look at Mary Poppins and Swiss Family Robinson. And then there is Priates of the Caribbean. Will Turner's dad was tossed overboard by wicked skullduggery pirates and his mother is not even mentioned, not even in the cursing. I BET Jack Sparrow was an orphan too! *grin* However, in the Lion King the child (Simba) was forced out into the world because HE thought he was responsible for the death of a parent. It was a nice twist away from the norm. And as far as "Supporting Your Fans (140 What can the writer do to keep their fans interested in them and their work?" Buy them beer. Just joking, of course. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 10:05 am (UTC)
blackholly
Ask them questions about what to say on panels. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 08:26 am (UTC)
bookshop
Haha! Wearing that expression you strongly remind me of the Grinch. :D Yay for snow. And PhilCon, which sounds like lots of fun. Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 09:07 am (UTC)
(Anonymous)
Guess what!
I have to do a talk in English and I didn't know what to do it on. I thought I could do it on one of my favourite authors. I was going to do it on Tolkien but then I thought, wouldn't it be better to tell my class about an author they may not have heard of? So, im going to do my talk on you! Don't you just feel all fuzzy and special?
And now i better go before you file a restraining order. :)
from Heather in Scotland
Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 10:21 am (UTC)
blackholly
I do feel fuzzy and special. Tell me what you say--maybe I can use it in a talk about me too. Tue, Dec. 9th, 2003 02:43 am (UTC)
(Anonymous)
I shall tell you what I say when I actually write it :) For now I am just looking at your website and the reviews you've got and stuff. I never start work until I absolutely have to. :)
Hurrah for crappy scottish schools!
from Heather Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 11:56 am (UTC)
xaome
If my finances permit, I will be attending PhilCon all three days. Where are you staying? Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 01:35 pm (UTC)
aynjel
Yippeee for panels! Reading... hmmm... I'm all about hearing your Fairy Reel story again. :) Also, when are you getting to Philly? Will you be joining oracne and I romping around Laurel Hill Cemetery Friday morning-ish? afternoon-ish? whenever-ish... if it isn't disgusting and soggy? Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 02:35 pm (UTC)
babywitch
Supporting Your Fans: Keep a blog. Be funny. Pay them money to read your books. Why is it that so many heroes in Science Fiction are orphans? Well, that's easy. Because all science-fiction writers grow up secretly hating their parents, so they kill them off fictitiously as a means of revenge. Duh, everyone knows that. *grins* Will Harry Potter be the source of an entire generation of new readers? No, but if more people know how to spell "Hermione" than know how to spell "Huckleberry" (as in, Finn) in twenty-five years, we'll all know why. The Creator As Icon: See: Neil Gaiman (aka Mr. Sexy Author Man) Mon, Dec. 8th, 2003 07:03 pm (UTC)
galeotti
Aw, snow. I want some. Funny thing to say, really, being I live in Michigan and we haven't gotten one damn centimeter yet.
Anyway, hope you feel a bit better about Valiant. I know a lot of people look forward to reading it someday :) Tue, Dec. 9th, 2003 05:12 am (UTC)
sars_a_lot
Re:Why is it that so many heroes in Science Fiction are orphans? Perhaps you could discuss this with relation to your own books - I've only read Tithe so far, but I found it really interesting/unusual that while Kaye didn't have a 'conventional' family, they were THERE when she went home. I loved Tithe, thought it was fantastic - I can't wait to find some more of your stuff. all the best, sars Tue, Dec. 9th, 2003 11:01 am (UTC)
(Anonymous)
I'm not sure if I understood all you wrote, but I think you talk abou other books (in the first third). I'm from Germany but what is with Eloise Jarvis McGraw or Pullman (His dark Materials) or Kai Meyer(Wellenläufer oder Fließende Königin (don't know what it is in English)).
Huckleberry Finn is easier to pronounce as Hermione. Hermine (in German) is really better.
I hope Tithe2 will be out in the next summer or on Christmas. One more book on a long list!
Cu Tina Tue, Dec. 9th, 2003 08:19 pm (UTC)
sinisteral
Wow! That's a really artistic looking photo. The snow actually looks nice since I've only seen dirty snow. |
artistic