Write That Novel and Have No Fear

I wasn't going to say anything about Laura Miller's piece on why she's bothered by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) but I've read a few other posts completely unrelated to NaNoWriMo on a couple of faith blogs that were so opposite, I couldn't help but notice.

First of all, I think what Miller really means to say is that she's sad people don't read. This is a problem so deep and fundamental that it's going to take more than "cheering on" readers to fix. Oh and there are SO MANY reading challenges constantly happening that people can join--a great place to find them are on the social reading sites like LibraryThing or the blog A Novel Challenge. Additionally, there's the twice a year 24 hour Readathon an event that encourages readers to read for 24 hours straight, and the Buy Books for the Holidays blog--a blog that encourages people to purchase books as holiday gifts. What I'm saying is that there's a pretty active grassroots movement to encourage reading. But I would argue the real problem is reading education and literacy. Four and a half years of working with adults on reading showed me there's a problem in the way we understand and teach reading. Until that's addressed, we can hope people read all we want but they are unlikely to do something that is in the least bit difficult for them.

But I really take issue with going after NaNoWriMo. See, I believe we are all artists in some way, and we all have a desire to create. That might be through writing, it might be through cooking, it might be through blogging. We also all have a fear of creation. I think NaNoWriMo is a fantastic activity that encourages people to face that fear and just do it. I think personally that's a pretty awesome thing. And I think it incredibly arrogant to suggest others shouldn't and to assume that you know their motivation to do so based on a few bits of anecdotal evidence. It bothers me whenever someone tries to stomp on another's courage and squelch their creative spirit.

So here's what I say...if you want to write, write. If writing in community with friends and cheerleaders encourages you to finally pursue that thing you've always wanted to do, go for it. Write. Create. Have no fear. I'm cheering you on.

(Posts that inspired this one: The Fear of Doing, Creativity Overcoming Safety and an older post on this subject I love, There's no Right or Wrong (in art) please note these are all on Christian blogs and take a Christian worldview of humanity and why we create)

The Dark Side of Twitter

When the Amazonfail incident happened, I remember thinking two things. 1) It was cool the consumers had a voice like Twitter to express their dismay. 2) Twitter was a bit dangerous as it fed a mob mentality that bred hatred.

Most of the time I love Twitter. I love the way it connects us, makes the world a little smaller, is around when I want to procrastinate and be in tune with what's going on.

But there are, I'm sad to say, drawbacks. One is the very fast nature of Twitter. When the Amazonfail story broke, for instance, people made up their minds quickly. Without giving it any time at all, they decided it was an intentional act of hatred on Amazon's part. They fed each other's opinions, trying to one-up each other with cruel humor. It was ugly. And maybe Amazon deserved it a little bit, since they are, after all, a company out to make money. I don't know. I do know that my opinion of certain people changed that day, as well as a new awareness of just how dangerous Twitter can be.

This weekend, I had my own experience with this. Someone tweeted something that completely blindsided me. It was something I hadn't even considered nor prepared for and they wanted an immediate answer. They told me what I should do. I felt panicky. I saw retweets going out. I had no plan for this but I can assure you there was never any malicious intent on my part. I consulted with other people who were involved and their reactions were mixed which just added to the pressure I felt. I honestly believe that I could not make a right decision in this case, either decision I made would be unethical. I would take heat and grief for both. I felt a lot of responsibility because it affected a number of people who spent a good many hours of their free time on a project that was my vision. I gave it a day. I listened to the opinions of people who support me and who I trust. I did my best to deal with the situation.

Today, I saw the first significant fall-out for that decision. I wish I could say I proudly stood my ground, but I admit to feeling crushed. I have, however, learned something in this situation.

1) I regret that I let the immediate nature of Twitter and the internet make me feel rushed into a decision. If I had waited 12 hours more, the situation would have resolved itself. Needless to say, one of the parties in this situation acted with a lot more class and genuine concern than the other. In the future, I will give situations like this more time and refuse to feel pressured by Twitter.

2) In the future, if I have a grievance with how something is done, I will attempt to deal with it privately. If I had received an email, I would have felt like I had time to properly consider the situation. The way it was handled, I felt like I was forced into something that I was ill-prepared for and sadly the accuser in question is not someone I think has my best interests or that of the book blogging community at heart. Creating drama and getting attention seemed much more important to said individual. By handling things privately, I feel you convey respect to the person in question.

I am not Amazon. I didn't have money on the line, only my reputation. Sadly, I know that I have lost this with some people I respect. I do know also that I have the support of people who really care about me. For that I am thankful.

Writers or Actors? Who Matters More?

Florinda always participates in the Weekend Assignment and while I'm not quite sure of the rules, I decided to jump in this week because I really like this topic! Also, my brain is fried and I need some writing prompts!

Here it is:

Weekend Assignment: #281: Who has a greater impact on your decision to go to a movie or watch a tv show, the actors you see on the screen, or the behind the scenes writers, producers and/or directors?
Extra Credit: Who is your favorite actor?

The truth is, the writers, producers, and/or directors probably have the most consistent impact. While I am definitely attached to certain actors and actresses, when I hear a certain creative mind is behind a project I am automatically curious. This is especially true for television. For me, the name Joss Whedon inspires ridiculous loyalty. J.J. Abrams, Rob Thomas, Eric Kripke, Howard Gordon, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Damon Lindelof, Carlton Cuse, Tim Minear, Bryan Fuller....all those names will make me take notice.

I can't think of any favorite directors offhand, but I would probably see anything Sofia Ford Coppola directed. Did you know she is the only American woman to have been nominated for an Oscar for best director? And did you know that only three women have ever been nominated? Hollywood does at times seem quite out of balance.

There are certain actors and actresses I am quite loyal to as well and it usually has to do with them having been in a TV show I loved fiercely. The best example I have is Keri Russell who for the most part has made good choices post-Felicity. But seriously does anyone not absolutely adore her? Kristen Bell, much as I loved Veronica Mars, seems to be gravitating towards those raunchy comedies and Sarah Michelle Gellar has been horribly typecast for B horror movies, it seems.

So my long rambling answer is that the creative minds behind the shows are more likely to grab my attention but yes I will also see some movies for the actors and actresses. I'll probably watch just about anything with Johnny Depp, Will Smith, or Ryan Gosling.

For the extra credit portion of this assignment, I must decline. I haven't got just one.

This was fun!

Poor Book Marketing

One of the best things about people who read books is that they are generally open to other viewpoints. Sure we all get a bit snobbish about what we read, and sometimes it takes us some to come around and see the light, but reading by it's very nature slowly opens our minds and allows us to experience lives we can't live and see viewpoints we don't share, all the while reminding us we're not alone.

So that's why book marketing techniques like the recent Liar cover scandal bug me. We're book people. We should be ahead of the game. And luckily, through the outcry of true book people (librarians, reviewers, and bloggers) the Liar cover was changed. Still not satisfactorily for some, but at least to a cover you could actually argue goes with the book.

The other day on Twitter, Jenn asked if it bugs other people to read "recommended for fans of...." The answer for me is yes, most of the time. First of all, it implies the book is not terribly unique. Secondly, it's often incorrect and appears to be just a way of using a famous author's name to sell the book. And what if you don't like that author? You might never pick up the book and give it a try. I think at times it can be helpful, particularly if it's not a name like Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer, or J.K. Rowling that you're using!

But most of the time it seems these recommendations are rather lazy ways of trying to get people interested in books.

Take this case for example: I recently read Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey. Great book. Crime fiction of the classic kind with a flawed detective with unusual gifts. And oh yeah, it's set in Ghana. And what does everyone say?
Recommended for fans of Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency.

HUH?

Seriously, this comparison, to put it in professional terms, bugs the crap out of me. First I should say that I've only read the first book in the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency at the urge of my South African friends. I enjoyed it. It was a nice novel, slow in pace, but still interesting. But I read it about two years ago and haven't had any strong urges to continue reading the series.

Wife of the Gods isn't really like that book at all. At. All. In fact, the only real comparison I can draw is that both books are set on the continent of Africa. Oh and Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency kind of sort of has to do with mysteries. In a vague sort of way. Go look at a map of Africa. Look I've made it easy for you with this link. Find Ghana where Wife of the Gods is set. Then find Botswana where the Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency is set. Hmmm....they're not even neighbors!

This forces me to draw a couple of conclusions:
1) We don't have enough books in English that are set on the continent of Africa that don't deal with the failed governments and/or social justice issues. Therefore, to provide any sort of context for a new book series, it must be compared to the only thing that is somewhat related.

2) Book marketers (and unfortunately reviewers and booksellers) think if you like one book set in Africa, you will like all books set in Africa even if the countries where these books are set are very far apart with separate cultures and the content of the books are quite different. (to be fair, I for example, am drawn to books about and set in Asia, particularly Japan. But I think this sort of marketing closes off people who just want to read a good story)

Wife of the Gods is a good crime story with great characterization made more interesting by the fact that it's set in Ghana. I can't help but think that by comparing it to the most famous book series set in Africa (that's about a private investigator not a detective) many people who might enjoy it will be turned away.

So here's my marketing technique: If you like good crime fiction with an interesting and complex main detective, you'll love Wife of the Gods.

What other examples of poor book marketing have you seen?

Be the Change You Want to See

I was at Comic-Con this weekend so I was only able to briefly follow the outrage concerning the cover of Liar by Justine Larbalestier. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, please read Justine's post) I read some interesting and thought provoking posts concerning it...and analyzed my own response.

To be honest, my first response was, huh? I thought that girl was Asian.

Seriously. So to hear the cover described as a white girl with long blond locks...well that conjures a totally different image in my head.

But I digress.

What happened is wrong. It doesn't even make sense. I don't think it's defensible in the least, but you've probably already heard a bunch of people say that so I'm just adding my voice.

I've read a lot of people say that they didn't like the cover anyway. Since I'm into honesty here, I'll say that I love it. I love that cover. It makes the
book look so intriguing. To me, there's so much mystery wrapped up in the combination of the cover and the title that it makes me want to read it right away.
Of course now, it's starting to feel laughable. But in the beginning, I loved it. And I hate the Australian cover. I would never pick it up. It looks like some sort
of cheap crime thriller, nothing about it screams PICK ME UP!

But I do think there's probably a better cover out there for the book...you know, one that actually makes sense.

Interestingly, this weekend, I attended a panel on the Evolution of Fantasy. Greg Van Eekhout (really funny guy) was on this panel and he talked about he didn't set out to write an urban fantasy book but that was how the publishing house decided to market it. And they put a 3/4-of-a-girl on the cover because that's what urban fantasy books have, even though the book is not actually about a girl according to Greg. So it seems this mass confusion is going on in all areas of book marketing and covers. That's why even though we all do it, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

But you know what? While it's important to speak out about what Bloomsbury did and how they've responded, there's a bigger question we need to be asking ourselves. Do I ever avoid a book because the protagonist is a different race from myself?

I was thinking about this, because I love Tyler Perry movies. I go see every one of them in theater and I often find myself in the minority if not the only white group in the audience. Why would that be? And then all the of the previews before the movie are for other African American movies and I wonder...is that okay? Is it okay to have a market like that? Or should we try to mainstream all Latin, African American, Asian, etc. entertainment?

How does this relate to Liar? Well, my question is...even though yes it was WRONG to place a white girl on the cover of a book about a black girl, were the publishers wrong in recognizing that a black face would turn potential sales away? And I ask you....do you read books that are labeled African American fiction? I bet a lot of books (if not all) labeled that way would fit seamlessly into general fiction. Have you ever not read a book or read more about a book because it was labeled as African American fiction or Latin Fiction, or even...women's fiction?

I ask because it's not helpful to demand changes like this be made if we are not willing to examine our own buying and reading habits. It's easy to point a finger at Bloomsbury and say how dare you, without looking at why they did it. Why did they do it? Because WE've made it possible. Don't let race influence the books you decide to read.

I remember a year or two ago, there was an African American author who fought with her publisher about her book being labeled African American fiction, because it would cost her sales and readers. I can't find the information on it now...does anyone remember this and have a link? I did, however, find this excellent from Carleen Brice that talks about this issue in more depth.

In the interest of transparency, I decided to examine my own reading habits. I think I might avoid or not read more about books written from a Latin perspective or labeled as Latin lit. And so I apologize for that and will work on being more open to looking at books from Latin authors or with Latin protagonists. How about you? No judgement here, by the way. Just an encouragement to change. (oh and sorry for the corny title!)