today and tomorrow
Ellipsis and I stayed up all night "writing." (Well, I did. She kept my futon warm by sleeping beside me.)
Only, by "writing," I really mean I watched seven or so episodes of 24's first season and researched shit online. I wrote plotpoints on index cards and looked at my Rose thread and my Mark thread and worried that I have half a story arc for the former and a third of one for the latter. Then, from the "research," I made me a list of books I'm probably going to go look for or buy tomorrow at Powell's.
To wit:
In my mind, none of my stories are science fiction. On a side-note, I hate having to try and explain a story idea to anyone and begin with the prelude, "It's kind of a science fiction story." To me, science fiction is like comedy: not a genre of its own. Where any story that makes you laugh (romance, thriller, cop movie) is called a "comedy," anything with technology or futuristic (futuresque?) ideas is "science fiction," but usually (like most things labeled comedy) science fiction is an excuse for escapist, fantastical crap. Style and no substance, adventure stories from people who saw Star Wars too many times and never outgrew that adolescent inner voice that tells us "I could do that." In short, okay yes I'm a snob and "science fiction" has a stigma, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, feels like an albatross to some of my story ideas, penning them in more than setting them free. And other savagely mixed metaphors.
Anyway, Uncanny Valley is about philosophy, freewill, emergence, identity, metaphysics, and self-realization. It's also about creation and creativity, and why humans have spent their whole sentient existence making "art." It's big stuff, and I feel good about it, but I don't want it to be "just sci fi."
Maybe next time I come on to rant, I'll discuss the other problem I'm having, as I'm considering this as a serialized story structure: the paranoid and overly self-critical fear that I'm commericalizing the story, emphasizing plot twists and dramatic hooks over thematic content -- that I'm dumbing down and/or selling out the heart of the story.
And I haven't even written a single word yet!
But tonight -- well, last night, as it's 7am now -- proved reasonably productive nonetheless. I think. At least I'm feeling focused. Sort of. Mostly.
Or something.
Only, by "writing," I really mean I watched seven or so episodes of 24's first season and researched shit online. I wrote plotpoints on index cards and looked at my Rose thread and my Mark thread and worried that I have half a story arc for the former and a third of one for the latter. Then, from the "research," I made me a list of books I'm probably going to go look for or buy tomorrow at Powell's.
To wit:
- The essay "The Uncanny," by Freud
- Masahiro Mori's The Buddha in the Robot
- Ray Kurzweil's The Singularity is Near
- An essay by Bill Joy, "Why The Future Doesn't Need Us"
- Vernor Vinge's Marooned in Realtime, maybe
- A text book called Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by Russell & Norvig
- Ira Winkler's Corporate Espionage: What It Is, Why It's Happening in Your Company, What You Must Do About It
In my mind, none of my stories are science fiction. On a side-note, I hate having to try and explain a story idea to anyone and begin with the prelude, "It's kind of a science fiction story." To me, science fiction is like comedy: not a genre of its own. Where any story that makes you laugh (romance, thriller, cop movie) is called a "comedy," anything with technology or futuristic (futuresque?) ideas is "science fiction," but usually (like most things labeled comedy) science fiction is an excuse for escapist, fantastical crap. Style and no substance, adventure stories from people who saw Star Wars too many times and never outgrew that adolescent inner voice that tells us "I could do that." In short, okay yes I'm a snob and "science fiction" has a stigma, leaves a bad taste in my mouth, feels like an albatross to some of my story ideas, penning them in more than setting them free. And other savagely mixed metaphors.
Anyway, Uncanny Valley is about philosophy, freewill, emergence, identity, metaphysics, and self-realization. It's also about creation and creativity, and why humans have spent their whole sentient existence making "art." It's big stuff, and I feel good about it, but I don't want it to be "just sci fi."
Maybe next time I come on to rant, I'll discuss the other problem I'm having, as I'm considering this as a serialized story structure: the paranoid and overly self-critical fear that I'm commericalizing the story, emphasizing plot twists and dramatic hooks over thematic content -- that I'm dumbing down and/or selling out the heart of the story.
And I haven't even written a single word yet!
But tonight -- well, last night, as it's 7am now -- proved reasonably productive nonetheless. I think. At least I'm feeling focused. Sort of. Mostly.
Or something.