The Confabulator Cafe

Category: Ephemera

  • Ephemera – How true is your “true story”

    We told the Confabulators to write a fictionalized version of something true for the flash fiction this week. As many people know from the many Hollywood “based on a true story” renditions, just because something claims to be based on a true story, doesn’t mean it has much truth to it. So we asked those Confabulators (who were willing) to reveal how much truth there was to their true story last week.

    August Baker

    The actions in my story are almost 100% true, at least as well as 12 year old August remembers them. But I already know 12 year old August’s story, and didn’t have a lot of interest retelling it. Instead, it’s told from the point of view of my dad. His thoughts and feelings during my story will remain his and only his, and I can only hope that I did him justice.

    Sara Lundberg

    After my mom passed away, I spent a month writing down everything I could remember about the experience. After that I put it away and didn’t look at it for over a year. When asked to tell a true story, I decided some of my best material was probably there, so I went through the massive manuscript and found something anecdotal I could tell in a flash fiction. It is mostly true, even if the events and conversations didn’t happen exactly the way they are presented.

    Kevin Wohler

    As with most stories, there’s a grain of truth to “Going for Broke.” I didn’t want to just tell a true story, however. Real life rarely has a good solid ending. Most true stories don’t end, they just lead to the next story.

    So after writing a rough draft of the “true” event, I decided to really fictionalize it. I set the story in 1945, and I made the narrator (me) into a former army grunt who worked long shifts at a Pittsburgh steel mill. I made Nathan much more of an antagonist than the guy he is based on. I gave the narrator a wife and baby to up the stakes of his losses.

    What’s still true in the story? Well, there was a poker game, and I did break my shoulder blade after falling on the way to the bathroom. And — true to the story — I still managed to come in second place that night.

    Jason Arnett

    How much truth is in my story? Enough that hopefully you believe most of it COULD have happened, but not so much that it would get me in trouble with anyone named in the story. Essentially, the beginning is true. Then there are some bits from other stories mixed in that are also true. The only part that’s not true is the one about — ah, you already know that.

  • Ephemera – How much have you written this week?

    This week we discussed how we as writers make time to write, since most of us aren’t full-time writers. Having talked about that, it seemed only natural to ask how much the Confabulators wrote this week. Were we true to our claims as far as making time to write?

    Sara Lundberg

    I think I had too much free time this week, so I didn’t write much. I also tend to go into writing hibernation for a few months after Nanowrimo in November. I’m still recovering from that. But this week I wrote the flash fiction for the Cafe, a couple of discussion assignments for my class, and, my crowning glory, a cheesy simile for a Valentine’s Day card for the significant other, Jack Campbell, Jr.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    I wrote a lot this week, but the only fiction I wrote was for the upcoming flash fiction here at The Confabulator Cafe. I wrote a lot about Jacques Derrida’s concept of Deconstuction as it relates to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown and various theoretical analyses of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The most important thing I wrote this week, however, was a Valentine’s Day letter to Sara Lundberg. While her card was a simile comparing me to coffee, my letter was written in the form of a long metaphor. In her words, “We really are literary geeks.”

  • Ephemera – What are you currently reading?

    This week at the Cafe we discussed the need or lack of need of stories in the world. Overall, as writers, of course we need stories. Most of us are voracious readers, so this for the week’s Ephemera we decided to check in and see what all of the Confabulators are reading right now.

    Ashley M. Poland

    My husband got me Anathem by Neil Stephenson. As with many Stephenson books, it doubles as a home defense device. I’m not very far into the book yet, because I’m one of those readers. Otherwise, I’ve been sort of just reading bits of things here and there.

    Kevin Wohler

    I’m currently reading several novels that I started last year. I made a New Year’s resolution to clean up my half-finished novels before starting any new ones. That said, I’m currently reading Geekomancy by Michael R. Underwood — a good urban fantasy with a lot of geek cultural references thrown in, and Odd Hours by Dean Koontz — the fourth book in the author’s Odd Thomas series.

    Larry Jenkins

    My current reading rotation includes The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon, and Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief by Lawrence Wright. The last one’s an audiobook, but I still think it counts. I’ve listened to a lot of books while I’m doing something else, and it’s one of my preferred ways to study dialogue.

    Sara Lundberg

    I’m making my way through the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes stories and novels right now, which is a bulk of my reading these days. But since I can never just read one book, I’m also reading Anticancer, A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber. I was reading Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, but I finally gave up. I’ll try again some other time. I’m also making my way through a couple of textbooks for my copyediting class. Chicago Manual of Style, anyone?

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    I’m currently reading several books. Fragile Things is a short story collection by the great Neil Gaiman. I always have high expectations for Gaiman, and I am sure I won’t be disappointed. Herniated Roots is a short story collection by Richard Thomas. Richard and I are part of the same online writer’s community, LitReactor. He’s a very talented transgressive, neo-noir, and horror writer. This collection is mostly neo-noir. The Writer’s Workshop of Horror is a collection of essays and interviews by horror writers on various aspects of craft. It won the Stoker Award for Non-Fiction in 2009, and has been very good, so far. Ziska: The Problem of a Wicked Soul by Marie Corelli is the latest read in my Gothic Monsters class. There are a lot of Gothic writers, Poe for instance, who achieved greater success after their death. On the contrary, Corelli was very well-known and successful during her life, and fell into obscurity after her death.

  • Ephemera – What was the last nonfiction book you read?

    This week at the Cafe we talked about what we’d write if we were to tackle non-fiction (or what we write if that is the genre we’d normally write). It seemed only fitting to ask what, if any, non-fiction the Confabulators have read recently for this week’s Ephemera. Do we read non-fiction about our craft, for information, or just for fun?

    Christie Holland

    The last non-fiction book I read was Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon.  I know there are a million books about creativity, but I highly recommend this one.  It’s quick, simple, and straight to the point.  I read it in about an hour.  It was worth it.

    Larry Jenkins

    I’m currently working my way through the audiobook version of “Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief” by Lawrence Wright. It’s a bit slow at times, but there are enough interesting tidbits to keep you going. It’s also fun to study how Wright organizes the book and uses narrative hooks to keep you reading. There’s a lot to learn from this book, so if you have the time and inclination, I’d recommend picking it up.

    Ashley M. Poland

    Ummmmmm… I’m sure I’ve read one. A few months ago my mother-in-law sent me a copy of Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne & Dave King. It was a fairly interesting read, actually. I’m not really into non-fiction, in case that’s not painfully obvious.

    Kevin Wohler

    I am currently reading My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business by Dick Van Dyke. I have been a fan of his since my childhood, and I love reading the biographies of comedians.

    Sara Lundberg

    I just finished reading Michio Kaku’s Physics of the Impossible. It’s one thing to read a science fiction novel and wonder if it’s got any scientific truth to it, but it’s a whole other ballgame to read this book and have him outright say “yeah, this could possibly happen in the next century.” I love this kind of stuff. I’ve never tried to tackle writing science fiction before, but books like this make me excited to try. Any science fiction writer should check this book out. You can even borrow it from me. All I’m gonna say is: teleportation? Not as impossible as you might think.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    Right now, I am reading Literary Criticism: Theory and Application by Charles Bressler for a class. Also, I have been reading Fiction Writing for Dummies for a couple years without much success working through it. It really isn’t the type of writing book that holds my interest. There is too much glossed over, and overall too much information. They have a section on how to pitch your book. That’s fine, but if you don’t write it well, you’ll never have to worry about that. There is a lot of what you should do and not enough about why you should do it.

  • Ephemera – What’s your favorite fairytale?

    This week at the Confabulator Cafe, we all wrote our own versions of fairytales: whether well-know, obscure, or invented from our own minds. Did you recognize any of them? We thought it only fitting, after writing fairytales this week, that we share what our favorites are.

    Kevin Wohler

    My favorite fairy tale is a modern classic called The King With Six Friends by Jay Williams. It’s the story of a king on his quest for fortune who befriends six strangers. In turn, his new friends help the king with their special abilities. As fairy tales go, it’s got everything: a quest, people with magical powers, and a young king who learns a valuable lesson.

    Ashely M. Poland

    We were kids raised on Disney VHS tapes, so for me, fairy tales and Disney are so twined together that its hard to tell them apart. It’s definitely The Little Mermaid, but I like Beauty & the Beast almost as much. But The Little Mermaid. Ariel was my homegirl. We had watched my grandma’s copy of the tape so much that the beginning skips. Now I own that tape. Every time I watch it, I’m convinced the tape is going to snap during those first four minutes.

    Christie Holland

    In my mind, there’s a huge divide between Proper fairy tales, the originals that often end in death and/or violence, and Disney fairy tales. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite stories of all time. There are few adaptations of it that I haven’t loved. But if you want to know what Proper fairy tale I love, it’s probably The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. Whenever the mermaid walks on land, it feels as if knives are being driven through her feet. I love that there’s a horrible consequence for wanting to change who she fundamentally is.

    Sara Lundberg

    I’ve always been particularly haunted by the folk tale Bluebeard. It re-iterates the whole adage “curiosity killed the cat” and demonstrates that human nature will always desire that which has been forbidden. I tell myself that I never would have been so stupid as to go into the room I was explicitly told not to go into, but I know my curiosity would have eventually gotten the better of me anyway. Even though the protagonist goes against the wishes of the husband forced on her, she is still manages to survive, so I think in that time she was considered a strong female lead. I’ve just always been morbidly fascinated by serial killers and horror, so this one definitely stuck with me. I love also Beauty and the Beast for its similar themes (not to mention, out of all Disney princesses, I related to Belle the most).

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    I have a soft spot for Rumpelstiltskin. I always felt bad for the guy. He spent all that time and energy spinning straw into gold, and the chick didn’t live up to her part of the bargain. It wasn’t like he asked for her first born…oh, right. t’s going to serve her right with the king beheads her for deceiving him into thinking she did all that work. A lot of fairy tales have an obvious meaning and beat you over the head repeatedly with it. Rumpelstiltskin can be read a few different ways, which I think is part of its charm.

  • Ephemera – Is the genre you write different than the genre you like to read?

    This week you learned what genre the Confabulators write in and why. Most writers tend to write what they enjoy reading, but sometimes they write genres outside of what they enjoy reading – Michael Crichton probably read more non-fiction as research for his novels than he ever read science fiction, and it’s rumored that J.K Rowling doesn’t read fantasy, let alone young adult – so the question we posed to the Confabulators was whether there was a difference in what they wrote verses what they like to read.

    Paul Swearingen

    I write nearly all YA fiction, but I read across nearly all genres (well, no romance or erotica and very little fantasy aimed at female readers). I do read quite a bit of YA, but I tend to read more adventure/action/thrillers/mysteries by British writers – Dick Francis, Victor Canning, Geoffrey Household, Nevil Shute, Robert Harling, for starters.

    Ted Boone

    Nope. I read SF almost exclusively, and that’s all I write, for the most part. It’s the only fiction that interests me, whether consuming or creating.

    Sara Lundberg

    I read and write a wide range of genres. I’ve been writing mostly horror lately, and I enjoy reading fantasy, urban fantasy, horror, science fiction, short story, mystery, and a lot of non-fiction in various subjects. Most of those genres I’d never try to write myself, but I enjoy reading them and respect the writers who can write them well.

    Christie Holland

    Whatever I’m reading is dependent on what I’m doing at the time. If I’m not writing, I’ll read anything. Murder mysteries, cheesy romance novels, non-fiction, etc. You name it, I’ve probably read it. If I am writing, I like to read books from my genre. I use them for inspiration, to get past writer’s block, . Artists, of all types, make the best thieves. We steal everything.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    It should come as no surprise that a large portion of my personal  library is horror, transgressive, noir, and other dark genres. However, in addition to that, I read a lot of classics and literary fiction. Nick Hornby is one of my all-time, top-five favorite authors, and he keeps it pretty light. I enjoy science fiction, but for whatever reason, I don’t really write it. The novel I am writing, Heaven’s Edge, takes place in a science fiction setting, but is a noir story at heart.

  • Ephemera – The End of the World

    Among the Confabulators, we have several sci-fi and fantasy writers, along with a few horror writers, as well. Most of us are also Joss Whedon and/or Doctor Who fans. Those things combined lend themselves to the possibility of our writing bringing about the end of the world, and possibly the world being saved. Out of morbid curiosity, this week we asked the Confabulators how many stories we’ve written where the world has either ended or been saved from ending.

    Jason Arnett

    Every time I write a science fiction story it’s the end of someone’s world. That’s the point of writing any fiction, isn’t it? To change the world of the main character? As for the end of the physical world, well, what’s more fun than writing that? I haven’t destroyed the world yet. Someone’s always managed to come through. So far…

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    “Flute of the Dead” is about the end of the Anasazi culture. It will be in Bete Noire Magazine in October. “Collectors,” which appeared here and will be reprinted in Separate Worlds Magazine, involves bumbling demons collecting souls in preparation for the card game that will decide the fate of the world. I’ve also written a nuclear holocaust short-short entitled “A Moment before Dying.” I’m currently seeking a publisher for that piece. Generally, however, I prefer small, personal disasters to the literal end of the world.

    Christie Holland

    I have only written a story where the world was saved once. It was the very first novel I wrote, during NaNoWriMo 2010. An evil wizard threatened to destroy/take over the world and my main character saved it at the very last moment! I’ve also written several stories where the world was already broken, or it was ambiguous to how much destruction was caused that might have led to the end of the world. Interestingly, these not-quite-world-destroying stories were all posted here at the Cafe.

    Sara Lundberg

    I wrote a Doctor Who fanfiction once, so of course the world was in trouble. It actually took place in Kansas, not Great Britain for once! I wrote a post-apocalyptic flash fiction for the Cafe last year, so the world as everyone had known it was gone. The novel I wrote for NaNo 2012 certainly had implications that the world might end in the sequel if certain things came to pass. It hasn’t been saved yet. I’ll let you know when I decide what happens. Or what my protagonist decides to do, rather.

  • Ephemera – Writing Resolutions for 2013

    Here we are, the first weekend of 2013. The Cafe has survived it’s first year, and most of us are still here. This past week we wrapped up the end of the year talking about our favorite topics. For this first Ephemera of the year, we asked the Confabulators what their resolutions as far as writing were for 2013. We all have big dreams, and lots of us reached them last year. This year, we’ll all continue to work towards even bigger ones.

    Ted Boone

    Finish NaNo 2012. REVISE NaNo 2012. Write every day. Pick a manuscript to Pitch at Backspace 2013 in NYC.

    Christie Holland

    I hate resolutions in general, but I have several that are very specific to writing for the year.  The most significant is that I will read and/or write something every day this year.  I spent too much time in 2012 sitting in front of the television when I could’ve done something better.  I also plan on editing/rewriting my 2012 NaNoWriMo novel and I want to start submitting my short stories for publication.  I’d like to say that a resolution is to get published, but seeing as how that is out of my control and is slightly terrifying, I’ll focus on baby steps.  To get published, I have to start submitting!

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    2013 will be another tough year. I will still be working on my master’s degree. That severely cuts into writing time. However, this year has been very productive as far as short story submissions. I should have several pieces published this year. I would like to continue that run of success, as well as finish writing the first draft of Heaven’s Edge. I am also eager to edit my first novel, Kill Creek Road, but school comes first till August of 2014.

    Sara Lundberg

    I’m hopeful that 2013 is the year I learn to edit a full length manuscript. I have two novels that I wrote in 2011 that deserve attention. I haven’t decided if I want to continue to submit short stories for publication or not, or if I want to focus on novel-length works. I’d also like to take a crack at writing another novel or two this year, since I ended pretty much novel-less in 2012. It seems that 2012 was Year of the Short Story, since I wrote at least one a month over the course of the year, had one published, once accepted, and three short-listed.

    Kevin Wohler

    Practice, practice, practice! My biggest goal for 2013 is to be more consistent in my writing. I’m setting aside two nights a week (and one day on weekends) to work on my novel or short stories. I actually made a short story sale to an anthology last year, and it felt great. I’m going to try to do more in 2013.

    Jason Arnett

    I’m determined to see the novel in the hands of a publisher. I really believe that’s going to happen this year. Additionally, I’ll be sending out more and more short stories (inspired by Jack’s and Sara’s success) so that they’ll be published somewhere. I need to finish the sequel to the novel (still have 50K words to go as of this writing) and then I’m inspired to go back to another unfinished novel and work that until it’s ready. And more short stories.

    Larry Jenkins

    Write more frequently and get something accepted for publication. The two go hand in hand, but that last one is especially important. My fellow Confabulators are kicking ass in the publications department, and I’m starting to feel the pressure.

  • Ephemera – Favorite Book of 2012

    It’s the end of the year, so we’re asking the Confabulators what their favorites of 2012 are. This week, they tell us what their favorite book of 2012 was. For this question, some interpreted as best book published in 2012, others answered it as their favorite book they read in 2012. We accepted either version.

    Ted Boone

    The Hydrogen Sonata by Iain M. Banks, Wool (Omnibus) by Hugh Howey, and Among Others by Jo Walton (don’t ask writers to pick ONE favorite book!)

    Kevin Wohler

    I’m going to be honest here. My favorite book of 2012 has been Monster in My Closet, by R.L. Naquin. I’m not just saying that because she’s in our group. She’d forgive me if I picked something else. The truth is, of the few NEW books I did read this year, it was the only one that left me feeling I could read the sequel immediately.

    Christie Holland

    It’s a tie between The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Both very different. Both fantastic.

    Larry Jenkins

    Broken Harbor by Tana French. Every book she has written has broken my heart in some way, and I love her for that.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    Hugh Howey’s Wool. I don’t read many new books. I don’t like to pay inflated prices for new releases, and there are only one or two authors that I can’t wait long enough to find their book on a used shelf somewhere. I certainly don’t read as much science fiction as I used to. Enter Hugh Howey and Wool. Howey wrote Wool as a short story and released it directly through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing System. Howey’s silo world became an overnight success, leading to the release of parts two, three, four, and five of Wool, and their release as a single omnibus edition. Since then, it has been followed by the prequels First Shift and Second Shift. If you like dystopian science fiction, Wool is waiting for you. Ridley Scottbought the film rights. Yes, that Ridley Scott. The original short story is free on Kindle, but you can pick up the omnibus (stories one
    through five) for $5.99.

    Sara Lundberg

    I’m a few years behind on most new releases – there were several 2012 books I wanted to read but didn’t get to – so pickings are slim. Luckily, I think I probably read the two best books of the year. The first one being our very own R.L. Naquin’s Monster in My Closet. Of course I am obligated to mention it because she’s my fellow Confabulator and friend, but in all honesty, it was the best book I read all year. It helps that I’ve watched her series evolve over the past three years, so it was incredibly rewarding to be able to read the finish product. A close second, though, was the third book in another one of my favorite series: Grave Memory by Kalayna Price. It’s in the same genre – urban fantasy – which I just can’t get enough of these days. Honorable Mention goes to the anthology that my own story was published in, Shadows of the Mind. Lots of good tales of horror in there. That was it for 2012 for me.

  • Ephemera – Favorite Movie of 2012

    It’s the end of the year, so we’re asking the Confabulators what their favorites of 2012 are. This week, they tell us what their favorite movie of 2012 was.

    Jason Arnett

    The superhero films were EXCELLENT this year. Avengers and Dark Knight Rises were both very satisfying films to me.

    Larry Jenkins

    Full disclosure: I love movies, but I don’t get to see near as many as I would like. That being said, I really enjoyed The Cabin in the Woods, which is not so much a horror film as it is a film about horror films. If you’re more the indie film type, I’d recommend you check out Safety Not Guaranteed. It’s a nice film with both a mystery and a heart, and I appreciate movies that ask me to think and feel at the same time.

    Kevin Wohler

    Asking me to pick my favorite movie of the year is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child (“B-b-b-but.. I love them all!”). Even so, there’s one movie that I have gushed about more than any other this year. And it’s not The Avengers or The Dark Knight Rises. The truth is, my favorite movie this year has been John Carter. Yes, it was ripped apart by harsh critics. Yes, it failed to be the box office blockbuster Disney wanted it to be. But the truth is, this was a marvelous movie. It’s visually stunning. It’s epic in scope. It’s a great adventure. The only flaw in John Carter is that it had a horrible marketing team. That, and it should have been titled John Carter of Mars (focus groups be damned).

    Ted Boone

    The Avengers.

    Christie Holland

    It’s a tie between The Avengers, because of Joss Whedon and the flawless way he juggled a huge cast and kept every character true to themselves, and The Hunger Games, because it was a wonderful adaptation of a YA novel and hopefully ensures that other adaptations of YA novels are treated with just as much respect.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.

    Skyfall. This one was tough for me. I absolutely loved Cabin in the Woods. The Dark Knight Rises was epic. The Avengers was everything I hoped it would be. Wreck It Ralph proved again that Pixar is the hottest studio in animation history. However, 007 and I have a long history. I spent so many hours watching James Bond movies with my dad. I read Ian Fleming’s books in junior high. Skyfall does James Bond the right way. It’s by far the best Bond movie in years, and one of the best in the franchise’s history.

    Sara Lundberg

    I am one of the biggest Joss Whedon fans in the world, so tied for second place are The Avengers and Cabin in the Woods. He’s finally made a name for himself in the mainstream with his work on The Avengers, which he pulled off amazingly. Cabin in the Woods was a horror movie, yes, but like all of his horror, it makes you think and also makes you laugh, which I think are two key components of horror that most people forget. But my hopes are high for the release of The Hobbit, because The Hobbit is something from my childhood and the movie will hopefully be as magical as it was when I was young. It holds the number one spot until I see it, at least.