The Confabulator Cafe

Category: Ephemera

  • What’s Your Favorite Book To Film Adaptation?

    The Confabulators go to the movies the same as the rest of you. We read a book, envision characters and places and hear the characters’ voices in our heads. You might think this makes us a harder audience to please than normal, but that’s not necessarily true. We can set our ideas aside and sit in the darkened theater alongside everyone else who’s read a book and appreciate it for what it is: a film. This week we challenged the Confabulators to tell us about their favorite adaptations.

    R.L. Naquin

    Disney’s version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I waited my whole life to see that done right on the big screen. I read the book a million times. I had a map of Narnia on my wall next to my bed. I was the White Witch in a fourth-grade musical production we wrote ourselves. When the opening credits started to roll on the film, I was already crying. It was done so well, even down to keeping some of the dialogue from the book. Cried like a baby all through it.

     

    Kevin Wohler:

    When adapting a book to film which is more important, a faithful adaptation or making something even greater than the original text? Take, for example, Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. This visually stunning movie is more than an adaptation of Phillip K. Dick’s novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Between the great performances, special effects, and the soundtrack by Vangelis, the film transcends the novel on which it is loosely based. After seeing the film, I read the book. And while the book is strong in its own right, I feel the film is even better.

     

    Angela Kordahl:

    My favorite book to film adaptation is undoubtably Fight Club.  IMHO, the book had a lot of unrealized potential that the movie tapped into, and turned a sketch into a fully realized world.  The movie did what film can do best, creating indelible images and dramatizing big action, without undermining the integrity of the book’s ideology.

     

    Muriel Green:

    Eat, Pray, Love because the things that were changed made sense cinematically and yet stayed true to the spirit of the book.

     

    Jason Arnett:

    Adapting books into film is very, very tricky and often if something’s not right it’s because the fans were too invested in the book to see the film as being it’s own thing, separate from the book. I really like The Silence of the Lambs as an adaptation even though it’s slightly different from the novel. The film is so good one can’t really complain. The other adaptation that is something you maybe haven’t seen or read and that’s Firebreather. It was a comic book then adapted as a Cartoon Network animated feature. Both are very good for different reasons and aimed at very different audiences.

  • What’s Your Favorite Fantasy Story?

    Since the Lord of the Rings trilogy hit theaters, everyone in the world is much more aware of the genre of fantasy storytelling. Looked at one way, every story is a fantasy of some kind including things like superheroes and vampires. With Game of Thrones returning to HBO this spring, fantasy storytelling gets an even bigger boost. We thought that this week we’d take time to find out what kinds of fantasy the Confabulators read, love or admire. 

    Jack Campbell, Jr.:

    I hate to say it is The Hobbit, because anything Tolkien seems like too obvious of an answer, even if it is the truth. I recently finished American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and it was great. Unfortunately, I haven’t read fantasy as a genre on a regular basis for probably 15 years. I am pretty out of touch on the genre.

    Paul Swearingen:

    Fantasy is perhaps the least favorite of my reading genres (okay, I don’t do romance nor erotica very well, either), but a well-written fantasy will certainly hold my attention. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the original fantasy, probably, is still my favorite, in spite of revelations that its author was more or less a dirty old man. Oh, well. Even dirty old men can write well.

    Sara Lundberg:

    I gave up high fantasy for urban fantasy awhile back. I succumbed to the seduction of the dark modern-day settings, the excessive use of vampires, and the graphic love scenes. High fantasy had too much description, too many stock characters, and not nearly enough hot sex. But then I read The Warded Man, by Peter V. Brett, and I was reminded why I fell in love with high fantasy all those years ago. Beautiful world building, epic battles of good vs. evil, true heroes, and a refreshing lack of vampires and modern day slang. This book encompassed everything about high fantasy that enchanted me the very first time my Dad read us The Hobbit as children.

    Jason Arnett:

    Sword of Shannara was the first fantasy story that got my attention because all my friends were reading it. The Hobbit was good, but I never went on to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy because I found Robert Heinlein’s Glory Road and that was MORE fun. Later on I realized fantasy was more than swords and sorcery (though Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories will always have a place in my heart) and that things like Mike Carey’s Felix Castor novels really were fantasy, too. If I had to pick one, I’ll fudge it a little and say that Neil Gaiman is one of the finest fantasists working these days, from Sandman to Neverwhere to The Graveyard Book. One can’t go wrong with any of his work for great fantasy.

    Ted Boone:

    The Lord of the Rings cannot be beaten. However, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is a close second.

    R.L. Naquin:

    I love retellings of fairy tales. My favorite is Beauty by Robin McKinley.  So much of it recaptures the feeling of the original story of Beauty and the Beast, yet it also expands it and makes the characters real. Beauty is not some victim of her own good looks and family tragedy. She’s an insecure, intelligent, courageous young woman with a flair for gardening and a love of horses.

     Kevin Wohler:

    Sometimes the best stories are the most simple. And that’s why my favorite fantasy was also one of my first. Written by Jay Williams, the classic children’s picture book “The King With Six Friends” is a great quest story. It tells of a king who befriends strangers on his quest for fortune. In turn, his new friends help the king with their special gifts. Also, the book is beautifully illustrated by Imero Gobbato. I love this story. It’s a mix of The Wizard of Oz and a superhero story. It’s about magic, friendship, and destiny. Most importantly, it started me down the road to reading more fantasy. And for that, I’m ever grateful.

    I could give the very simple and narcissistic answer of, “The book I’m writing, of course!” Except it’s not my favorite book. Right now I kind of hate it–not because it’s a bad book, but because it requires fine tuning and tweaking… and because I haven’t immersed myself in it for about a month.

    My favorite book is something that consumes my every thought. I live and breathe that book. Which means, that every book I read is my favorite book at some point as long as it is well-written and compelling enough to draw me in to its world. There are several fantasy books and series that I keep going back to:  The Lioness Quartet, by Tamora Pierce (and just about every other book she’s written), The Belgariad by David Eddings, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede, Xanth by Piers Anthony, The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon, the Pern collection by Anne McCaffrey (though this is arguably science fiction), Rhapsody by Elizabeth Haydon, and of course Harry Potter by, regrettably, not me.
    I would be hard pressed to pick a specific favorite book or favorite series out of those I’ve listed (and many others). They all have special meanings to me, but none of them are, specifically, my favorite books. Because they’re all my favorite fantasy books. Asking me to narrow it down further would be like expecting me to be able to breathe in outer space. I would give it my best effort, but still be unable to do so all the same.
    So rather than giving a specific book as my favorite, I should tell you what makes books join the hallowed ranks of “favorites.” I want a book that gives me character growth, I want a book that is going to make me laugh just as often as it makes me cry. I want a book that when it makes me cry, it hurts. I want to be taken on an emotional roller coaster with the characters. I want the characters to make me care about them… even if that’s just me wishing them dead. I want characters that will have a moral code that they stick to, even if their morals don’t match with mine. And perhaps most of all, I want a book that I’m not going to know how it ends by the fiftieth page. Surprise me. Make me work for my happy ending. Oh, that’s the other thing. I want a happy ending–well, or for everyone to die. I’m not all that picky.

  • Tell Us About Your Current Work

    Every week we take a gander into the Confabulators’ worlds to see what they’re thinking. This week we’re asking what they’re working on because, well – we’re writers and we should be writing things. As usual, you get an interesting range of answers from the specific to the vague.

    Sara Lundberg:

    I start. I stop. I despair. I try again. I beat my fists upon the keyboard. I scream. I fling pages of notes across the room. I stare blankly at the pixilated words on my computer screen. Are my eyes watering from fatigue or anguish? Will I ever write again? Will these words strung together with my blood, sweat, and tears ever become a book? How can I call myself a writer? I despair.

    I try again.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.:

    I am working on an idea tentatively titled The Dream Catcher. The owner of a hotel is plagued by a sort of psychic ability. When he sleeps, he picks up the dreams of those around him as if he is an antennae picking up radio waves, the dreams of those physically closer to him are stronger. Because of this, he works nights, choosing to sleep during the day when everyone else is awake. One night, after two days of lack of sleep due to the stress of his wife leaving him, he falls asleep at the desk. He picks up a horrific dream, but unlike most nightmares, this one gives it dreamer great pleasure. Our hero find himself in the middle of the sinister cravings of a sociopath, whom no one else can find.

    Paul Swearingen:

    My current work in progress has been in progress since about 1980. Or actually it was stalled for about 30 years until I pulled it out of the drawer, literally, and started back to work on it.

    It’s a post-apoctalyptic young adult novel (please don’t ask me to say that aloud!) set in SE Kansas. All but a few people in North America have been killed by neutron bomb explosions, and a 16-year-old boy, who had his own problems before everything went down, now has to apply his farm-boy living techniques to be able to survive.

    So far I’ve managed to come up with an ending to the story, after about 73K words and reviving two characters whom I’d killed off, and I’m about halfway through the first total-book revision, but I’m not sure that the current chapters leading up to the ending will survive.

    Kevin Wohler:

    I’m sorry. [Insert Name Here] has been unable to work on his novel. Lately he has been spending his spare time:

    • A) Preparing for the upcoming Mayan apocalypse
    • B) Fearing a man-made “Big Bang” created at the Large Hadron Collider
    • C) Trying to broker a Middle East peace accord
    • D) Debating with UFOROSWELL47 the location of Area 51
    • E) Spending too much time coming up with this list

    Larry Jenkins:

    Imagine Elmore Leonard, Christopher Moore, and the Coen brothers met at some seedy, roadside motel and got their ménage on.  I’d like to think my book is what would come out of that most holy of unions.  It’s got rednecks, racists (is that redundant?), and buried treasure.  There’s a floating strip club named The Love Butt, a sheriff’s deputy who thinks he’s the second coming of John Wayne, and a couple of friends who are in desperate need of change of venue.  A little found money may just be what the doctor ordered, provided they can survive the week.

    Jason Arnett:

    I just finished a story that should be published sooner rather than later (announcement soon, I hope) and I’m working on a sequel to Evolver: Apex Predator that’s nearly done. I’m also deep in revisions on my novel, The Cold Distance, which is a science fiction about about two thieves who are unwittingly hired to steal elements of a machine that, when assembled, will destroy the universe as we know it. She’s an orphaned girl filled with a sense of betrayal and he’s a quantum-computer Artificial Intelligence and they’re chased by galactic law enforcers who have no sense of humor whatsoever.

    Ted Boone:

    I’m trying to recover from the post-NaNo blues and get my current manuscript completed. It’s at around 66%, which is a common stalling point for me. After getting the zero draft complete, I’ll vet it with my regular readers and then start the hacking and chopping phase.

    Muriel Green:

    I am still working on my National Novel Writing Month novel from 2011. It is a young adult hard sci-fi story. I think it’s time that more hard sci-fi for young adults came out. Hard sci-fi sparked my imagination when I was in middle and high school, and I think it appeals to a lot of adolescents who aren’t interested in reading novels about dating.

    R.L. Naquin:

    Right now I’m working on revisions for the second book of my Zoey series. Book three is already coming together in my head at the same time, since the parts need to fit together. I should have book two submitted by mid-March, so I’ll start writing book three in a few weeks.

    Amanda Jaquays:

    It’s not a “work in progress” so much as a “story mired in severe procrastination,” but I’m currently working (procrastinating) on editing a young adult novel. The story follows a girl as she grows up in an Academy for the gifted. However, she can’t seem to figure out why she is supposed to be there and rather than trying to fit in and make friends, she strives to be the girl nobody knows exists. Fate has other plans in store for her, though, and while she doesn’t have to save the world, she has to decide if saving the life of the crown prince is worth giving up her anonymity.

    My goal is that by the time any of you read this, I’ll have actually figured out what dusty corner of my room I threw my notes in and have begun working on editing it again. If I haven’t, somebody please give me a swift kick in the pants!

  • Whose Brain Would You Pick If You Had the Chance?

    Every week we ask the Confabulators to answer a question that will enlighten or illuminate the darker corners of their brains. We force them to think about things they might not otherwise and sometimes we get some really interesting answers. This week’s question is one that usually comes up over drinks or late in the evening at a party where a group of writers are hanging out. Read on for some insights.

    Kevin Wohler

    I nearly freeze up at the idea of getting advice from any of my writing idols. I like the idea of poking through someone’s brain for insights without the vulnerability of asking them to read my work. It’s the stalker in me, I suppose. While I would love to pick the brains of Stephen King or Ray Bradbury, I feel that I’ve done that to some extent, by reading their books (On Writing and Zen in The Art of Writing, respectively). But I would love to have access to the part of their brains where they keep story ideas so I could steal them.

    Sara Lundberg:

    Am I allowed to choose a fellow Confabulator? I’d have to pick R.L. Naquin for this one. Just give me five minutes in her brain, and I’d be set life with story ideas. I’d love to see the world from her perspective. She tells us it’s a scary place in there, and that we might not survive a minute, let alone five. Besides, if I am totally honest, I do plan on picking her brain quite thoroughly once I’m ready to query a novel; her success has been an inspiration to all of us!

    Jack Campbell, Jr.:

    Ray Bradbury. His book Zen in the Art of Writing was a huge influence on my love of writing. He is perhaps my favorite author, and is one of the living legends of letters. The guy is 91 and has been writing since age 12. I can only imagine the value of his insight.

    Larry Jenkins:

    I’d like to spend about a day hanging out with Christopher Moore.  I want to know if he is as goofy in person as he seems in his writing.  Is he funny in real life, or is he just an asshole?  There’s a fine line, and I’d like to know how well he walks it.  I’d also be curious to see if he’s as OCD about his writing process as other authors appear to be.

    Jason Arnett:

    I think I’d want to have a storyteller’s dinner party and invite the authors who have influenced me the most, who have affected me the most and then just listen to the conversation. Absorbing by osmosis their genius, their points of view and observe their interactions and reactions to one another. If I had to pick one person at the party to talk storytelling with, it might be China Mieville.

    Ted Boone:

    John Scalzi. He’s prolific, his stories are clever and funny and exciting, and he seems to know everyone that’s anyone in the industry.

    Muriel Green:

    I would love to hang out with Ursula K. LeGuinn. She has a chapter in How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead that stands head and shoulders above other ‘how to write’ articles I’ve read.

    R.L. Naquin:

    Piers Anthony. He’s prolific, helpful to writers, engages with his fans, and yet is a grumpy old ogre who lives deep in the woods on a private tree farm in Florida. He’s a strange mixture. I’d love to find out what he’s really like.

  • What’s Your Favorite Science Fiction Story?

    Every week we take a peek into the minds of the Confabulators to find out what they’re thinking. This week they were asked What’s Your Favorite Science Fiction Story? and they’ve responded with some classic titles. It’s interesting to note that of all the books mentioned not one on this list published in the 21st century. Admittedly the sampling is small and it’s hard for authors like China Mieville, Cory Doctorow, Gregory Benford, Vernor Vinge, Michael Swanwick and others to compete with the likes of Bradbury and Heinlein and Card. That doesn’t mean there’s not good SF coming out (there is! — we recommend the Year’s Best SF series edited by David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer) but nothing that’s supplanted the masters in our minds yet. Yet.

    Jack Campbell, Jr.:

    Farenheit 451.  People always argue whether or not Bradbury is really a science fiction writer.  Even Bradbury says he is not.  It doesn’t matter.  Bradbury is a great writer and Farenheit 451 seems to get more and more prophetic as the years pass.  It’s a spectacular book with a ton of meaning.

    Sara Lundberg:

    I am a huge Michael Crichton fan. Some of my favorite science fiction stories are books he wrote – Sphere, Jurassic Park, Timeline. They read less like science fiction and more like maybe this kind of stuff is happening just beyond public awareness. To me, that’s what makes them brilliant. I believe in the quote “science fiction will become science fact,” and Crichton has always toed that line. That being said, a more traditional sci-fi story I consider my favorite is Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. I read that entire book straight through without stopping.

    Kevin Wohler:

    My favorite SF story? Like there could be just one? Please! Okay, let’s do this by the numbers. I’ll give you my favorite story from my favorite collection by one of my favorite authors. The winner of this prestigious title would have to be the short story “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury. I love all of Bradbury’s work, but this 1952 short story is my favorite. It is a seminal time travel story, one that ends up being referenced in almost every other time travel story. Whenever time travelers discuss the implications of altering the past and mention “stepping on a butterfly,” it’s a nod to Bradbury and this elegantly simple yet captivating story.

    Jason Arnett:

    Stranger in a Strange Land has everything great science fiction requires: aliens, politics, sex, a circus and religion. It’s easily my favorite SF story not just because it’s famous and the name has been associated with all sorts of weird, sometimes sordid, things but because it’s so well written. The characters are palpable, the world is believable and the situations in the story are not all that far from what could happen in the real world. Its commentary on the world of the day it was written in (50 years ago) is just as — if not MORE — valid than ever.

    That said, if you buy me a whiskey some time, I’ll tell you why Inception may be one of the great SF stories ever, too.

    Larry Jenkins:

    I don’t read a lot of sci-fi.  I’m typically more of a horror/thriller guy with the occasional foray into fantasy (both my own and the genre).  But if I’m picking the story that stuck with me the longest, I’d have to say it was Ender’s Game.  I’m assuming this will probably be a popular choice, but the truth is the truth.  I was really drawn to the character, Ender Wiggin.  Not because I have some false belief that Ender and I have anything in common, other than the fact that we both eventually need to be shipped off-world.  Our powers are too great to do anything but ultimately doom humanity.

    Ender fascinated me because he was simultaneously human and alien.  He was lonely and had this burning need to be loved, but at the same time, he was cold and calculating and devoid of attachment when necessary.  He was a freaky little kid, and I would not want my own children hanging out with him.  But he certainly took up space in my head long after I’d finished reading that book.

    R.L. Naquin:

    I love Ender’s Game. I am so excited for the movie I might pee myself during the opening credits. (Just a warning, in case you come to the showing right after mine.) Still, I think I love Ender’s Shadow even more. Reading the same story from Bean’s perspective was fascinating, and I preferred Bean’s series to Ender’s. Orson Scott Card is my hero.

     Aspen Junge:

    Favorite SF series: hands down, Lois McMaster Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan novels. They are action-packed, character-driven, and wise beyond belief. I can only hope to live with one tenth the verve and dedication of Miles and his family.

    Ted Boone:

    A tie between Permutation City by Greg Egan and A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge.

    Muriel Green:

    Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes. The reason I like this story so much is because when I was a kid I worried about dying in strange ways that might make me a ghost. One of the scenarios that terrified me was the belief that if I were struck by lightening while talking on the phone my consciousness would get trapped in the telephone lines. Harlan Ellison’s story is the closest thing I’ve ever run across to my creepy childhood phobia.

  • Have You Ever Written Fan Fiction?

    Fan fiction. The mere mention of it can send people into paroxysms of rage or ecstasy. People either Love it or Hate it, with capital letters. Usually fanfic is the bailiwick of the dedicated fanatic who believes that a story MUST be told, whether it fits into the canon of the world someone else created or not. According to Wikipedia, the first fanfic might have involved Don Quixote. 

    The ultimate fan fiction is probably doing work for hire on a company-owned character. Ask anyone who’s written a Star Wars novel or one of the major superheroes for DC or Marvel and you’ll likely find they were a fan of the characters before they started typing things up. For us, here in the Cafe, every week we get asked a question that may further enlighten or illuminate the week’s topic here. Below you’ll find our confessions as to whether or not we’ve written it and even what we think about it. Pull up a chair and see what you think.

    (more…)

  • The First Thing You Wrote

    Creative tendencies often show up in youngsters. If they’re encouraged, they can find a way to blossom soon and the world is graced with prodigies that we don’t need to name as we don’t want to compare ourselves to them. If creative tendencies are left to flower or flounder on their own, it may take years or decades for the person who has such tendencies to realize that’s what they need to do. Creativity must find a way out. 

    Every week we ask the Confabulators a question that may further illuminate the blog question or give you some further insight into our working minds. This week we wanted to know about the first attempts our writers made. You’ll find as wide a variety of answers as there are Confabulators answering the question but a common thread was school. Let’s not underestimate what schools can do for creative people. Perhaps our answers will help you understand why…

    (more…)

  • What’s Your Dream Writing Assignment?

    Every week we’ll ask the Confabulators a question that may further illuminate the blog question or give you some further insight into our working minds. This week’s question is one that a lot of writers have stuck somewhere in the back of his or her mind. Not everyone wants to work for someone else, or even write a character that’s not theirs, but certainly there’s something that fires our imaginations. Writers that dream are the best kind.

    (more…)

  • What’s your favorite genre to write?

    Every week we’ll ask the Confabulators a question that may further illuminate the blog question or give you some further insight into our working minds. This week’s question is “What’s your favorite genre to write?” Sometimes a writer is better at writing one kind of story than the kind of story she likes to read. Below, look for what this group of writers likes to write. For purposes of comparison, feel free to go back and read our bloggers’ thoughts on what books are their favorites to read. 

    (more…)

  • What Inspires You to Write?

    Every week we’ll ask the Confabulators a question that may further illuminate the blog question or give you some further insight into our working minds. This week’s question is akin to the one that our bloggers pondered: Where Do You Get Your Ideas? People who are learning to be creative, or who want to know what makes creative people tick, ask these two questions most often. Believe it or not, Inspiration doesn’t necessarily come from Ideas. They’re separate things. Ask anyone. Or read on.

    (more…)