Tag: ephemera

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.

Carnivals are supposed to be fun, clowns funny, animals cute, roller coasters thrilling, but sometimes, for whatever reason, we have irrational fears of things that, by normal standards, are not considered scary. After writing our carnival stories this week, we asked the Confabulators what seemingly normal thing creeps us out.

Ashley M. Poland

Carnivals and circuses freak me out. Even state carnivals, which are fairly normal, just give me a weird feel of heebie-jeebies. When I was living in England — six or seven, I guess — we went to a circus. I don’t recall a lot about the circus itself, other than there was a tent; my sister and I got spinning plates on sticks. Nothing bad happened, but I still get weirdly uncomfortable when I see one.

Amanda Jaquays

I have a number of things I’m afraid of, but probably one of my strangest fears is my terror of boats. I’m not afraid of drowning. I’d be perfectly okay if somebody threw me off the boat into the water. Well, maybe not okay, but I’d at least stop panicking. It’s not a fear I can explain and I’m not quite sure when it started, but what I can tell you is that it’s ruined any number of family vacations.

Jack Campbell, Jr.

Ice cream trucks. Dear God. Some unknown stranger is driving around in a panel van with music playing, trying to draw kids to him like some automotive pied piper so he can give them food that he’s been keeping in his van for just such an occasion. I’m a paranoid person by nature, but my skin crawls every time I hear those bells playing “All Around the Mulberry Bush.” Pedophiles, poisoned or tainted treats, kidnappers, mass-murdering cannibals…take your pick of possibilities.

Sara Lundberg

When people swing crookedly. I know some kids get a kick out of swinging sideways or twisting up their chains and spinning around, but for some reason I get sweaty and nervous and sick when I don’t swing perfectly straight or someone next to me is swerving sideways or I’m pushing the kid crookedly. Serious panic. Maybe the strangest innate fear ever.

Kevin Wohler

Spiders. I’m not the kind to scream whenever they’re on the television. But when they suddenly appear next to me (either dangling on a web or running across the table) I will seriously freak out! And if there are a lot of them crawling over someone in a movie, that makes me spaz out. Yet, I’m the appointed spider-killer in the house. No one else will touch them. Ironic, no?

The relationships we writers build with each other are very important to us. We provide a camaraderie and a support structure for each other that we all benefit from. That being said, sometimes our fellow writers are successful while we’re still waiting for a break, or they are able to do things in their writing or editing that we can’t. So this week we asked the Confabulators if they ever feel jealous of other writers.

Ted Boone

Of course I get jealous. But it’s a motivating jealousy. And it’s a sympathetic jealousy. I understand the amount of work it takes to get to that point, and mostly I’m just proud of my fellow writers for buckling down and working that hard at it. Do I wish I was at that point? Of course. Do I worry that where they were accepted I won’t be? Definitely. But mostly I’m just happy that my fellow writers are getting to live the dream.

Jason Arnett

Yep. I could just leave it at that, but what makes me jealous of another writer is how an idea is approached rather than a particular technique or a turn of phrase or someone else’s success. Some writers throw away ideas that would make the career of a lesser writer and when I can perceive that in a story, that’s what motivates me to write more. I try to pick up the ideas that writers leave laying around and make it mine. We’ll see how successful that makes me.

Christie Holland

Honestly, is anyone ever NOT jealous of other writers?  I don’t think jealousy is a bad thing, especially when I can look at another writer’s work and study how they’ve done something spectacularly.  For instance, I’m horrible at world-building.  I’m jealous of a lot of writers who are really good at it, so I’ve taken to studying their short stories or novels to figure out just how they did it so that I can get better.  I’m jealous of almost every writer because they can do something better than I can, but that doesn’t mean I can’t turn that jealousy into something productive.

Ashley M. Poland

Absolutely. As an adult, I can take that jealously in stride and recognize it for what it us, but sometimes you’re just like — Ugh! That’s amazing! I am both pleased for you and utterly, devastatingly jealous of your success! If nothing else, it makes a good fuel for your own work.

Jack Campbell, Jr.

Of course, but I think it is healthy. That jealousy can give you the drive to push just a little bit harder to get recognition for yourself. You know that person accomplished your goals, and it adds fuel to the belief that you are capable of it, as well. Jealousy is part of writing, and it is a very important part. Embrace it.

Amanda Jaquays

Let’s not beat around the bush. Of course I’m jealous of other writers. Whether it’s because they’re published, because they can support themselves off their writing, or because they’re better at stringing words together than I am, I’m jealous. In fact, I’m so jealous I’m turning green. But those are all things I can hopefully one day have for myself… if I work for it.

I hope you enjoyed all of the character interviews this week. Some characters are charismatic enough that they are excellent interview candidates, however that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a writer’s favorite. If you had to pick your favorite character of all time, how hard would that be? Nearly impossible, right? Well, imagine how difficult it was for our Confabulators to pick their favorite character that they had actually created. All of our characters are our children, and it’s so hard to pick a favorite.

Paul Swearingen

I based a character whom I named Rita (or renamed only slightly) after one of my renters. She was a walking fireplug of rather limited mental capacity, so in the story I had to smarten her up a bit. I definitely took advantage of her by bouncing her around the story, getting her raped to have an illegitimate son, etc. But in the story she shaped up and became the guardian angel of the main character. (In real life, she left owing me a bit of  the last month’s rent, but that’s another story!)

Sara Lundberg

There’s a bit of a difference between my favorite character and the character I had the most fun writing. I think Shane, the character I interviewed this week, is my favorite. He’s loosely based on an old friend combined with every barista in Lawrence and I love him to death. The most entertaining character to write, however, was my serial killer who slayed demons.

Jack Campbell, Jr.

My favorite character is always the next one. I don’t get too emotionally attached to characters (I kill so many), and I generally have more fun writing the bad guys than the good guys. I really enjoyed writing “Denny” from my fairly recent short story “Patchwork.” You never find out his real name, and he is nothing like me, but when I wrote the story I fell in love with his voice. He ranks among the strongest voices I have ever written.

Ted Boone

Bartholomew Benson was probably my best character, albeit my least favorite. He’s a bastard, he’s likely crazy, and he takes the idea of the ends justifying the means to a ridiculous point. Still, great character that was fun to write and interesting to read.

Kevin Wohler

Although I often write about heroes, I have the most fun writing villains. It’s not that I like being the bad guy. On the contrary, I like finding reasonable motivations for characters to do bad things. I believe the majority of people doing wrong are doing it for good reasons. It makes them more interesting than characters who are just evil. Right now, my favorite is Sister Grimm, a character in my current work in progress. She’s as demented as they get, but it’s because her life has been filled with tragedy.

Writing can be a grueling, difficult occupation or even hobby, and writers tend to be somewhat insecure at best. We need the support and encouragement of our friends and family, as well as complete strangers. As you’ve read over the past week, most of us have been fortunate enough to have a strong support structure. For this week’s Ephemera, we asked the Confabulators who their biggest supporter has been.

Jason Arnett

My mom has always supported everything artistic that I’ve tried and she was the financial backing behind my minicomics series in the early 2000s so she’s definitely up there. I mean, Mom has to tell me I’m doing things the way they should be done, right? But I’m also lucky enough to have a friend who’s a writer in his own medium who has always encouraged me to keep going even when a story misses its mark. When we get together he always asks me what I’m working on and what’s coming up next, too, and that’s the kind of artistic support that keeps me coming back to writing when I’m frustrated.

Ashley M. Poland

The Husband, by and far. He supports me continuing to do it full time, when we would be better off financially with me doing pretty much anything else. When I get discouraged and feel like quitting, he helps me through it. When I just need to sit down and talk out what I’m doing, he’s there. He rocks it pretty hard, and I wouldn’t be anywhere near as far along without him cheering me on.

Paul Swearingen

Several people in the Writer’s Digest forum seem to be my biggest fans and have written nice reviews of my YA novels in several places. I am humbled. However, my favorite review came from someone named “Jade” via Barnes & Noble: “This book is ok idk if its my fav but i do know it was ok”.

Jack Campbell, Jr.

I am fortunate in that I have never met anyone who was not supportive of my writing. My writing career has been marked by a constant stream of support from a variety of sources, even those who don’t particularly understand or appreciate my type of writing. I definitely owe them all a debt of gratitude.

Christie Holland

My biggest supporter has to be my mom. She doesn’t always “get” speculative fiction, but she’s always willing to read the stories I’ve written. After NaNoWriMo last year, when several of us traded manuscripts, I called my mom because I was so elated that I had gotten positive feedback. I got a card in the mail a few days after that from my mom, congratulating me on my novel that “had potential.” My mom has always been proud of me for being able to write a novel and I am eternally grateful to her for that.

Ted Boone

Fellow NaNoWriMo participants, mostly. I have lots of friends and family that support me in principle, but getting those individuals to read/critique/participate in any way is usually difficult/impossible. My fellow NaNo writers get what I’m up to, however, and have been a major source of support.

Sara Lundberg

I’ve had various “biggest” supporters of my writing throughout my life. In junior high, it was my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Coleman. I never thought my writing was any good before him. Around that same time, just as I was getting my start as a writer, my Dad was always a big supporter – I could always go to him to help with ideas. When I wanted to get my MFA in Creative Writing, Mom helped me look for grad schools. Over the last several years, my brother and sister have been incredibly supportive, offering to read and give feedback on the stories I’ve written. In the last year, I’d say my writing group family has been my biggest support structure. They are there for me every time I want to give up and remind me what being a writer is really about. All of these people have given me legs to stand on.