Depicting Bullying and Prejudice in Fantasy YA Fiction

Yesterday, I edited a good 11000 words of Morgana Tremaine. Today, I wrote a good 3000 and now plan to edit 7000, since I've finished her second case and it needs work.

This case did not turn out the way I wanted it to. I knew that it was going to depict bullying somewhat. Morgana's best friend's homework keeps disappearing-- obviously it was going to show bullying in some manner. But I didn't expect the bullying to come mostly from Morgana's magic teacher rather than the person who actually committed the homework-stealing crime. It's tricky, to say the least. Kid-to-kid bullying is one thing; teacher-to-student bullying is another. Goner can stand up to herself perfectly well with one. She's more hesitant about the other.

Not that I mean to whine about what I have, myself, created. But Goner is the only "normal" girl in a city that is decidedly not normal. The only thing that holds together all of the various mythical races that make up her world is the idea that they can unite against people like Goner. "We are an Us; they are the Other." That means that Goner is a girl entirely out of place in the world she lives in who insists on constantly sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. It makes it difficult to write about her without it seeming like everyone is out to get her.

Goner is strong. She can handle herself in most situations. She is also only twelve years old, and "most" situations can't equate all. But neither can she seem passive-- passivity in the main character is one thing that kills a story. Goner doesn't have it in her to be completely passive. But she does have it in her to seem the victim, whether I want her to or not. I have to combat that. I have to make her tread somewhere between an extremely competent young woman and one who just isn't prepared and shouldn't have to be prepared for certain things. Prejudice is difficult. I didn't set out to handle it. I think I'm doing it well enough so far, but it does occasionally get overwhelming.

Morgana Tremaine is half-finished now.

Gawd.

Characters: They Do Not Always Cooperate

I haven't been updating as much on Morgana Tremaine for Dora Goss' YA Challenge, but that doesn't mean that I haven't been working. I hit a small stall before today, mostly because Morgana hasn't quite been "shining" the way that I want her to in the latest section. She isn't as competent as she was in her first case. That being said, I don't want to show a character who's always competent, never fail. The beauty of Morgana-- or at least, what I view as the beauty of Morgana-- is that she's flawed. She isn't good at school, she's horrible at magic; she makes mistakes. She covers it up with sass and quick wit, but she gets quiet sometimes, and that's okay. I also don't want a character who is cowed at the slightest mention of her failings, though, and therein lies the fact that MORE EDITING must occur.

I have to find balance on a tightrope, which is hard. It's difficult to write a twelve-year-old who is so different from the people around her, yet so much the same. Someone who isn't shaped the same, doesn't have the same abilities or the same family situation, who is more capable in less traditional areas. Because it's so hard, I find it infinitely more interesting than writing I've done previously, and I've done far more work on Morgana as a character than I've ever done on anyone. A disgusting amount of world-building-- yes, that I've done. But a character as complex as Morgana? No, never.

However, today, I had a beautiful breakthrough regarding how her latest case should be dealt with. I knew who did it (whodunit!) and how, but I didn't know how Morgana &. co. needed to figure it out. Now I do. I am pleased. Today has been a good day.

Novel is currently at 12,840 words. I'll probably write another 1000-2000 tonight to get close to finishing up Morgana's current case, and then I need to cut about 500+ words or so of a scene I've realized is irrelevant.

I just realized that I'm calling Morgana "Morgana," and that she would kill me (if she lived) for referring to her by her full name.

I love my pain in the neck novel, and I love my pain in the neck main character. :)

NPR Article on Science Fiction: Response

NPR's Glen Weldon recently talked about science fiction. I had a few issues with it, the biggest of which was that he lumped science fiction, fantasy, and horror together in a way that I would hope hadn't been done since the 80s, but have since learned better. In an article that is intending to promote science fiction, this is a little damaging.

For the most part, I enjoyed his introduction. However, I want to refute his claim that all fiction is speculative. Most mainstream, or so-called "literary" fiction, is intended to be reflective rather than speculative. That's why science fiction/fantasy/horror are called speculative-- because novels of those genre speculate on what could be or might be rather than reflect on what is. Additionally, I don't believe his claim that the term "speculative fiction" is because speculative fiction writers want to "dress up" what they do. It's a lump term, more so than science fiction, since neither fantasy nor horror contains much science. Weldon, however, was perfectly willing to use the lump term science fiction, despite how inaccurate it is. His introduction was a positive one, but undercut by his lack of knowledge about the genres he was discussing. Yes, science fiction, fantasy, and horror can do amazing things. That's why there's no need to "dress it up," and to claim that writers of speculative fiction feel the need to do that undercuts everything those writers are trying to accomplish, and everything Weldon's article is trying to claim.

Without further ado, I give you: Mind-Bending Speculative Fiction For A Fantastical Summer.

Moonheart

I don't normally read high fantasy, so I had some trouble matching my recommendation to Weldon's. The fact that he recommended a second novel in a series frustrated me-- why not recommend the first, or the entire series? This makes no sense! It isn't how recommendations work! Gah. He seems to be choosing new books rather than good books, or even just logical choices, for his list.

I recommend Charles de Lint's Moonheart in return. Definitely not a new book; this classic is from 1984. This book is brilliant and subtle. Don't expect any fast action-- Moonheart moves at it's own pace, but you'll be intrigued all the same. De Lint has a real knack for catching people being people, with all of their prejudices and follies. You won't unequivocally like any of the characters. They make mistakes. They're flawed. But de Lint does something astounding-- he creates whole, fully realized people and puts them in situations where most people could only dream of how they would react. In Moonheart, Sara Kendall and her uncle, Jamie Tams, are dragged into a struggle between the light and dark forces of the universe. At the same time, the police are trying to figure out what's going on, and Sara and Jamie are just trying to survive, not save the world. Pick it up-- you won't be disappointed.


Xenogenesis/Lilith's Brood

One can never go wrong with China Mieville. However, my recommendation is Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, more recently anthologized as Lilith's Brood. Don't be put off by the horrible cover. This book discusses consent, race, species, gender, sex, biology, relations between women and men, social expectations of relationships, and anything else you could think of, all the while matching this new world our heroine, Lilith, finds herself living in to Eden-- for better, or for worse. A more complicated series of books I can't think of, but neither can I think of one better. You could read these books several times and still not be quite sure of what Butler intended, but enjoy the journey all the same, safe in the knowledge that she knew what she was doing.

The series follows Lilith Iyapo and her family in their encounters with an alien race. The alien race desires to crossbreed with humans to further their own genetic development, and don't require verbal consent for this as long as they can read some kind of consent in the person's mind. Meanwhile, humans who don't agree with the Oankaali hate the humans who do, as well as the cross-species children.


To Say Nothing of the Dog

If you're claiming to represent the genre to a new group of people, choosing authors that aren't yet into their groove probably isn't a good thing. That said, I really want to read The Quantum Thief, which Weldon had in this spot on his list. However, I recommend a more established author, Connie Willis, for a surer bet.

Connie Willis' To Say Nothing of the Dog is a brilliant, witty story of a cat brought through time and how messing with time can have dire consequences. Or, sometimes, not. A mass of timelines confused and twisted about, time lag-- a bit like jet lag, but funnier-- and jokes that sometimes even your first-person narrator doesn't get, this book is a sheer romp in the past. A deeper question is, what if we altered time? Can we? What horrors would we see in our history, what joys? To Say Nothing of the Dog veers on the side of joy; for a more serious read, Willis' Doomsday Book is a sure bet, though I am a little uncomfortable with the lead male character's patronizing of the younger female lead. I haven't read all the way through yet, though, so maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.


Splatterpunks II

I'm not much of a horror reader, but I was so horrified by the inclusion of Melissa Marr into any recommended reading list that it broke my heart. Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series is known for having heavy undertones of rape, and the heroine has her choice between one severely abusive boy and one that's more subtly controlling, yet we're meant to love the more subtle one. I can't say that I've read Graveminder-- maybe it's different, but I doubt it. Melissa Marr talks big about feminism, but doesn't often deliver.

Horror and I enjoy one another more when I read them as short stories. Thus, I recommend the Splatterpunk II anthology. This anthology is largely for women, and all about women. Women take control, women commit horrors on men, and women are just overall pretty badass. Splatterpunk isn't for everyone. It can be a little too splashy and visceral. But if you're going to do horror, go all the way, or don't do it at all. The sheer brilliance of splatterpunk is that it is painfully truthful, showing all the things you never wanted to see and making you enjoy reading about them. And that's amazing.

Little Brother

Here, Weldon recommended 2030: The Real Story of What Happens to America. First, this is not science fiction, fantasy, or horror. It's more like political commentary. If we are looking for near-future science fiction, however, one can go little wrong with Cory Doctorow. Though nearly everything he writes fills this role and is excellent to boot, his YA novel Little Brother was the first I read and a particular favorite of mine. When a terrorist attacks the city, a boy and his geeky group of friends have to save it with Xboxes. Meanwhile, they're facing increasingly strict public policy, having to decide how they rate individual rights, and how far the government should go to protect the country. Also something of a how-to manual for programming, this is an easy-to-read book, despite how horrifying it can be on occasion, and shouldn't be taken lightly.

Morgana Tremaine, +1020

So far at least, I've written 1020 words of Morgana Tremaine. I did some more work on the magic system as well, figuring out various types, hierarchy, limitations, etc. I think I need to edit some right now. Morgana is very... quiet at the moment; not quite her usual boisterous self, and it's bugging me. Of course, something is bugging her, so it makes sense, but Goner is such a vibrant person normally that when she's quiet it makes me sad. Oh well. Editing will let me know whether it's flowing right, regardless of what I think.

1020 / 1000 words written. 102% done!

0 / 3000 words edited. 0% done!

YA Challenge: 1200 words written and a minor feminist freak out

I managed to get a lot of work on Morgana Tremaine done today. There were 1200 of writing, which is 200 over my daily goal, and I also figured out a lot of tangential world-building stuff, as well as a few outlines and basic ideas. I now know which order her cases need to go in, how they hitch together to build the overall story arc, how big her class size is-- yes, this is important-- and who's in it. Oh, and working out the magic system. Which I always have a love/hate relationship with. It's so hard, yet I find it really interesting.

I also invented an awesome, awesome name for a side character. Can he have his own novel please please please? I kid you not about this awesome name. Sigh.

On chapter fourteen in The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction. It's still pretty awesome, though the writing, at least, makes it seem as if the writer thinks that fantasy is a boy's world. Which hasn't been true for at least thirty years. Also, every time there is an opportunity to have a "victim" character be referred to be a female pronoun, he does it. The feminist in me rages and shakes her fist; the optimist in me says quietly, "Maybe he didn't mean it that way...."; and the pessimist agrees with the feminist and adds, "And the fact that he might not have meant to do it is more frightening. Latent sexism is the worst."

Sigh. Too many classes in feminist theory. I'm starting to feel oppressed all the time. >_<

YA Challenge: Goodies and Events

I'm freshly back from my sister's baby shower, so I was super busy since I last posted getting ready for that. Yesterday-- Saturday-- I managed to edit 2000~ words. I did, however, learn that Word 2007 has the capability of performing the Flesch-Kincaid test for readability and grade level, which I ran on Morgana Tremaine. It puts the reading level at age 12, which is perfect, and at grade 4.5. Flesch-Kincaid apparently has some issues, but it's still rather comforting.

I also received today when I got my weekend mail The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction.

It seems pretty good so far. I'm on chapter five, so not very far in. We'll see a bit later on. The cover really turned me off, but I read an excerpt and the table of contents and all seemed well, so here's hoping. The writer seems to be laboring under the unfortunate, inaccurate assumption that fantasy is still a man's world, so I kind of want to hit him, but he's at least trying to be PC. Trying and failing, but he is trying.

Hopefully, I'll be able to get some work done tonight!

YA Challenge: Day Numero Uno

It's day one of Dora Goss' YA challenge, which means that Morgana Tremaine and I need to get our butts in gear. Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time reworking about half of the first case, but I need to finish up on that and continue on to work on the story. I've been doing the editing in Scrivener for Windows. I'm not sure why, but the block I've had about editing it vanishes if I do it in Scrivener-- maybe just because it looks so different from Word? Scrivener isn't all it's cracked up to be, though-- I accomplish the same thing as Scrivener through a mix of Word and OneNote. I could do it all in OneNote, which is basically the same as Scrivener, and sometimes I do, but I prefer Word. One of the things I do like about Scrivener-- the ability to turn smart quotes into straight quotes with a click of a button. Why smart quotes exist I'll never know. >_<

Okay, enough Scrivener babble! Time to get cracking! I'll be updating throughout the day, just as I do in my LJ when NaNoWriMo's going on. Below is my handy-dandy progress bar for mapping my daily progress. If you'll remember, my goal is 1000 words per day of writing or 3000 of editing. I've set bars for both, so you can see what's the what.

2061 / 1000 words written. 200% done!

2765 / 3000 words edited. 92% done!