It's the 1st of June. That means I've been doing Flash365 for a full month now. That's hard to believe; I thought it would be a bit of a chore remembering to write a story every day, but it hasn't at all. In fact, some days I've sat down to write and been completely unable to remember if I wrote anything the day before or not. That's probably not a good thing as far as my memory goes, but it's better than having forgotten to write anything at all!
I'm fairly happy with a lot of the stories I've produced. Some of them are utter rubbish, I'm sure, but that was always going to be the case with a project like this. The fact that I've got anything I can feel proud of at this stage is an accomplishment, I think; hopefully the rest of the months will continue that way.
And as for the rest of the months? I now have a prompt schedule, which should make it easier to think of things to write - so far I've struggled on some nights to come up with anything at all. This month I'm taking inspiration from the BBC news feed, of all places; we'll see what kind of things that produces. And for some of the upcoming months I'm hoping that people will give me some good ideas, so if you're feeling up to it head over to the prompts page and let me know what you think.
That's all for now. Off to write to today's story.
Friday, 1 June 2012
Monday, 21 May 2012
The Dark Tower
This is the final part of my read-through of 'The Dark Tower'. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here, Part 5 is here, Part 6 is here and Part 7 is here. Once again, here be spoilers.
So I'm finally done. Roland has reached the tower, after all the years and miles. Was it worth it?
Well, yes and no. Unfortunately I think this is one of the weakest books in the series, which is a real shame; you always expect a series like this to go out with a bang, and it doesn't. But, in the context of the ending, that sort of makes sense and sort of works, dissatisfying as it is. We'll get to that, though.
Throughout the other books - particularly from Wolves onwards - there's a feeling that the world, all the worlds, and growing tired and slowing down. With this one, though, I got the sense that King himself had grown tired of the story and wanted to be done with it. I can't point to any examples of why I felt this, but especially in the middle section of the book I felt like the prose dragged and the pace slowed to a near crawl. I also spotted King using deus ex machina to move the plot along, whereas in previous volumes he has made use of things that showed up earlier in the series. You could argue - and you'd be right - that this is how he used Sheemie, but what about Patrick Danville? He plays a major role - you could say the most important role in the series - and yet he only shows up in this book, with only two purposes; to remove Susannah from the story, and to defeat the Crimson King.
I didn't feel much tension reading this book, either. Even when Mordred is stalking the ka-tet - and later Roland, Susannah and Oy - there is no sense that he may catch up to them. It never feels like they are in any real danger, and that turned the book into a bit of a slog.
Let's talk about death. King handled the deaths of Eddie, Jake and Oy beautifully. Each of them is deeply moving in its own way, and we finally see some emotional depth to Roland. There's a real sense of loss surrounding each of the deaths, and King allows Susannah to grieve in a way that is emotionally resonant and seems true to the character. He lets the characters wallow and feel helpless in their grief, and that's something that I don't feel is shown enough in epic fantasy. Characters die, and the rest move on without a thought. Not so here.
On the other hand, let's talk about death. Specifically Walter o'Dim/Randall Flagg and the Crimson King. King delivered with the deaths of the gunslingers, but here I felt cheated. Flagg's death in particular annoyed me. Here is Roland's mortal enemy, the man in black, a character introduced in the series even before Roland arrived - The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed, remember? He's set up as nearly omnipotent, canny, intelligent, almost impossible to outwit. Yet when we see him facing Mordred he seems a different character completely. He appears as a tittering fool, a man of little intellect, and Mordred fools him easily. I feel like King robs us of seeing Flagg get what he deserved, and he robs Flagg of a death befitting of his place in the series.
The same goes, to some extent, for the Crimson King. In the last few books the King takes on an aspect almost as terrible as that of Walter. I don't mind the way the King was portrayed at the end - we've been told that he's a lunatic, that he's lost his mind, and he behaves in a way that fits with that. But we've been robbed of a final showdown with Walter, and now King robs us of one with the King as well. Roland cowers behind a rock, shooting sneetches out of the air, while a character who has only been in the book for about a hundred pages destroys on of the series' main protagonists with a pencil and a rubber. I felt cheated, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Still, the ending itself - love it or hate it, and I love it - is perfect, and I like the fact that there are still unanswered questions. For example, what exactly happened at Jericho Hill? What is the significance of the horn, and how will Roland's quest be different this time around now that he has it? More importantly, why is Roland destined to spend his life questing for the Tower? That last one has, in fairness, been answered throughout the series - ka is a wheel, after all. But still...why Roland, and why this quest? One thing I'm particularly interested in - and I think this is because I'm interested in the craft of writing - is to see whether or not that moment of remembrance Roland has after first reappearing in the desert is present in the opening pages of The Gunslinger. I would love it if it is - if King had already showed us how this series would end - but I have a feeling, based on knowing sort of how King writes, that it isn't.
But anyway. Thus ends my read-through of The Dark Tower. If you haven't read them yourself, I highly recommend them. Despite the shortcomings I've touched at in these reviews, they are hugely enjoyable and, for all their flaws, I think they stand as one of King's best works.
So I'm finally done. Roland has reached the tower, after all the years and miles. Was it worth it?
Well, yes and no. Unfortunately I think this is one of the weakest books in the series, which is a real shame; you always expect a series like this to go out with a bang, and it doesn't. But, in the context of the ending, that sort of makes sense and sort of works, dissatisfying as it is. We'll get to that, though.
Throughout the other books - particularly from Wolves onwards - there's a feeling that the world, all the worlds, and growing tired and slowing down. With this one, though, I got the sense that King himself had grown tired of the story and wanted to be done with it. I can't point to any examples of why I felt this, but especially in the middle section of the book I felt like the prose dragged and the pace slowed to a near crawl. I also spotted King using deus ex machina to move the plot along, whereas in previous volumes he has made use of things that showed up earlier in the series. You could argue - and you'd be right - that this is how he used Sheemie, but what about Patrick Danville? He plays a major role - you could say the most important role in the series - and yet he only shows up in this book, with only two purposes; to remove Susannah from the story, and to defeat the Crimson King.
I didn't feel much tension reading this book, either. Even when Mordred is stalking the ka-tet - and later Roland, Susannah and Oy - there is no sense that he may catch up to them. It never feels like they are in any real danger, and that turned the book into a bit of a slog.
Let's talk about death. King handled the deaths of Eddie, Jake and Oy beautifully. Each of them is deeply moving in its own way, and we finally see some emotional depth to Roland. There's a real sense of loss surrounding each of the deaths, and King allows Susannah to grieve in a way that is emotionally resonant and seems true to the character. He lets the characters wallow and feel helpless in their grief, and that's something that I don't feel is shown enough in epic fantasy. Characters die, and the rest move on without a thought. Not so here.
On the other hand, let's talk about death. Specifically Walter o'Dim/Randall Flagg and the Crimson King. King delivered with the deaths of the gunslingers, but here I felt cheated. Flagg's death in particular annoyed me. Here is Roland's mortal enemy, the man in black, a character introduced in the series even before Roland arrived - The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed, remember? He's set up as nearly omnipotent, canny, intelligent, almost impossible to outwit. Yet when we see him facing Mordred he seems a different character completely. He appears as a tittering fool, a man of little intellect, and Mordred fools him easily. I feel like King robs us of seeing Flagg get what he deserved, and he robs Flagg of a death befitting of his place in the series.
The same goes, to some extent, for the Crimson King. In the last few books the King takes on an aspect almost as terrible as that of Walter. I don't mind the way the King was portrayed at the end - we've been told that he's a lunatic, that he's lost his mind, and he behaves in a way that fits with that. But we've been robbed of a final showdown with Walter, and now King robs us of one with the King as well. Roland cowers behind a rock, shooting sneetches out of the air, while a character who has only been in the book for about a hundred pages destroys on of the series' main protagonists with a pencil and a rubber. I felt cheated, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.
Still, the ending itself - love it or hate it, and I love it - is perfect, and I like the fact that there are still unanswered questions. For example, what exactly happened at Jericho Hill? What is the significance of the horn, and how will Roland's quest be different this time around now that he has it? More importantly, why is Roland destined to spend his life questing for the Tower? That last one has, in fairness, been answered throughout the series - ka is a wheel, after all. But still...why Roland, and why this quest? One thing I'm particularly interested in - and I think this is because I'm interested in the craft of writing - is to see whether or not that moment of remembrance Roland has after first reappearing in the desert is present in the opening pages of The Gunslinger. I would love it if it is - if King had already showed us how this series would end - but I have a feeling, based on knowing sort of how King writes, that it isn't.
But anyway. Thus ends my read-through of The Dark Tower. If you haven't read them yourself, I highly recommend them. Despite the shortcomings I've touched at in these reviews, they are hugely enjoyable and, for all their flaws, I think they stand as one of King's best works.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Jukepop Serials
I'm very happy to announce that Jukepop Serials have picked up the first chapter of my as-yet untitled and as-yet unwritten novel. The working title has always been A Cure For The Itch, so we'll see if that sticks.
Here's a little bit about Jukepop:
Jukepop Serials is a new, community website for authors and readers of genre serial fiction. We love the literary tradition of serial writing that was massively popular in the 19th century, the type of writing where chapters are written and read in installments, benefitting both the writers and readers. We want to capture everything that is great about serial writing - only in a modern format for today's audience. We give our readers coins to tip the stories they like, and our writers receive real money for their serial start, if accepted, followed by the potential for monthly cash prizes for the top thirty serials based on reader tips.
The site looks fantastic, and I can't wait to see what the story section of it will look like when it goes live!
Here's the extract from my first chapter that they posted to Tumblr:
“He spat again and smiled. Another job come to an end, and right on cue he was getting nostalgic. It always went this way, didn’t it? Too long spent up in the air, noticing the things that were different about the airship, the things that weren’t right, even after all this time. Like how he couldn’t read the sky like he’d read the sea, didn’t know when a pocket of rough air was going to dump him on his arse, or how the ship sailed too smooth in calm air, didn’t roll with the waves like a boat would.”
I'm very excited about this, and interested to see what the experience of writing a serialized novel will be like. It's tempting to get the whole thing written in advance, but that's cheating - or, if not, it's certainly not in the spirit of the thing. So I'll plot and work on characters, but I won't do any writing until August when the site goes live. Watch this space!
Friday, 18 May 2012
A Proposal
I had an idea earlier today. It may pan out; it may not. It may well have been done before, and if so I'd love to know about it. But I thought I'd run it by you anyway.
Artists take commissions. We all know that. They craft wonderful one-off paintings, or sculptures, or trinket boxes, or pieces of needle-point, or whatever. And the person who commissioned it gets to own that one-off piece; gets to touch it and look and it and love it and say, "I'm the only person in the world with something like this."
I've never heard of writers doing this. (This is the part where you tell me if somebody is already doing this, because I'd love to see how they've made it work.) And the more I thought about it, the more I thought why not me?
So, here's the proposal. You send me £30*. In return, I'll write you a story of at least 1,500 words about whatever you want - and there won't be an upper limit imposed on this; the story will be as long as the story needs to be - which I will have made into a wonderful one-of-a-kind chapbook. I'll post it to you. You will own the book (though I'll retain copyright on the story, of course) and nobody else will. That's it. Nice and simple.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments, or drop me an email at c.bissette[no-spam]@hotmail.co.uk (removing the [no-spam] thing first, obviously).
*For anybody wondering where I got £30 from, let me explain. £30 covers a semi-pro rate of pay for a 1,500 word story - and chances are you'll be getting a longer piece than that - plus the cost of producing the book and posting it to you, wherever you are in the world. It feels fair to me. If you disagree, please do get in touch!
Artists take commissions. We all know that. They craft wonderful one-off paintings, or sculptures, or trinket boxes, or pieces of needle-point, or whatever. And the person who commissioned it gets to own that one-off piece; gets to touch it and look and it and love it and say, "I'm the only person in the world with something like this."
I've never heard of writers doing this. (This is the part where you tell me if somebody is already doing this, because I'd love to see how they've made it work.) And the more I thought about it, the more I thought why not me?
So, here's the proposal. You send me £30*. In return, I'll write you a story of at least 1,500 words about whatever you want - and there won't be an upper limit imposed on this; the story will be as long as the story needs to be - which I will have made into a wonderful one-of-a-kind chapbook. I'll post it to you. You will own the book (though I'll retain copyright on the story, of course) and nobody else will. That's it. Nice and simple.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments, or drop me an email at c.bissette[no-spam]@hotmail.co.uk (removing the [no-spam] thing first, obviously).
*For anybody wondering where I got £30 from, let me explain. £30 covers a semi-pro rate of pay for a 1,500 word story - and chances are you'll be getting a longer piece than that - plus the cost of producing the book and posting it to you, wherever you are in the world. It feels fair to me. If you disagree, please do get in touch!
Song of Susannah
This is the penultimate part of my read-through of 'The Dark Tower'. Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here, Part 5 is here, Part 6 is here and Part 8 is here. . Once again, here be spoilers.
I remember Song of Susannah as being one of the weaker books in this series, and that certainly seems to be the consensus among other Dark Tower fans who I've spoken to. I think I've revised my opinion, though.
I absolutely flew through this book, and that's due in no small part to the fact that once the action gets going it doesn't let up at all. The earlier books are punctuated with lulls in the action, calm moments before the storm, or they build inevitably (as with Wolves) towards a massive conflict at the end.
That isn't the case with Susannah. From the moment that Jake forces the door in Doorway Cave open to the point where Mia's chap is finally born it's non-stop. And even in and amongst the constant conflict, we're still building towards one final showdown at the Dixie Pig - a showdown that King, the bastard, leaves until the final book. I'd say that this is a cliffhanger on a par with that at the end of The Waste Lands - Blaine the mono rocketing the ka-tet across Mid-World, and the riddle competition beginning.
Susannah's Dogan did turn out to be important, but I still have memories of it playing a larger role in the books. Maybe that's just me remembering wrong, or maybe it's still to come in The Dark Tower. I also wasn't annoyed by King's appearance in the book - he's only in it for a few pages, and he serves a purpose. I can't remember if he's in the final book or not - I'm going to venture a guess that he is. We'll see how I feel about that when I get to it. It would have been easy for King to paint himself in a good light, though, and I'm glad to see that he didn't - he comes across as just as much of an addict as... well, most of the other characters, in one way or another. I wonder how many drafts King went through to get that right?
I would also love to know whether the excerpts from King's diary at the end of the book are taken from his real journals or not. I'm going to venture a guess and say that they aren't, but I'd love to be enlightened on that.
Only one book left now, and that ending...
Thursday, 17 May 2012
The Wolves of The Calla
This is part six of my read-through of 'The Dark Tower'.
Part 1 is here, Part 2 is here, Part 3 is here, Part 4 is here, Part 5 is here, Part 7 is here and Part 8 is here. . Once again, here be spoilers.
Somehow I didn't notice when reading Wind Through The Keyhole that the strange sat-nav thing that guides Tim through the forest cites Directive 19 as a reason for being unable to give him some information. And somehow, in reading the series, I'd completely forgotten that the books become obsessed with the number 19 in the final leg of the story. Of course, the second I opening Wolves I remembered, and that tiny little detail in Wind makes it slot into the world of The Dark Tower even more smoothly than I originally had thought.
This is the point in the series where King begins to get really meta-fictional. Don Callahan from Salem's Lot is a character of huge importance in Wolves, and we see Wolves modelled on Dr. Doom wielding lightsabers and golden snitches (or sneetches, if you prefer). I can't remember if there's anything else in the next two books - besides King appearing as a character, of course - but I'm sure there must be. In Wolves, at least, all these references are seamlessly woven into the narrative. I'm fairly sure that it's in the next book - Song of Susannah - that King makes his appearance, and I remember hating it at the time I first read the book. We'll see how I deal with it this time around.
I spent most of this book waiting for the Dogan to make an appearance, as it was the one thing I really remembered from this book, yet it's only in it for a few pages. I have the feeling it makes a reappearance in Song of Susannah, and plays quite a large role. This is also the point where King introduces the Breakers, who I had forgotten all about, and we start to learn what's happening to the world. There's a real sense that the story is drawing to a close now, that the end of the journey is in sight.
Some very brief reactions to Wolves:
Somehow I didn't notice when reading Wind Through The Keyhole that the strange sat-nav thing that guides Tim through the forest cites Directive 19 as a reason for being unable to give him some information. And somehow, in reading the series, I'd completely forgotten that the books become obsessed with the number 19 in the final leg of the story. Of course, the second I opening Wolves I remembered, and that tiny little detail in Wind makes it slot into the world of The Dark Tower even more smoothly than I originally had thought.
This is the point in the series where King begins to get really meta-fictional. Don Callahan from Salem's Lot is a character of huge importance in Wolves, and we see Wolves modelled on Dr. Doom wielding lightsabers and golden snitches (or sneetches, if you prefer). I can't remember if there's anything else in the next two books - besides King appearing as a character, of course - but I'm sure there must be. In Wolves, at least, all these references are seamlessly woven into the narrative. I'm fairly sure that it's in the next book - Song of Susannah - that King makes his appearance, and I remember hating it at the time I first read the book. We'll see how I deal with it this time around.
I spent most of this book waiting for the Dogan to make an appearance, as it was the one thing I really remembered from this book, yet it's only in it for a few pages. I have the feeling it makes a reappearance in Song of Susannah, and plays quite a large role. This is also the point where King introduces the Breakers, who I had forgotten all about, and we start to learn what's happening to the world. There's a real sense that the story is drawing to a close now, that the end of the journey is in sight.
Some very brief reactions to Wolves:
- I'd forgotten that Benny dies. I was genuinely shocked when it happened.
- I have a feeling - though I'm not 100% sure - that Oy either doesn't speak again the series or that he stops speaking as much. I'd like to be wrong.
- This is still my favourite of the books so far, even though I think I'm in the minority there.
And still the Tower draws closer...
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
National Flash Fiction Day
It's the first National Flash Fiction Day. Hurrah! This has been a long time in the making for everyone involved, and it's great to have watched it all come together over the last few months even if the only part I've played in it has been editing Tomorrows. As a small celebration of the day, though, I thought I'd leave a little run-down of some of the things that're going on today (though this will probably be Manchester-specific). So, without further ado!
- The official National Flash Fiction Day pop-up journal FlashFlood is live and has been publishing pieces of flash every hour or so since midnight. My piece Potency goes live at around 2PM, but you should head over there now and read the other stories. There's some really good stuff there!
- The insanely energetic guys at FlashTag are doing a tour of Manchester, popping up all over the city to perform very short stories and then vanishing again. Keep up with them on Twitter @flashtagmcr
- Bad Language are hosting an evening of flash fiction at 3-Minute Theatre in Afflecks Palace. It kicks off at 7:30pm and should be a great night. There will be loads of readings and things going on and stuff to buy, and I'll be there with copies of Tomorrows.
- Jawbreakers, the anthology produced by Calum Kerr and the rest of the organisers of NFFD, is available now, and Jen Campbell has posted a great video of herself reading words that she wrote in the form of the title story from the anthology.
So, there are some of the ways you can get involved with the first National Flash Fiction Day. If nothing else you should definitely come down to the Bad Language event in the evening, and pop on the FlashFlood and check out some of the great stories there.
All that's left to say is a massive congratulations to Calum Kerr for thinking up and organising the whole thing!
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