To answer the question; yes, it should. But a deeper question is to ask how the state conceived in the first place that it had a right to interfere at all in this area.

   

I just answered this Featured Question, you can answer it too!

A couple of weeks ago I came to the half way point with the first draft of The Gingerbread Men. I decided to set it aside for a while, as it’s factual and contains a lot of personal stuff. I found that this was pulling up a lot of painful memories, and that was beginning to interfere with the writing. Also, while I knew where the story – or more accurately, account – was to go, I could no longer see the best way among the several routes to get there. So I decide to let it rest a while, and complete the editing and publication of Zorn.

To those of you who have never attempted a major piece of writing, and wonder “is it hard?” I’d say “easy to start, hard to finish.”

Taking an idea – which may come in a brief flash of inspiration – and beginning to slap it together, enthusiastic keystroke after keystroke; that is the fun part, though not necessarily easy, and here those bursts of enthusiasm are likely to occur, where we can suddenly pour out page after page each session, and let the characters run riot, knowing that we can edit out or modify any absurdities later. 

But finally the day of reckoning arrives. The story is fully formed, the characters have acted out their roles, and to their author they exist more solidly than his flesh and blood friends. The novel lies new born, but gored and slimed with all the struggles of its birth: the hastily jammed-in bits of explanation, that don’t really fit in the action scene where they were slammed down as an afterthought; the accidentally made repetitions, that now entangle the plot. Too much junk to list really, and most of it small stuff, yet it won’t go away, and has to be sought out, and agonised over, and somehow fixed.

In short, the novel needs editing. And to some extent – hopefully minor – it will need rewriting.

I find this the worst part. What makes it bad is that it’s final. The target is to speak the words “that’s it,” and send the file to the publisher, at which point all mistakes and shortcomings are locked in for all eternity (unless you republish a new edition, that is.)

Try any passage in the story two different ways or twenty as you do the original writing; but now you must settle on one.

It’s the pits.

Link to my Wake of the Raven site

Amazon description page for Wake of the Raven

Having turned it over in my mind for more than a year, I’ve decided to start my own publishing company.

I’ve been considering this since I started sifting through candidates for a company to publish my first novel, “Wake of the Raven” a work of historical fiction of 448 pages, which was published in 2007.

After that I wanted to try something in a different style, and I’ve completed “Zorn,” a speculative look at society in 2035.

I’m currently working on several other novels, including “The Gingerbread Men,” a non-fiction book dealing with corporate corruption, and I may have a commission from a large company to write a non-fiction work on financial planning, which is an area I worked in extensively.

It’s now making sense to set up my own company. Any of you who have tried to get any of your work published will be aware that it’s extremely difficult to break into the world of old-style publishing, with the usual author-agent-publisher relationship. This system – which has experienced great competitive problems in the last few years – tends to cater only to established authors who are “sure bets” to sell. This is a great pity, for this denies opportunity to many talented but unknown authors.

There are a great many self-publishing companies of course, and this is the way that most authors are going nowadays, paying a fee to be published, and afterwards attempting to bring the accomplished work both to the eye of the public and those of large publishing companies. However, this has its pitfalls.

I published “Wake of the Raven” through a self publishing company, and was dismayed at the many “gotchas” that emerged. However, I don’t regret having gone that route, because it was then my opinion – and still is – that for a first time author there are too many moving parts in the publishing process for him to handle without making a disaster, and due to the inadequacies of my publisher I was forced to learn the process the hard way, which I don’t recommend.

However, my future works will be published through my own company, probably starting with “Zorn.”

And now to the point, to the point! I will also be able to offer publishing services to other authors. But…. I will not be getting into the area of trying to handle publication for more authors than I can cope with, which in my experience is a major reason for many of the self-publishing companies doing a messy job. I short, if I’m too busy I’ll turn a request down, because this is something that I do for the love of it, not (yet) as a profession. I’m an engineer by profession, by the way.

In the meantime, if you’re seriously attempting a publishable work, or approaching publication, by all means ask my advise, and – if it’s in my area of experience – you can have my thoughts on the subject.

Link to my site for Wake of the Raven

My Amazon page for Wake of the Raven

I have a thought, that I’ll share with you, which isn’t to be taken too seriously as I’m just another piece of flesh.

Refraining from action for fear of causing problems is like refraining from pissing in the sea, for fear of raising its level and causing it to overflow the land, or refraining from drinking it for fear of dropping its level, thus overcrowding the fish.

Link to website for my first novel, Wake of the Raven

Amazon page for Wake of the Raven

I’ve always been a little puzzled by the idea of grouping works of fiction according to “genre.” Genre classification is a very rough and ready system, and certainly not an exact science. It should be simple: surely science fiction is fiction about science, and a western is about cowboys, etc. This might have worked well at one time, but not today.

In reality I doubt that it ever worked well, because unless the characters in a novel are completely one -dimensional (which would place severe limitations on how good a novel it can be) they themselves are of multiple genre.

Lets try some old-school versus new-school examples. In the early years of the twentieth century, Zane Grey wrote westerns. His square-jawed heroes didn’t copulate with each other. In Annie Proulx’s short story, Brokeback Mountain, her equally rugged heroes do. Which genre? Western, or gay, or both?

Arthur C Clarke’s first novel was published in 1951, and followed the usual pattern of sci-fi from those days: much detail on the science, but with few other dimensions and cardboard characters. This remained his style until his recent death, and was definite old-school sci-fi. But also first publishing in the early fifties, Philip K Dick moved from this approach into considering questions of religion and personal identity. Which genre? Sci-fi or mysticism?

I was a bit surprised when – following my query in my last post but one - all my commentators though that Zorn qualified for a sci-fi classification.

Since then I’ve considered the description “psychological drama,” and was again surprised to discover that it doesn’t exist as a category on Amazon, although the term is often used as a description.

So I asked you guys in my last post, and thanks for the feedback. All were useful, but I’ll select a brief reply form from disillusionisreal as sparking my perceptions the most.

disillusionisreal - “The reader is the one who experiences the PD. The writer makes this possible.”

Which made me try a little defining, as follows -

I think I agree with that. Fiction is usually used as a means of studying the doings of human beings, rather than the doings of robots form the planet Pelvrek, and that’s because we are human beings, and as such are endlessly fascinated by our own kind, whether it be to seriously learn more of our own natures, or to merely be entertained.

All human beings experience psychological processes, and these probably influence us more than any external cause. So any novel that examines a situation intensely must dive deeply into the thought processes of the characters. But if we are only looking for a little light entertainment, more shallow descriptions based on external action are what we desire – as in the escapism of a James Bond novel – and too much examination of a character’s thought processes impedes the fun of the action.

So in summation I’d say that all fiction about people is based on describing the doings of psychology-controlled creatures, but the author may not necessarily seek to cause the readers enjoyment by plumbing very deep into that psychology, but may instead take him for a pleasant, unchallenging swim in the shallows of action. If the author does try for depth, it is indeed he who “makes this possible.”

websit for my first novel, Wake of the Raven

My Amazon description page for Wake of the Raven

I was really surprised by the answers to my last blog, which seem unanimous in agreeing that “science fiction” is a classification that can now be applied to any novel dealing with future worlds, even if there isn’t any strong reference to future technology in the story. Thanks for all your help.

Now let’s try another one. If a fiction novel was described as a “psychological drama,” what would you expect the novel’s characteristics to be?

As that’s perhaps a rather vague question, I’ll elaborate by throwing a few sub-questions out, which you can add to if you want, or just react to what this classification means to you.

Would you expect to see an emphasis on the thoughts of the characters rather than their actions, or would you expect to see their actions accompanied by close examination of their thoughts?

Would you expect the characters to be people who live in their heads a lot, or people who are not particularly thinkers, but are forced into psychologically difficult situations by external forces?

I think I won’t add any more suggestions, but instead see what comes.

Link to my first published novel, a psychological drama set in 1951 in the South China Sea

Someone raised a question recently about science fiction, and I’d like a few opinions, as I can’t decide if Zorn should be classified as science fiction or not.

If a novel is set in a future society – as Zorn is – and tries to predict how people might behave in that society, and how things may be radically different, does that make the novel science fiction?

That society may never come into being, so it’s speculative, and perhaps the answer should be yes.

Or do we need to see clanking robots and space flights before we can classify a novel as science fiction?  Some people hate that kind of story, and in fact Zorn doesn’t have any.

By the way, I completed Zorn last November, all but a bit of final editing, but I’ve become tied up with some serious and extremely nerdy writing on corporate corruption, so its publication is on hold for a while.

www.wakeoftheraven.com

http://www.amazon.com/Wake-Raven-Graham-Worthington/dp/193424807X/sr=8-1/qid=1170299933/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4790616-8172131?ie=UTF8&s=books

Although I’ve finished Zorn,  – a novel of about two hundred pages set in 2035 – I’m not entirely happy with it, and that’s one of the reasons I’ve delayed publication.

Another reason is that I’ve long had another writing project in mind, and certain events have made me decide to start NOW, with no further delay, even though I’m busier than a one-armed man hanging wall paper.

So Zorn is on hold for a month or two, and won’t for a while be joining my first novel, Wake of the Raven, on the shelves of all fine bookstores. And if your local bookstore doesn’t carry it, then tell them they suck.

Wake of the Raven is an intense psychological drama set in1951, and Zorn is a more light hearted look at a bunch of people on vacation in how the world may be in 2035. Obviously I’ve had to use different styles for two, but for The Dream That Rotted I’m trying something entirely different in an entirely different style:

I’m doing an expose on the workings of a corrupt corporation, set in today’s world.

This will take me several months to complete, but here’s a very brief extract below. As it’s fact, not fiction, the style is plainer, but hopefully that won’t stop me making it interesting as well as throwing light on some of the devious practices of big business.   

The winter of 2008 has been severe here in Toronto. The snow has fallen at record levels, and some days I’ve been out there shoveling two, three times a day, till I built a great mound over six feet tall between my driveway and the driveway next door.

Finally it became so high that each high-thrown shovel’s load could take this Everest peak no higher, but simple ran back down the cold white steepness and onto the driveway. This retaught me an old lesson, and so I straightened up and yelled out to a neighbour. “You can only pile this crap so high before it runs back down again.” And a moment later I added, “just like (X) Corporation.”

Sorry, you don’t get to know who it is just yet. Patience my friends. Patience is a virtue, or so the saying goes.

www.wakeoftheraven.com

http://www.amazon.com/Wake-Raven-Graham-Worthington/dp/193424807X/sr=8-1/qid=1170299933/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4790616-8172131?ie=UTF8&s=books

Is the new facility to change our site names on Xanga a good thing or a bad thing?

Considering that we’re not always completely certain that most people on Xanga are who they say they are, and when we’re certain, then we may in fact be totally mislead.

If we all start changing our names, will it it not lead to us becoming confused as to who we’re confused about?

Not that I give twopenny damn really. I mean, you think I care? Do I look like a man who cares? This isn’t /theologianscafe you know guys, and I aren’t Dan. You think my socks match? Do I look like a man whose socks match?

www.wakeoftheraven.com

http://www.amazon.com/Wake-Raven-Graham-Worthington/dp/193424807X/sr=8-1/qid=1170299933/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/102-4790616-8172131?ie=UTF8&s=books

Prem Rawat – ‘By Design’

My message is not entwined in a philosophy. It does not come from a book. It is not a concept or an idea. It is based on one thing: you are alive. And because you are alive, there is a possibility that you can be content. You can have a joy in your life that is unaffected by anything, a joy that is independent of everything.

For some people, betterment means having a better job, being more successful or more productive. For some, betterment means having a better family, a bigger house or bigger car. But think about it: who are we? We are here on this planet Earth for a limited time. We think we will live forever, but that is just an illusion.

The reality is that one day you weren’t. Then you were born. Today, you exist. And one day, you will have to go. It’s a universal rule. Nobody is exempt. It applies to everyone, whether you are poor or rich, educated or not. It doesn’t matter.

Do you know who you are? Somebody calls your name and you say, “Yes, that’s me.” But have you understood that within you there is magic unfolding, and this magic is the reality of your existence? 

Before you were born, everybody wondered, “Boy or girl?” But when you actually came into this world, everybody’s focus was only one: breathing or not? And when you leave this world, everybody will watch for that last thing: breathing or not?

So, what is the big deal about breath? The big deal is: Without it, you are nothing. And with it, you are everything. With it, you can be an uncle, a father or a mother, a son or a daughter; you can be successful or a failure. You can laugh or cry. And without it, you are dust.

As long as there is breath, you’re not dust. With breath, you can say, “Come in! Welcome! Good morning!” Without it? People will say, “Take it away.”

The big deal is: Here is the most incredible blessing, and we don’t pay attention to it. We pay attention to what we consider a blessing: “Give me a child, give me a job, give me this, give me that.” But you are more blessed than you realize. And the day you begin to count your blessings, you will be amazed. That is when you will understand what it really means to be thankful. When the heart is truly full and you begin to understand, confusion vanishes and  clarity comes. You begin to see the simplicity of existence. It’s not about success and failure, but being grateful for this life.

Some people say, “My purpose in life. . .” Not your purpose in life. What is the purpose of you having life? What is this?

This body, due to breath, moves and dances and feels. All day long you’re feeling, feeling, feeling. You feel cold, hot, soft, rough. You are a feeling machine. And everyhuman being longs to feel joy. Since we were little, we wanted to feel that, even before we had a name for it.

The human heart is filled with a joy that you can feel whenever you want to, wherever you are—a joy that you can never have enough of. Do you know that you cannot tolerate sadness very well? You’re not made for it. When you are sad, you want to leave it as soon as possible. Joy—no problem. You would think that would give you a little clue as to what you are about. The clue is: there is no limit to joy, and we are extremely allergic to pain and suffering.

Have you found the source of endless joy? It is not far from you—by design. If you have a longing for joy, it would be pointless to have the source of that joy inaccessible to you. So, in the clever design of this life, the source of joy goes with you wherever you go.

Enjoyment in this life is a possibility. There are no restrictions. Find that infinite source of joy within you.

Prem Rawat

http://www.voiceofmaharaji.info/