Category: Literary Matters

Whole Lotta Writing Going On

John Winkelman

Pre-Thanksgiving snowstorm

Brief update this week, on account of I have a very full plate.

No new book arrived this week, so here is a photo of the bird feeder outside my dining room window, before half again that much snow was added to the pile. It’s been a wacky couple of days here, weather-wise.

In reading news, I just finished Jim C. Hines’ Terminal Peace, and it is really good! A fine conclusion to a fun trilogy.

In writing news, I am fast approaching 50,000 words in my NaNoWriMo 2022 story Cacophonous. I expect to “win” before Thanksgiving, and possibly finish the draft by the beginning of December. And writing at this pace is turning my brain to mush.

Post-Election Exhaustion

John Winkelman

New books for the week of November 6, 2022

With the midterm elections mostly in the rearview mirror, barring a couple of races which were so close that they are going into runoff, or are still being counted, the world is returning to whatever passes for a state of normalcy. Donald Trump, along with all of his supporters, was once again proven to be a pathetic loser, and most of the neo-Nazi bootlicks who rode, or attempted to ride, his coattails into political office were rightfully kicked to the curb. There were the usual tears and accusations of rigged elections from the emasculated wingnut manbabies of the GOP/QANON/OANN/KKK/Fox News bloc (which is many different names for the same undifferentiated mass of jackboot fetishists), and there will inevitably be a backlash of new bills introduced which will attempt to limit voting rights to only conservative white Christian men who own property. Such are the goals of conservative white Christians in America.

Anyway. Enough about politics.

Only one new book arrived this week – Death in the Mouth the most of the recent spate of Kickstarter rewards. Friends, this book is gorgeous!

In reading news, I finished K.S. Villoso’s The Wolf of Oren-Yaro. It was great! When I am ready to start buying books again, I will pick up the sequel which, based on the excerpt published at the end of Wolf, should be excellent.

I just started Terminal Peace, the final volume of Jim C. Hines’ Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse trilogy. So far, it is every bit as good as the previous books in the series.

And on a whim, during breakfast this morning, I cracked open Duncan Hannah’s 20th Century Boy, which I can already see I will need to put down until after November, else I will be so consumed reading it that I will not have any time to write.

In writing news, I am at something over 25,000 words in my NaNoWriMo story Cacophonous. Things are going very well so far and I expect to hit 50,000 well before the end of the month.

NaNoWriMo is Serious Business

John Winkelman

Praying Mantis at Blandford Nature Center, taken October 21, 2022

For the tenth year in a row, I am attempting NaNoWriMo. So far things are going very well, in that I am several thousand words ahead of schedule, and the story I am writing is still interesting to me, which is very important when writing. If my work is boring to me it will probably be boring to everyone else.

No new reading material arrived in the past week, which is fine, as I still have over half a thousand unread books and journals to work through, and that takes time. Lots and lots of time. Therefore, please enjoy this photo of a gravid female praying mantis which I discovered on a walk around Blandford Nature Center on the afternoon of Friday, October 21.

Currently I am reading The Wolf of Oren-Yaro by K.S. Villoso. It’s really good! I should be finished in a couple of days, and then maybe on through a few more issues of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, or something.

In writing news, it is all Nano, all day. Or at least those parts of the day when I am not working or sleeping or hanging with my honey, or teaching or eating or attending to the cats.

IWSG, November 2022: NaNo Or No NaNo?

John Winkelman

At this point NaNoWriMo 2022 has been in full swing for a little over 24 hours. I am a couple of thousand words into my story for the year, and enjoying the process immensely. But that means that I have little time for a long, detailed blog post. That being said…

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group question for November 2022 is:

November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

This is my tenth year participating in NaNoWriMo, and I have loved the experience throughout, even in those years where I didn’t get to 50,000 words. I recommend that everyone try it at least once.

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November Nigh

John Winkelman

New Books for the Week of October 23, 2022

November is nigh. It is not quite here, but it looms, casting the shadow of NaNoWriMo backward in time from a couple of days in the future.

This was another excellent week for new arrivals at the Library of Winkelman Abbey.

The first three are publications from Lakeshore Literary, a new-ish local literary concern which grew, in a sense, out of the demise of Caffeinated Press. Owner Jason Gillikin has done a stellar job in launching this new company, and I was happy to support them by purchasing their anthology Surface Reflections, as well as issues one and two of The Lakeshore Review.

Next up is Cormac McCarthy‘s eagerly-anticipated new book, The Passenger, which I picked up from local wunderkind bookstore Books & Mortar.

Next up is the Fall 2022 edition of Peninsula Poets, from the Poetry Society of Michigan. This is probably the only subscription I will continue into the new year.

And next is a long awaited reward from a Kickstarter run by Neil Clarke at Clarkesworld Magazine: A Summer Beyond Your Reach, a collection of short fiction from Chinese author Xia Jia. This project has suffered some significant slings and arrows, including COVID, difficulties coordinating between persons in the USA and China, one of the principles of the project suffering some serious health problems, and ongoing supply chain disruptions. It was originally scheduled to be published in November of 2019, and given the events of the past few years it is a small miracle that the book made it to print at all. But it is here now, and it is absolutely beautiful, and everyone involved should be proud of the accomplishment.

In reading news, I took a break from periodicals to dive into some of the recent book acquisitions, including Marissa Lingen‘s collection of short stories Monstrous Bonds, and the new collection of Jim Harrison’s nonfiction, The Search for the Genuine. Now I’m back at the magazines again, with the recent issue of Poetry in front of me, and possibly one more issue of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet before the end of the month, which happens at, er, midnight tomorrow.

In writing news, I am about as ready as possible for NaNoWriMo, and counting the hours until November 1.

I had an interesting writer experience a couple of days ago. I was eating lunch at work and reading the new issue of  Poetry, when I read a line in Troy Osaki‘s poem “Despedida for the Last Despedida,” and a short story suddenly appeared in my head, set in the world I assembled for the previous two NaNoWriMo stories, fully plotted and partially written. Being at work, I didn’t have time to do more than write down a couple of evocative lines in my journal which will, hopefully, serve to keep the story in my memory long enough to put together a first draft.

This experience is a good reminder that while we should “read well”, as Karen Lord advised her audience at ConFusion 2015, we should also read broadly, as inspiration can come from anywhere, and ideas can be triggered by anything.

Time to Myself

John Winkelman

New books for the week of October 16, 2022

My partner was out of town for a few days, so I had the house to myself. Well, not entirely to myself. Better to say that Poe and Pepper had the house to themselves, with me furtively creeping around, making sure they stayed fed and feted, so they wouldn’t stage a coup. Not that much would change if they did so successfully.

October continues to be a stellar month for additions to the library, with several new titles arriving in the past week.

First up, fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, is Chokepoint Capitalism by Rebecca Giblin and Cory Doctorow.

Next is the latest issue of Poetry, probably my second-to-last as my subscription winds down.

Next is Legacy of Bronze by T.L. Greylock and Bryce O’Connor. This is the sequel to Shadows of Ivory, which I picked up at the beginning of the year and read about a month ago.

Next is one I have been awaiting for a very long time. The Herbalist’s Primer, published by Exalted Funeral, was part of a Kickstarter which I backed in September of last year. Thanks to *gestures at everything* printing was delayed many times, but the Kickstarter rewards finally arrived, and the book is beautiful!

In reading news, I am quite enjoying my journey through the pages of my stack of back issues of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet. Such good writing in here!

In writing news, I am still plotting out the story I will write for NaNoWriMo which starts in a little over a week (!).

Still Kinda Cold Out

John Winkelman

New books for the week of October 9, 2022

Rumor has it that this winter will be long and cold, thanks to a weaker El Nino system out west. It isn’t apparent at the moment, as this whole week, the middle of October, was in the sixties and seventies during the day, with one night warm enough to sleep with the bedroom window open a crack. Still, even in the sunniest of afternoons, standing in the shadows reminds me that the days are indeed shorter than the nights.

Several new books arrived at the house in the past week.

First up is Planet On3, recently released by superb artist (and my good friend!) Ryan Lee.  He has been working on it for some time, and the character designs go back to doodles he has been working on for many years, so I am overjoyed to see this book in print.

Next is Look Again: A Memoir, by Elizabeth A. Trembley. I met Trembley years ago at at the informal open studio hosted by poet Jack Ridl. When Caffeinated Press was still around, I published some of her artwork in The 3288 Review. I knew she was drawing comics, but we fell out of touch and I didn’t know she was working on a book until Jack announced that Look Again had just been released.

Next is the new issue of Salvage which will join the small stack of unread issues which I will get to probably sometime in the spring of 2023.

Next, fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, is That Which Cannot Be Undone: An Ohio Horror Anthology, which arrived just in time for the Halloween season.

In reading news, at long last I have reached the end of my stack of The Paris Review. As I mentioned last week, reading so much literature in a compressed time-span can lead to some interesting coincidences. The most recent instance was with issue #239, which contained an excerpt from the journals of Annie Ernaux, who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

I had never before read Ernaux, and indeed was barely aware of her existence before the Nobel, so to read these journal entries (which were exquisite, by the way, and exquisitely translated from the French by Alison L. Strayer) so recently after having heard of her Nobel win, felt kind of like the universe was telling me something; like I was, to crib from John Constantine, riding the synchronicity highway.

Relatedly, Ernaux’s journal excerpts, which I believe were pulled from her book Getting Lost, reminded me of Emmanuelle Pagano‘s beautiful Trysting, which I read several years ago.

Now that I am done with The Paris Review (barring a possible last issue which might appear at the end of the year), I have moved on to my small stack of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, a small magazine of genre fiction published by Small Beer Press. So far, a couple of issues in, the stories and poems are delightful! I might even renew my subscription to LCRW after I clean out my back-log of other unread periodicals.

In writing news, NaNoWriMo looms on the horizon, and I have yet to complete, or even seriously start, my preliminary notes. The next two weeks will pass quickly.

 

Kinda Cold Out

John Winkelman

Pepper and the books which arrived in the week of October 1, 2022

Woke up one morning, and there was frost on the porch roof and the windshields of nearby cars. That hasn’t happened in a while.

This was an excellent week for the acquisition of books, and Pepper would like to share with you this list.

First up, from my soon-to-end subscription to Two Lines Press, is João Gilberto Noll‘s Hugs and Cuddles, which looks like it will be a great read.

Next is Marissa Lingen‘s chapbook of short stories, Monstrous Bonds. I met Marissa at ConFusion back in 2015, and have enjoyed her fiction, poetry and book reviews for several years.

Next is Duncan Hannah‘s memoir 20th Century Boy. As I wrote back in August, I had not heard of Hannah until reading excerpts from this book in The Paris Review, and when I searched for more info discovered that he had died this past June. How’s that for timing?

Next is Jim C. Hines‘ newest entry in the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series, Terminal Peace. I see Jim every year at ConFusion, so I hope to run into him again and, with a little luck, get this book signed.

Last but not least, and fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, is Michael J. Sullivan‘s Fairlane, the sequel to Nolyn and the second book of the Rise and Fall series.

In reading news, I have two more issues of The Paris Review left on my stack, and should be finished with them in short order.

In writing news, I have completed nothing cohesive, but am making good progress on the worldbuilding for my NaNoWriMo project. So even if I don’t write 50,000 words in November, I will have a good base to finish the book, no matter how long it takes.

IWSG, October 2022: The Best Characteristics of a Genre

John Winkelman

Grand Rapids skyline from the 10th floor of the county court building

September 2022 was one of the busiest months I can remember of the past several years. Weddings, work, Zyra’s business, and late summer chores, errands and spontaneous events have left little time for writing. Fortunately, most of the business and busy-ness is behind me now, so I can get back to planning my November project.

It’s the first Wednesday of October, which means that it’s time for the new Insecure Writer’s Support Group post. This month’s IWSG question is:

What do you consider the best characteristics of your favorite genre?

This is an interesting question, as it forces me, for the sake of this article, to choose a favorite genre. And that is…complicated. Looking at my bookshelf, I have roughly equal numbers of fantasy, science fiction, poetry and literary fiction. In each category I have my favorite authors, and my favorite books, which were not necessarily written by my favorite authors.

The books I find most compelling are those which sit in between more established genres, which are sometimes labeled as “magic realism,” or “slipstream,” or “the New Weird.” If the sense is closer to science fiction these are sometimes labeled as “cyberpunk.”

So I guess my favorite genre is whatever you call it when everything seems like it should be the current world, but things are just a little…off. Or maybe a lot off, but the off-ness starts out small. “This, only more-so.” Reducto not quite all the way to absurdum. For instance, William Gibson‘s Pattern Recognition,  Michelle Tea‘s Black Wave, Rita Indiana‘s Tentacle, or The Milagro Beanfield War by John Nichols. A case could also be made for Neal Stephenson‘s Baroque Trilogy. My current favorite of these fictions is Kim Stanley Robinson‘s The Ministry for the Future, which at this point feels more like precognition than speculation.

What I like about this very loosely-defined genre is that it allows us to explore riffs on the real world without changing the fundamental nature of the world. It’s less “What if magic existed?” and more of “What if Aunt Maggie could do magic?” What if cryptocurrency was treated like a currency instead of like a commodity? What if laws were ACTUALLY enforced equally across all regions, races, classes and genders? What if California seceded? What if all of Christianity were reduced down to the Golden Rule? What if someone developed a gene therapy which reduced the amount of sleep necessary down to one hour in 24?

This approach to storytelling can also accommodate changes in scope or scale. For instance, what if the War of the Roses, instead of being transposed to Westeros, took place in an apartment building in Dayton, Ohio? Or what if a couple of spoiled, entitled toddlers were fighting over who got the best toys, except it was expanded to a global scope and titled “All conflicts in the world where monied interests profit off of the misery of the downtrodden?”

(See? The stories we tell about ourselves CAN influence the world around us!)

Stories which explore the ramifications and outcomes of these subtle tweaks to the existing reality can be important cultural touchstones, and useful for driving the collective imagination.

How about you-all? What are the best facets of your favorite genre?

Insecure Writer's Support Group BadgeThe Insecure Writer’s Support Group
is a community dedicated to encouraging
and supporting insecure writers
in all phases of their careers.

Hello October Again

John Winkelman

New reading material for the week of September 25, 2022

Well that September just flew by, didn’t it? It wasn’t a bad month, just busy and barely any time to sit and relax. All I can say is that it was a hell of a lot better than September 2021.

Three new books and journals have been added to the library in the past week.

First up is the October 2022 issue of Poetry, which arrived on Wednesday and I read on Thursday, because I had a chunk of quiet time.

Next is Cathy Park Hong‘s Minor Feelings, which I added to my list after coming across some of her poetry online. Upon returning home from Books and Mortar, we discovered that my partner Zyra had picked up a copy some months ago and it was sitting on a shelf in plain sight. At least now, as the joke goes, I can read it more than once.

On the right is The Search for the Genuine, the new collection of Jim Harrison‘s nonfiction writing. I doubt there is much in here that I have not already read at some point, but Harrison’s nonfiction is just a pleasurable a read as his fiction and poetry so this is a welcome addition to the collection.

In reading news, in addition to the above I am on the first issue of 2021 of The Paris Review, which means I have only half a dozen remaining in my stack. I might get one more issue. As stated before, I am going to focus on this journal until I am caught up to present, then move on to the next stack of back issues of something.

One of the consequences of reading so many short stories by such a wide variety of writers is that, inevitably, I discover people who have recently died. This happened back in July with Duncan Hannah, whose book Twentieth-Century Boy was excerpted in The Paris Review in 2017. Hannah died this past June, aged 69, which no longer seems very old to me.

This past Friday I cracked open issue #236 (Spring 2021) of The Paris Review. The first item therein is the brilliant short story “Maly, Maly, Maly” by Anthony Veasna So. So died in December 2020 at the age of 28, just before his first book Afterparties: Stories was released.

In writing news, I am planning out my NaNoWriMo project, so while I am taking a lot of notes, I am not writing anything at the moment with a coherent narrative. This will be the first time I have planned out a project in advance, beyond the most basic outline of the order of events. At the moment, I feel optimistic that I will actually finish the first draft before the end of the year.