Memes and blogs

Blogs and memes go hand in hand, spreading virally around the Net faster than zombies make fresh zombies in bad horror movies (or Stormwind, until yesterday). Although my intent with this blog is to be a little more professional than my long-abandoned personal blog, memes are part of the blogosphere. It's a core element of Web 2.0 which, through the Baker's Dozen, inspired me to get back to blogging (maybe).

And besides: I'm a gamer at heart and that means I rise to a challenge. NP of A Coffee-Stained Writer tagged me; I could not fail to respond. It elicited a major SoaBwtf moment, immediately followed by laughter. So here we go.

Here are the rules for the game.

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they've been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Random Factoid #1: I repaired my car using obsidian-blade stone tools. No, I'm not going to explain -- it would be like explaining a magic trick and you'd say "oh, well that."

Random Factoid #2: When I was about 10, I declared I was going to be a Renaissance man and do something of everything. Gender issues aside, my dad lectured me sternly that jack of all trades was master of none. I respect his opinion, then and now, but I've spent most of my life proving him to be mostly wrong, scoring successes, recognition, respect and awards as artist, writer, editor, entrepreneur and ne'er-do-well free-roaming intellectual and basketcase weirdo. If I didn't know something of everything, I couldn't illustrate as well as I do, write as well as I do, or be a decent reference librarian. And I have half a lifetime yet to go, assuming I don't keel over from exhaustion.

Random Factoid #3: I've been known to run with scissors. I have the scar on my knee to prove it.

Random Factoid #4: I haven't had my TV on in well over a year. It's not that I disdain it per se -- I know I'm failing to keep tabs on popular culture that I should pay attention to. I simply find it too passive and unengaging compared to gaming, where I hang with friends and where I am an integral part of the plotline and the outcome.

Random Factoid #5: I've been published in short fiction and non-fiction, and always thought I'd be a writer long before I'd ever be a working artist/illustrator. Yet I made my name as the latter, and only just finished my first novel-length work.

Random Factoid #6: Three Cardigan Welsh Corgis are my family: "the corgi with the tail" (ie not the Queen's dogs).

Since I had a hand creating the Baker's Dozen (the gaming section is mine, d'oh), I'll tag some likely folks who are participating there .... purely in the interest of continuing their Web 2.0 education, of course. Or maybe because they might actually enjoy it.


Lisa of Bunkermentality

Cathy of The 13 Things Blog

Amber of Intellectual Freedom's Last Outpost

Mira of Vegetarian Ninja Librarian

Gina of 1/2 Marathon Training 2009

and Jen, who I have to tag by email since she didn't post her URL.

On the quality of writing

What is the quality of writing?

I'm in the middle of helping to judge a short story writing contest. The focus is science fiction/fantasy, horror, or any variety of that high-imagination genre. All contestants must be previously unpublished.

Because the contest is a collaborative effort between my library system and the local science fiction crowd, it is the librarian-types familiar with the genre who make the first read-through of entries. Top selections go on for final judging to a panel of professional writers in the genre. This year that's Dennis McKiernan, John Vornholt, Will Shetterly, Emma Bull, Robert Vardeman, Yvonne Navarro, and Weston Ochse.

Because I helped put this effort together, I get to see the scores (0-100) and comments made by other library-judges. (I only looked at the comments after I had read and evaluated my assigned stories, each of which is read by three people.)

And it's fascinating.

Many stories have scores that cluster closely -- everyone agrees on how good or bad the story is. Last year and this, some emphatically do not.

Twice now, I've loved a story that someone else hated. Really hated, as in a score of (let's say) 20 or 30 to my 90-100. I've seen it happen with other readers and other stories too. What's going on here? Is quality that slippery, that ephemeral?

Librarians aren't professional editors, for the most part. (I was, for seven years, but that was a lifetime ago.) Neither are the professional writers, for that matter -- and interestingly enough, I saw the same phenomenon happen when the authors' evaluations come back: one author rated last what others rated first, and vice versa. Fortunately, they agreed for the most part, and last year's placement of winners was straightforward.

What writers and librarians are is well-read, generally speaking. If we don't simply disdain the genre, then we've all consumed an enormous quantity of science fictional text over the years. Writers all say they read a bit differently, more critically, once they get into writing professionally, and I know many librarians who write professionally on the side or endeavor to. We have a lot more to work with than the assertion that plagues visual artists -- "well, I know what I like." That scoring system I referred to above has targetted assessment points: dialog, resolution, characterization, etc. along with 10 points to give or withhold for purely personal reasons. It's not just "uh, I like/dislike this story."

So what is one to make of all this? Does someone who rates a story a 20 just not "get it?" Did my rating of 98 arise because the story struck so close to home it resonated beyond all reason? As I said above: is quality really that slippery? I think so.

One thing I take away from this experience is affirmation of the advice to be found in every book on getting published, as well as on the lips of every writer I've ever known: if you believe in your work, keep submitting it around to the professional markets. One editor might not "get it." But for someone else? It may strike close to home and resonate beyond all reason.

Creativity

Encouraging creativity is a Holy Grail of this society and culture. We declare it a high ideal, devoutly to be wished for our children and for ourselves. Or do we? Those who "color outside the lines" get pummelled for not knowing their place, or for breaking boundaries, or stepping on the toes of others. Youngsters are encouraged to engage in artistic pursuits, but dissuaded from attempting to make a living in the field with the bugbear threat of "the starving artist."

The linked article in the title touches on another aspect to our society's response to the creative soul: if it hurts, make the hurting stop, even if something valued and valuable is destroyed in the process. In today's overcommitted, rushed, stressful world, psychoactives are the literal lifeline to millions, not to be dismissed. At what cost? What books, novels, movies, plays, games, and music will never be born? And how much human misery is required to have these things created for the rest of us to enjoy? No easy answers here.

Books and imagination go hand in hand; so do games. Art and illustration open windows to otherwheres only the artist can show. All the creative and cognitive processing skills that the Partnership for 21st Century Skills zeroed in on have their roots in ruminative, thoughtful consideration of the world(s) around us, literal and virtual. In the end, does this add to misery or joy, and for whom? Regardless of what you think the answer is -- it will be a more interesting tomorrow. That much I'm sure of.

Coming back

This post may be the first of a new launch for me. I've participated in blogs and listservs and groups of many kinds for many years, but the possibility of starting one fresh strikes me as a pretty good idea. My life is presently in flux, in many ways, with some intriguing possibilities lying just offshore. It may be that "A Good Idea" is the right thing at the right time, and now is the time.

What would I be writing about here? Writing. Libraries. Games and gaming. Art and illustration. Sounds too unfocused? Not really. Trust me. Come back and check it out as I make time to add new material.

Meantime, consider these two links -- on the future of reading, from the front page of today's New York Times; and this Pew report shattering negative myths about the effects of video games on youth.