The last panel I attended dealt with a quite sensitive topic; the diversity in fiction. Diversity can have different meanings; we can have an ethnic diversity, or it may be physical, or it may be a sexual orientation. Whichever it is, we don’t have to underestimate its importance and value in literature and fiction.
RJ Barker (King of Assassin) chaired the event at the Creator Stage of the ComicCon London. Along with Barker, the authors Micah Yongo (Lost Gods), Marieke Nijkamp (Before I Let Go), Temi Oh (Do You Dream of Terra-Two), Tasha Suri (Empire of Sand), and Jeannette NG (Under the Pendulum Sun) expressed their opinions and told their experience on diversity during their careers. “I’m super-weird,” Nijkamp kicked off, “I’ve always been a super-weird person.” Temi Oh focused her diversity on her origin. Although she grew up in the UK, her origins are Nigerian as well as Micah Yongo. Tasha Suri instead has a South Asian cultural background. “British,” Jeanette NG said, causing the audience to chuckle delightedly. “My diversity is to be British.” Jeanette NG grew up in Hong Kong, then moved to the United Kingdom with her parents, where she started her career as an author. Barker’s characteristic was to be eccentric, he said. “Very eccentric,” he then confirmed, before asking the writers the following question. “I haven’t ever seen myself in other people,” Nijkamp said. “I did see me in a character I’ve recently been writing about.” “I used to watch a historical TV series, when I was in Hong Kong, about a woman who had been educated in the Western society and got back to her country after decades,” Jeanette said. “She was an outsider. That woman was the person I identified with.” Micah Yongo has never seen himself in somebody else, but he saw himself doing things or being in certain places instead of the actual people. “I don’t feel the necessity to write about the group I belong to,” the author went on explaining, “but I did find numerous aspects of my culture which I felt the need to explore and deepen.” “When I was in the United States on a tour for my book, I met a group of disabled kids,” Nijkamp told the audience. “In that moment, I realised that I had to write about people with disabilities.” “I think that we also have to use our cultural background to improve certain characteristics,” Suri said. “I like to create different characters, and my multi-ethnicity helped me in their making.” The conversion then switched to which writer the authors would like to be. Yongo went for David Foster Wallace. He would like to see him nowadays and know which his opinion would be. Suri instead remained in the world of fantasy. “I would like to bring a dragon in the British Empire society,” she claimed. “A dragon sort everything out” The diversity could enrich the authors, but sometimes the media represented it in irritating or stereotyped ways. “I don’t like the continuous sexual desire black women appear to communicate,” Oh said. “I really like when an author gets out of his comfort zone,” Yongo said. “That’s the moment in which a writer can personify somebody different from him and absorb an opposite point of view.” “I don’t like to when somebody calls me ‘mistress’,” Jeanette NG claimed, making the people frowning. “It’s easy to understand why, if you want one of them, you have to pay for!” The audience and the fellow authors couldn’t help of closing the event with a heartily and booming laugh.
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Everybody comes to wonder how authors got published, how they found an agent or publisher, how long it took to create their work, and what their daily life looked. Attending panel does improve your knowledge of the industry and provide infinite advice – it also gives the opportunity to do a little bit of networking.
Ed Cox mediated this interesting conversation with established and recently published authors. The sitting area of the Creator Stage at the ComicCon London slowly filled with attendees. An excited buzz sounded in the air; people had been waiting for the occasion to hear their favourite authors’ professional experience. Marieke Nijkamp (Before I let go), Stephen Aryan (Magefall), Lucy Hounsom (The World Maker trilogy), Tim Pratt (The Wrong Star), and Jeannette NG (Under the Pendulum Sun) sat on the red-white-blue sofa, smiling and curiously observing the crowded audience before them. “I’m not a full-time writer yet,” Nijkamp started off the conversation. “I’m planning to start living off writing soon, but now I’m still dedicating my day off to writing.” I was quite surprised to hear that the authors on the stage had part-time jobs. Lucy Hounsom worked for a bookshop – she told us that sometimes her colleagues called her on the floor to meet the customers who bought her novels, leaving the purchasers stunned and incredulous. Tim Pratt instead was an editor and he, too, used to write on his day off. “Finding time for writing is not easy,” Aryan said, “even if I work part-time.” Jeanette NG had strange and unusual habits before starting to write every day. The first was immerge her head in cold water and keep it for a few minutes – “It helps you to think clearly and liberate your mind,” she claimed – the second was the use of scented candles. “I love candles. I couldn’t write without them,” the author said. “Their scent inspires me.” Cox immediately got to the core of the meeting; how hard a writer has to work for creating their novel. “It’s very difficult to quantify the time I spent on my novel,” Hounsom said. “I can only say that it took a long time.” “Reading is the main part of the job,” Nijkamp said. “You have to read a lot of books without overlooking any genres. You also have to change your way of reading, by starting to look at them as a writer and not a reader.” “I’m not able to make up without reading,” Jeanette NG said. “Books are endless sources of inspiration.” Aryan felt that having an author’s point of view helped him to decide as to which kind of story he was able to create. “A big issue is not writing anything. It’s frustrating and stressing,” Nijkamp said. “Our mental health is very important. If I’m not happy and relaxed, I can’t write well.” Hounsom and Aryan had a similar solution to their difficult moments; they just handed the manuscripts to someone they could trust to read. “I different angle is always helpful to sort your doubts out,” Hounsom concluded. The authors admitted that motivation was essential to fulfil their desire, and it was the main factor which pushed them to make and, subsequently, submit their work. “Pomodoro technique,” Jeanette NG said, leaving her colleagues and the audience baffled. “Pomodoro technique is what keeps me motivated. I usually write for twenty-five minutes, then I take a small break. After that, I resumed writing for twenty-five minutes again. It works and keeps me focused on what I’m doing.” Reading and writing are two different faces of the same coin. Lucy Hounsom’s metaphor explained the importance of reading for a writer. The more you read, the more you improve your style, for example. Your vocabulary increases and gets better and better. By reading other books, you may also get inspiration and ideas – which obviously doesn’t mean that you have to steal from them.
The Centre Stage stood in the central part of the North exhibition area of the ComiCon London, squeezed among colourful stalls packed with merchandising and t-shirts. Despite the surrounding noise of people wandering around, a sort of soothing silence prevailed within the dim conference room. I reached the front rows – anytime I attend an event, I can help to have the best view of the panellists – and chose my seat. Beneath the dominating MCM ComicCon logo, the conversation almost immediately kicked off; Jared, the moderator, stepped on the stage, followed by the participants Daniel Polansky (A City Dreaming), Laini Taylor (Daughter of Smoke & Bone series), Steven Erikson (Rejoice), Nicholas Eames (Bloody Rose), and Vic James (A Gilded Case). They made themselves comfortable on the upholstered chairs, their hands thoughtlessly toying with the microphones. “I was highly inspired by ‘The Lord of the Rings’,” Eames started off, replying the initial question. “The detailed descriptions of the landscape and countryside completely enchanted me.” Daniel Polansky switched in his chair – I expected a reaction, instead, he just chuckled. “There are endless books which inspired me,” Jones said, “but I would say that ‘2001: Space Odyssey’ entirely impressed me.” The panellists were sci-fi and fantasy authors, and they all read numerous novels of these genres. The reasons as to why these books stroke them were varied. “Even if the books impress me, I tend to read them once only,” Erikson said. “The second reading may change the perception of the story and, consequently, change your opinion.” Taylor has never been a fantasy reader during the college, but she then rediscovered the genre and fully plunged into it. “Re-reading doesn’t provide the same emotions,” Polansky claimed. “Although you can deepen some aspects of the story, the second time won’t ever equalise that feeling.” “I don’t re-read either,” Eames said, “but I started picking up books that I wouldn’t ever choose when I was younger. I discovered numerous titles that I had unforgivably missed.” The writers agreed that reading as a reader was a completely different thing from reading as an author. “Harry Potter brought me back to fantasy,” Taylor said with a chuckle. “I got inspired and started working on my ideas.” “I read books of all genres and kinds,” James said. “The best one I had sparked my writing ability.” Erikson confirmed to have been – and still be – a voracious reader of any book falling into his hands, but he also thought that writing fantasy was harder than writing fiction. “When you write fantasy, you have to create a world and characters with endless details,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of reference books to check when you decided to create a story about elves, dwarves, and humans.” “Fantasy has deeply influenced me since I was in the High School,” Eames claimed. “I chose to start writing something that impressed and influenced readers as much as those books had affected me.” It was time to focus on contemporary authors. So far, the writers had spoken of books written in the past and authors who literally created a genre. “Doris Lessing with her ‘The fit child’ astonished me,” Polansky said. “It was amazing and, at the same time, terrifying.” “Becky Chambers is the most amazing author I read of,” Erikson said. “I could add dozens, but her books are very good.” “Tade Thompson is involving and stunning,” James said. “The classics of sci-fi anyway still delight me. They are perfect. They have everything a good book can have.” She then added: “As a reader, I sometimes get bored of fantasy, that’s why I prefer to vary my reading with other genres, especially historical essays. They also help my research.” Contrarily, Taylor claimed that she had never ever got bored of fantasy. It was in her heart and mind. “The number of books published every year is so huge,” she said, “that I can’t help to contribute to this genre.” The last bit of the conversation involved a few suggestions from the authors. Steven Erikson gave a more practical and professional tip to they who wanted to become authors. “You always have to finish what you started as you’re still inspired,” he explained. “In the moment you give up or begin to care less about that project, the inspiration flies away, and getting it back is very difficult.” ComicCon London quite often is able to deal with interesting writing matters in an easy-going and funny way. Ed Cox (The Relic Guild trilogy) moderated the panel, six authors divided into two “teams.” On one side, Lucy Hounsom (The World Maker trilogy), Tomi Oh (Do you dream of Terra – Two), and Stark Holborn (Nunslinger). The opponents were Chris Wooding (The Ember Blade), Gavin Smith (The Bastards Legion), and Daniel Polansky (A City Dreaming).
The hostilities – obviously figurative, there was no real enmity – started with the question on which author created the best world possible in the past. “Terry Pratchett,” without thinking twice replied Holborn. “He’s always been my favourite.” Tomi Oh went for George Martin; the author said Martin had undoubtedly elevated the level of fantasy. “Tolkien was the best in every sense,” Lucy Hounsom said without flinching. “He created a world, inhabitants populating it, and languages. He was the master of the genre.” The choice of the famous and successful British fantasy author kicked off a funny and unexpected argument between David Polansky and Stark Holborn – afterwards, the authors all backed Tolkien’s defence. Polansky claimed that Tolkien was undoubtedly an amazing writer, but he had a sort of childish resolution for his masterpiece – the Hobbits simply got back to the Shire after the incredible journey and battles they witnessed as nothing had ever happened. “There’s a moral behind their behaviour,” Holborn explained. “The battle against the Evil finished and they got back to their pure and quiet life.” The explanation was not enough to end the critique at the master Tolkien, but Cox cut them short asking as to how their favourite writers influenced them. “What I learnt from my reading is that you have to be a little bit twisted mind,” Wooding said. “I like to make the things unclear and smelly.” “Don’t waste time in creating a world populated by elves and dwarves,” Hounsom suggested. “Tolkien has already done it, and he did it in an amazing way.” Tomi Oh focused more on the realism of the writing; Martin created a world in which you would never know who wins. “It’s not only the unpredictability of the winner to appeal you,” the writer said. “The morality is incredibly distorted.” Magic is the main element of a fantasy story. The authors had similar points of view about it. “I don’t like when the magic is predictable,” Gavin Smith said. “It doesn’t have to be a gift to the main character.” “I agree,” Wooding confirmed. “I think magic has to be mysterious, and it must have a cost for the person who obtains and uses it.” “Martin’s magic has a cost, indeed,” Oh added, “and I liked this detail. Magic usually comes after a ritual or a sacrifice which cost something to the character.”. The meeting came to an end – after the last bantering between Polanski and Holborn about Tolkien – and the authors dealt with the creation of their worlds. “I’m not a planner,” Hounsom said. “I, of course, have a general idea, but I write bit by bit and slowly create what I imagined.” “I wish I could do that,” Wooding replied. “Contrarily, I’m quite a planner. I do have to have in mind the world which I want my characters to be in.” When the authors stood up, Cox quickly called them back. The winner hadn’t been nominated. The writer asked the audience to raise their hand in favour of the team they thought had performed better. Tolkien was a too big giant to oppose to, and the victory clearly went to they who defended him from the beginning. October has finally come. You can think I like October because it brings autumn. Or you can, maybe, think that I like cold weather more than the sweltering and hot summer. Although these are sensible explanations, they do not get close to the truth at all.
This month, of course, brings a colder weather – neither can I say I like it because Christmas is getting nearer and nearer. What I’m really interested in is the bi-annual event MCM ComicCon London 2018 - the convention of comics, video games, books, films and TV series, and tons and tons of merchandising – hosted at the London Excel from twenty-sixth to twenty-eighth of this month. It may sound unusual this event intrigues a person who’s interested in writing. I personally am able to reckon four good reasons as to why a writer should take in consideration this event. Firstly, if you want to be a writer – or you write on your personal blog – reading is fundamental. It doesn’t matter what you read, either comics or books. Just read. Being updated on the new releases and following what is going on around is a matter of curiosity. Curiosity, after all, is the origin and root of every human activity, included writing. The convention allows you to explore aspects of writing that you’ve never known and find an unexpected point of view which you have never heard about. Secondly, bear in mind that it isn’t only about comics, games, and shows. Books occupy a big part of the appointment. The event usually hosts panels and signing in which you can get helpful advice and stunning novels. Along with the books, the third reason comes over to you. Authors. Panels and books presentations introduce you published and new writers. You can easily have a chat with them and directly hear their experiences in the publishing industry. It’s also an opportunity for socialising and networking. Last but not least, as I mentioned, the event has a wide range of panels. Numerous of them deal with writing – you can attend technical meetings which focus on either how to write a short story or create the perfect characters for your work – others with more practical matters, such as how to approach an agent or a publisher or be more creative. The convention, therefore, becomes an important occasion to get in touch with authors and listen to their useful help. I’m going to the convention knowing that it won’t be a waste of time. It actually will be an amazing opportunity to learn. This time I wanted to attend as much as I could, so I decided to buy the ticket for the entire weekend. It will be an intense and satisfying experience. The following posts will report on the panels and events I’m going to attend. If you want to know what will happen in these days, you only have to wait patiently for my articles. See you soon. Take care and don’t miss the next posts. Creating real and believable characters is the main purpose authors always bear in their minds. It takes endless research to find the perfect combination of talents and flaws their creations must have.
Sanne Vliegenthart, known for her YouTube channel Booksandquils, chaired an interesting conversation with the authors E.Lockhart (Genuine Fraud), Emily Barr (The Truth and Lies of Ella Black), and S.K.Wright (It Ends With You) about the creation of female characters, the making of their “dark side”, and the evolution of the YA fiction towards crime and thriller genre at Waterstones Piccadilly. The frosted glass doors slowly swung open with a soft, almost imperceptible screech. A smiling, short, blonde girl appeared in front of the queue of people, and, after a quick double-check of the attendees’ names, welcomed us in the conference hall. The carpeted floor muffled the thumps of steps, but it couldn’t do anything to prevent the increasing and excited buzz of voices. I was early – fifteen minutes before kicking off - as often it happens, and I quietly reached the front row and took a seat. Rapidly, the chairs around me got occupied. Curious glances peered about the room, waiting for the authors to come out. As the side, grey push-door got open, the writers strode in, led by the chairwoman Sanne Vliegenthart. They made themselves comfortable in the leather chairs on the wooden stage; they looked at the crowded room, getting ready to answer the questions and talk about their works. After a short introduction of the authors, Vliegenthart began the conversation. “I think that ‘Making a murderer’ – the successful series on Netflix – incentivised my interest in crime and thriller,” Wright said, replying the first question. “The detective, who definitely is not a genius, shocked, but, at the same time, intrigued me. The story was a pure example of justice miscarriage.” “My interest in crime and mystery started when I was a ten-year-girl,” Barr said. “I read Agatha Christie and I fell in love with her works. Netflix’s series obviously have subsequently increased my curiosity and knowledge.” Lockhart was a huge fan of Agatha Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. In the US, crime fiction and thriller were enjoying a moment of increasing popularity. However, what made her curious as to how a criminal mind thought and worked was another kind of show. “Since I started listening to ‘Serial’ – a famous podcast series about the murder of a teenage girl – I’ve begun to think about the thin and unexpected connection between adolescents and crime. I realised there was a strong emotional relationship.” The authors had a common characteristic, besides writing YA fiction; they created strong, and cleverly troubled female characters. “I presume the series ‘Twin Peaks’ convinced me to create a female main character,” Wright said, smiling broadly. “The protagonist was a normal girl, but she also had a dark, very dark, hidden side.” The TV series wasn’t the only inspirational factor. Wright carried out a research on the Victorian Age, realising that women were not free to do what they wanted. They were relegated to the domestic role, and, thus, they developed a kind of double personality. “Victorian women could read, write, or get informed about politics stealthily,” Wright concluded, “but, in public, they have to behave in a proper traditional way.” “I wanted to let the dark side go,” Barr said. “My purpose was to describe what happened when the hidden and wicked side of a person prevailed.” Creating villain and dark characters was exciting and fun, Barr admitted. “I really enjoyed them. You have to think differently and sometimes you have to think as they would.” “People were and still are my inspiration,” Lockhart replied. “I don’t need either a place or being in a certain mood to write. They who surround me are my source of inspiration.” The conversation then dealt with the creation of suspense and how to keep readers’ attention up. The authors used different techniques. “I usually create a few of characters who can be the possible culprit to confuse the reader,” Wright said. “Another device I use is to create contradicting characters. The more they contradict each other, the more you can unravel the mystery bit by bit.” “My book starts at chapter eighteen,” Lockhart claimed, causing the audience to chuckle heartily. “The structure of my novel goes backwards, starting from the end and slowly providing the solutions to the readers. It took a while making it. Initially, I plotted the entire story, then I started to structure the different scenes as I wanted.” The end of the conversation unfortunately and too quickly came over to us, but there was time for the last question. Which could the authors’ favourite female characters ever be? “Ms Marvel,” Lockhart replied, surprising the audience. “I think Ms Marvel is the greatest idea come out in the recent years. She’s a superhero, she’s the first Muslim superhero. It’s incredible and stunning how the creator made and developed her.” An evening with authors: The Man Booker Prize 2018 winner Anna Burns in conversation with Tom Gatti20/10/2018 The judges unanimously announced “Milkman”, a novel set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles and written by Anna Burns, as the winner of The Man Booker Prize 2018 on 16th of October.
Foyles (Charing Cross) hosted the author’s first public appearance after the important award. Tom Gatti, Culture Editor from The New Statesman, moderated the conversation as to how Anna Burns got the inspiration for her novel and what motivated her to write. People quietly queued out of the Foyles auditorium on the sixth floor of the massive building in Charing Cross, waiting for the doors to get open. A member of the staff glanced at the watch and nodded at his colleague; he then began to check the tickets and let the attendees in. As usual, I looked for a seat on the front, the second row precisely, next to the central aisle and directly opposite the stage, arranged for the guests. When a tall, bearded man stepped on the platform, it was clear that the event was about to start. After a short introduction, Tom Gatti announced Anna Burns; a small woman hesitantly walked towards the journalist, smiling, shyly looking around, and eyes shining. “It’s not easy to explain how a story comes to an author,” Burns replied Gatti’s first question, “I’ve always had these three sisters, the main characters of my book, in my mind. They used to pop out unexpectedly and make me laugh.” Burns explained that the story had been in her mind for months, she didn’t plan anything. She used to write bits and pieces, then put her writings together. “I don’t write constantly,” she carried on explaining. “When I write, I write what crosses my mind, then, finally, I put the pieces together and see if they work.” Anna Burns was borne and grew up in Belfast during the Troubles, a historical moment that strongly influenced her life and writing career. She moved to London at the end of the Eighties. “The Troubles have always shaped my scenarios,” Burns said. “In this book, I just wanted something different. I wanted to write something in a domestic environment. I wanted to describe the life of a family.” Gatti and the audience nodded and smiled in unison. The author’s energy was involving and entertaining. The decision to write about the Troubles was conscious and instinctive. “When I finished the book, a lot of political and social things hadn’t yet happened,” Burns said. “When I realised that the reality was matching what I had written, I felt terrified and shocked.” The novel is about a young girl who is pursued by a man much older than her – the author finished the book in 2014, and the sexual scandals which shook the political world and film industry hadn’t been brought to light. “Independent thinking is a dangerous thing,” Burns went on. “My characters have to be careful as to what they do.” Anna Burns claimed she often thought to leave Northern Ireland. She didn’t like what was happening around her. “I read my first book about Ireland when I moved to London. I felt completely awful. The reality I used to live in started coming back to me.” Gatti swiftly brought the attention to when Anna Burns began to write. “I started writing in my early Thirties,” Burns replied. “It wasn’t easy, and I had fifty-seven or fifty-nine rejections before being able to find somebody interested in publishing my stories. It took a while.” An interesting dispute went on the social networks and media as to how to consider Anna Burns: a Northern Irish writer, Irish, British, or an author from the UK. “National feeling is quite strong in Northern Ireland,” the author said. “During my career, only a person has defined me as a British author. People identify me as Irish. In the beginning, it was difficult for me to define my nationality, but, nowadays, I don’t care anymore.” As the conversation slowly came to its end, Gatti couldn’t help to bring up Brexit and asked the author what consequences it could have in Northern Ireland. “I think that the consequences will be awful,” the author sadly admitted. “It will be totally disastrous.” |
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