The Writing Workshop

Words I Thought I Knew: Populism

Welcome to a new running topic at the Writing Workshop: words that I thought I knew but eventually realized I had completely wrong. We've all had this strange phenomena of language, right? Where you're just using a word, thinking you're using it right, and then somebody is like, "Dude, I don't think that word means that." And you're, like, totally crushed.

So it's kind of like a word of the day sort of thing.

Populism is a political term implying the common man. In general, it adheres to the thought of the general public being played against the so-called elite, with the elite having all the power and the adherents of populism trying to restore power to the average person.

In this regard, the word has shades of both communism and socialism, which often cast themselves as being for the average worker. Communism and socialism are both apt for government structure and economic terms, respectively, while populism defines a type of rhetoric or discourse.

The challenge in this word comes from both its connection to communism and socialism and another deviation in its own family word group: the much more common popular.

The first issue is that communism and socialism have both developed negative connotations here in America, despite the fact that, based on its definition, populism would be what most politicians claim they aspire to do - giving American back to the common man. That's the American Dream, is it not? (I smell a book idea. Anyone good at politics?)

The second issue is that the related word popular has developed a myriad of secondary meanings, the most common of which is the high school vernacular of popularity. The so-called popular clique at any high school is stereotypically the jocks and their cheerleader girlfriends. This is in direct opposition to the meaning of populism - the popular kids are the elite.

In other words, being popular is the opposite of being populist. English is fun, huh?

JK Rowling to Publish a Mystery Novel for Adults, World Faints in Anticipation

JK Rowling, the world's first billionaire author and beloved creator of the world-wide phenomenon Harry Potter, has just signed her first new book deal.

Rowling has signed with new publisher Little, Brown (her previous American publisher was Scholastic, which does not do adult books) and will be edited by David Shelley, currently Little, Brown's publisher. The move is a bit surprising, since publishers don't normally edit. (They're too busy with the bigger picture stuff.) But hell, this is JK Rowling. Why not?

The choice of Shelley, being well-known for a career editing bestselling adult mysteries, basically also gives us the type of novel Rowling will be writing, a complete breakaway from what made her the world's most well-known author. (Well, maybe next to Stephen King. That one is up in the air.)

And I say, Good for her!

Authors, thanks to the branding nature of book producing these days, are often type-cast into a certain type of book. But authors often write more than one type of book (one of the reasons why authors use pseudonyms if writing in a different book genre than normal). If Rowling can break this mold, especially if she does so successfully (both on a financial scale and on a critical scale), perhaps publishers will realize that pigeon-holing their talent is never a good idea.

I mean, look at what happened when somebody let Heath Ledger play the Joker. Nobody thought it would work and he turned in one of the most amazing performances I have ever seen. Similar thing there in my mind.

Also, CNN ponders another interesting financial sidenote: the publishing industry needs to produce more "event" books or books that can drive customers into bookstores. This idea intrigues me, as we all know that Borders is now dead and that independent and niche bookstores across the country are closing every month. If more books appear that simply create interest in the wider world, as in the mainstream media, then perhaps people would pay more attention to books in general.

Part of the thing there is that people forget that books aren't like other forms of entertainment like TV shows or movies, wherein they come and go rather quickly. Books often sit for months in a bookstore before being bought and sometimes, a title suddenly become very popular, months after its first appearance. This happens with much frequency than in other forms of entertainments - movies rarely return to theatres and TV shows are cancelled. As such, while event books sounds like a nice idea to drive bookstore foot traffic (the pillar of any in-store retail money-making, really), I'm not sure it could ever work.

The mainstream media pays more attention to Rowling for the fact she's basically a celebrity than the fact she writes books. And Harry Potter became a social buzzword after the movies started coming out. Getting the media to pay attention to the written word is like asking for them to pay attention to new academic studies that aren't "neat" or "buzz-worthy" but are still insanely smart: it just ain't gonna happen. Sad but true.

Also, just announced this morning (more mainstream coverage for Rowling): the Harry Potter series will be released in ebook format for school and library use, from an collaboration between Rowling's Pottermore and Overdrive. The Harry Potter series was originally supposed to only be available digitally from the Pottermore website.

Writing Prompt: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring

I've been reading Alex Ross's "The Rest is Noise" about the music of the twentieth century. So far my favorite part has been the history of the riot that happened when Igor Stravinsky's Rite of Spring was performed for the first time.

Now, granted, we would be horrified by people's behaviors at performances of classical concerts back then. The people would boo and cheer, just like we do at a popular music concert now. And sometimes, I almost wish we could go back there. It sounds like fun to scream at the top of your lungs for something like Beethoven's "Ode to Joy".

Write a story while listening to The Rite of Spring.

This piece, consisting of four movements, lasts a half hour so you have lots of material to work with. You don't necessarily need to actively listen to the music, but studies have shown that music affects us without our being aware of it. This is why there are things like elevator music - it helps us feel better and keeps us calm.

The Rite of Spring won't be keeping you calm, though. Here's a recording from Youtube below. Just click play and start writing. And if you wanted to know, that's a bassoon in the opening bars.

Good Grammar: Why English is Such a Great Language

From Grammarly

Publishing News Snapshots: Inherited Comic Collection Worth Millions, Nebula Awards Announced, and RL Stine Publishes a New Story via Twitter

Here's some publishing news mini-bites for you!

RL Stine is the beloved children's horror author, most recognized for his Goosebumps series. (I fondly remember reading The Haunted Mask in elementary school and promptly having nightmares when I fell asleep during library free reading.) He has just published a brand new story, line-by-line, through his Twitter account. The story has been collected by io9 and can be read at the link. I think it's great that established authors are getting into new technologies. And good for Stine for having fun with his work. Sometimes authors forget that we do this because we love it.

Speaking of loving it, the 2011 Nebula Award nominees were announced this week. The Nebula Awards are considered one of the top prizes for fantasy and science fiction writing. The awards offer prizes in terms of length: novel, novella, novelette, and short story. (Frankly, the word "novelette" sounds so made-up it's not even funny.) There is also a prize for screenwriting, which pits children's movie Hugo against both Captain America: The First Avenger and a Neil Gaiman-written episode of Doctor Who. Love it!

And finally, we have the story of one Michael Rorrer, whose great aunt promised him his great uncle's comic book collection when she died. Little did Rorrer (or his aunt, I'm assuming) know that the collection was worth nearly 2 million dollars, thanks to some very rare golden age issues. Most important to the collection's value are those first appearances of DC icons Batman (Detective Comics #27) and Superman (Action Comics #1). Interestingly, it is believed that the value of these issues would be much lower if so many golden age comic books weren't destroyed when anti-comic book fever hit America in the 50's, thanks to pumped up Congressional hearings (think of the similar hearings about bad music in the 80's). You can read about them in David Hadju's wonderful The Ten-Cent Plague.

Writing Prompt: Same Character, 3 Settings

In this prompt, the goal is to show how the same person can act completely different in different settings. You can take this several ways: it could either an alternate world where different choices resulted in different outcomes or it could be the same character at different times in their lives. Or it could be the same person reincarnated throughout history. The goal is to have the character be recognizable but different enough to be interesting.

Choose one character. Place that character in three settings, each as different as possible.

Remember that setting is both time and place. This means that the settings can represent something like the Medieval era, now, and the year 3000. Or it could be physical locations: this is your character in Atlanta, Madrid, and Beijing. Or, even simpler, it could be your character at a bar, in a kitchen, and in a neighbor's backyard.

To make this prompt worthwhile, remember that the differences in the character will be giving hints for theme, as well the choices of setting. Choosing your settings will determine what the story means in the end, because they are one of the main building blocks of storytelling. In my opinion, setting is one of the most overlooked aspects of modern storytelling.

Writing Craft: Write 1 Page a Day

I'll confess: I have a hard time maintaining a writing schedule or any sort of schedule for that matter.

Part of the problem is that I don't have a normal, routine-based schedule (like anyone does, yes, but mine is even worse). I teach both online and traditional college courses, meaning that I do have certain times of the week where I have to physically teach in a classroom but not very often. Most of the day is spent doing my work at home, by myself.

I can't afford a nice office to work in, separate from my apartment, because I live in New York City and that shit's expensive. There's a small office at one of my schools I can work at, but I share that space with multiple other adjuncts, who come and go as they please.

In this new year, though, I have developed a new plan: write one page a day.

Half the time, writer's block comes from simply not writing. I know that sounds counterintuitive, but it's true. It's not usually a lack of wanting to write that stops people from writing, but the fear that whatever we may write is not good enough. Or, often, it could be that you feel like you don't have enough time that day.

My problem is that I have too much time. I always think, "Oh, I'll grade this, then write that blog post, and then finish that chapter." And 2 out of the 3 get done. Or I mean to start writing, but I only have a half-hour and that just doesn't feel like enough time. So I don't do it.

I've decided I don't care anymore - I'm just gonna write a page a day. Every day. No matter what.

And you know what's happened? I nearly always write more than 1 page. Even if I only have that half-hour, I end up writing 2 or 3 pages.

And, to make things even better, since I'm thinking about writing that one page every day, my writing is always in the back of my mind, meaning that new ideas are more likely to appear during dinner or while grading (and I always have my Post-It pad ready for notes). It's like I'm working on my writing all day, every day, instead of in large chuncks of time when I get the chance.

Do you have a writing schedule? If not, just try it out for a few months and see how much you get done. Keep a tally to see if you're writing more than you were before. I know I am.

Publishing News Snapshots: Tim Tebow Reads Seuss, Amanda Knox Signs with HarperCollins, and More

So I'm experimenting with new formats for publishing news, since I'm no longer updating this blog every day (if you noticed, I try to update at least once a day - either here or at the PFS Book Club). So here's the inaugural Publishing News Snapshots.

• DC Comics has begun a charitable collaboration with nonprofits Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, and MercyCorps called We Can Be Heroes to help feed the starving children in the Horn of Africa. Ads have been placed in their comic books with an advertising campaign featuring the Justice League (that includes the icons Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman). You can donate to the cause at their website. Here's a video for more info.

• Amanda Knox, the American college student that was falsely charged with the murder of her British roommate while studying abroad in Italy, has gotten her payday: a nearly 4 million dollar deal with American publisher HarperCollins. Knox was freed on appeal late last year, after the majority of the evidence used to prosecute her was found to be less than perfect by an independent tribunal. She was originally tried in the Italian press, who painted her as an American harlot. Knox has been relatively quiet since returning home, so I'm actually a bit surprised here. But hell, who'd turn down an easy 4 million?
• Speaking of recent events, I'm surprised there hasn't been any announcements of a new Whitney Houston biography yet. You know every single major publisher has already lined one up - I just checked the Amazon Top 100 list, though, and there's not a single Houston book. I just find that to be amazing. When Michael Jackson died, his books were everywhere. Maybe there simply isn't a Houston book out there yet. Anybody hear anything?
• Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who skyrocketed to fame this year by winning games (but with slightly awful stats), extolling his Christian virtues, and producing the internet meme of Tebowing (kneeling to pray in public). He has parterned with Pizza Hut's Book It!'s America's Biggest Storytime campaign, complete with new resources for teachers and parents. Love him or hate him, I'm glad Tebow is using his new found celebrity for a good cause: getting kids to read. Here's Tebow reading Dr. Seuss' Green Eggs and Ham: