Keffy Kehrli and Beth Wodzinski In Conversation

July 20, 2011

The Locus Roundtable was brave kind enough to have Shimmer‘s Editor in Chief Beth Wodzinski and Editor Keffy Kehrli into the studio for another round of their audio interviews.

What’s in store for issues 14, 15, and beyond? What does it take to rise out of the slush pile? Rejectomancy! (Send more? We mean it.) Unicorns! Piers Anthony! “Bullet Oracle Instinct”! Squid!  And what’s up with Keffy’s physics degree anyhow?

 

Reader’s Choice Winner

July 14, 2011

A little while ago, we asked our readers to vote for their favorite story from Issue 13.

And the winner is . . .

Four Household Tales (As Told by the Giant Squid), by Poor Mojo’s Giant Squid.

Once upon a time there did travel two monks: a wise Giant Squid and his student, Abram Lincoln. Long did the two wander throughout the lands, delivering to the common folk such limited enlightenment as might pass through meager human sensory faculties to sear itself into the spongy grey matter stifled in their shallow brain pans.

Click here to cast your optically imperfect gruntchimp eyes upon the tale.

Our sincere congratulations and thanks to the Giant Squid.

Runners Up

The voting was very close. In second place by a mere one vote was All the Lonely People, by E. C. Myers. In third place, only two votes behind the winner, was Bullet Oracle Instinct, by K. M. Ferebee.

Congrats to the top 3, and huge thanks to everyone who voted.

Beth & Elise, talkin’ about Shimmer

July 11, 2011

The kind folks at A Writing Primate asked Beth and Elise a bunch o’questions about Shimmer, writing, and the zombie apocalypse. (Okay, well, two of the three ain’t bad…)

Getting Started: Five Steps to Create a Story

July 6, 2011

Think about your protagonist’s history, her upbringing, her situation, her personality.  It always helps if there’s something unique about her, something that sets her apart.  It’s good, too, to avoid cliches–lately the kick-ass spunky heroine has been dominating the field, to the point where it’s expected–so perhaps you can come up with another way to make your readers connect with your main character.

2.  Decide what your protagonist wants

It’s axiomatic that every character–just like every person–wants something.  Love?  Power?  Escape?  It needs to be something definite, something that will motivate your protagonist to take action.

3.  Begin in media res, in the middle of things

My often-repeated maxim is that “The story starts where the trouble starts.”  Think about the fairy tales you’ve known since childhood.  Cindrella’s story begins not when the invitation to the ball arrives, but when her stepmother says she can’t go.  Snow White’s story begins when the wicked queen (my favorite character) orders the huntsman to take her out into the forest and kill her.  Try a short exposition, to put your readers into the setting, and then put your protagonist in danger.

4.  Give your protagonist challenges

We writers love our characters (see above, my affection for the wicked queen).  We hate hurting them, stressing them, imperiling them, but that’s where the story is.  Story is drama, and drama comes from conflict.  The more challenges your protagonist faces, the more compelling your story will be.

5.  Let your protagonist solve her own problems

When Cinderella’s stepmother locks her in a back room so she can’t have her turn at trying on the glass slipper, she should escape on her own!  Characters should act, not be acted upon–in other words, they should be proactive, not passive.  They will be stronger, more memorable, and your story will be more convincing.

If you haven’t yet, I recommend studying Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, or even better, watch the wonderful program of interviews Bill Moyers did with him.  Notice how the mythical hero, in Campbell’s analysis, tries and fails, tries and fails, and eventually–with help, but with the knowledge and strength he’s gained through his journey–succeeds.  Of course your character can fail, and if you’re writing a tragedy, that’s the right result.  It’s best, however, if even the failure of your protagonist has the effect of changing things, something left behind that matters to the other characters in the story.

Here are some story examples taken from familiar tales which help to illustrate these steps:

Harry Potter: What does Harry want?  (To know what happened to his parents; to get away from his awful aunt and uncle and cousin; to use his magic)   Where does the story start?  (With Harry living in a closet under the stairs, and with a magic owl trying to get him a message) What are his challenges?  (His aunt and uncle, his attempts to survive at Hogwarts, his enemy Voldemort) Does Harry solve his own problems?  (Sometimes.  Hermione does an awful lot of it.)

Superman: Wants to protect “truth, justice, and the American way”.  His story begins with the destruction of his home planet and a very scary spaceship journey.  His challenges are Kryptonite, and protecting the ones he loves, like his parents and Lois Lane.  He solves his own problems all the time.

Lord of the Rings: Frodo wants to get the Ring to Mount Doom.  This is a classic hero’s journey in the style of Joseph Campbell.  The story begins with Bilbo passing the Ring on to Frodo.  Frodo is nearly killed more than once.  After many challenges, and help from his friend, and after the temptation not to part with the Ring almost ruins him, he manages to let it go into the volcano (with poor Smeagol, of course).

I hope this gives you some ideas!  You’re welcome to visit my website for more writing tips: www.louisemarley.com Click on “Music and Writing” and then on “Teaching Tools”.  Feel free to download any of the information you find useful.

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk

July 5, 2011

Shimmery creatures have made an excellent showing in The Mammoth Book of Steampunk (editor, Sean Wallace). Amid the table of contents, we spied two reprints from Shimmer #11: “The Mechanical Aviary of Emperor Jala-ud-din Muhammed Akbar” by Shweta Narayan and “The Clockwork Goat and the Smokestack Magi” by Peter M. Ball.

Offerings from other Shimmery folk include: “Clockwork Chickadee” by Mary Robinette Kowal, “To Follow the Waves” by Amal El-Mohtar, and “Icebreaker” by  E. Catherine Tobler.

Congrats to all! The book arrives in spring 2012.

 

Fausterella and Other Stories

June 30, 2011

Shimmery writer Kate Harrad, who graced us with our first holiday story (“The Winter Tree”) in 2005, has a new short story collection for you to check out. Fausterella and Other Stories collects nine shorts, five of which are new to the volume.

Congrats, Kate!

Issue 13: Reader’s Choice Survey

June 20, 2011

Gentle Readers!

We want to know what you think about Issue 13, so we set up a quick survey. It should take you less than a minute to complete.

Here’s the fun part: whichever story gets the most votes? We’ll work with that story’s author to put the whole story up online so everyone can read it. Help your favorite author get his or her story the readership it deserves!

We’ll also randomly select one responder to get a free copy of the issue of their choice — just give us your email address in the last question so we can get in touch with you if you’re the lucky winner.

Click here to take the survey! Votes accepted until midnight Mountain time, June 30.

 

In Search Of…

April 12, 2011

Shimmer is looking for a new Art Director!

We publish contemporary speculative fiction with a focus on fantasy, and our publishing schedule is currently in flux–our goal is to once again come out quarterly, but the first step will be to publish biannually. Our new Art Director will need to be able to adapt to our not-yet-solid schedule and grow with us as our all-volunteer staff once again picks up steam.

We’re also looking into electronic versions of the magazine (we could come straight to your e-reader!), so any knowledge in this area is a big plus.

If you’re interested in what our current design is, check out Issue 10.

Check out the duties and requirements below–if you feel like you would be a good match for us, email editor-in-chief, Beth.

Art Director Duties:

-Review art submissions and accept or decline them. (Each issue will need a cover piece and several interior pieces.)

-Keep the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor up to date. (One of our goals is to have more visibility into this part of the process.)

-Occasionally put together ads or other marketing materials.

Requirements:

-Working knowledge of InDesign (or other layout software)

-Layout experience

-The ability to adapt to a still-in-flux publishing schedule

Emails should include any applicable experience and links to samples of previous work.

Cheers!

Best Horror of the Year, Vol. 3

March 11, 2011

Big congratulations to Nicky Drayden (“You Had Me at Rarrrgg”) and Josh Storey (“Seek Him I’th’Other Place Yourself”) for their Honorable Mentions on their Shimmer #12 stories!

The Art of Naming Characters

March 9, 2011

So you want to name a character

Naming a character can be a tricky thing. Names can be an easy way to identify a character, or to give your character some characterization without even trying.

Try this little exercise: think about a character named Bill. What does Bill look like?  What color is his hair? What color is his skin? What are his hobbies? What does he do for a living? If you asked five people this question you’d find some overlapping answers. For me, Bill works in insurance in Kansas, plays golf on Saturday mornings, and barbecues with the neighbors after the game on Sunday.

What about the name Horatio? You probably think of someone who doesn’t look like Bill, or like the same thing he likes. How about the name Oksana? Again, a different idea of someone that comes with a certain shared set of features. This is basically how stereotypes work: a belief or idea about a certain type of person based on a simple idea.

To sum this up using the old television show King of the Hill: there’s a reason his name is Hank, and not Lamar.

Going against expectations

Sometimes a character is given a certain name specifically because it plays off a stereotype. In the book Confederacy of Dunces, the absolutely absurd character has an equally absurd name: Ignatius J. Reilly. If I asked you to paint a picture of someone named Ignatius, you probably wouldn’t create a character described by the author as such:

A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once. Full, pursed lips protruded beneath the bushy black moustache and, at their corners, sank into little folds filled with disapproval and potato chip crumbs.

Similarly, a character named Romeo who was not passionately in love would be another example of an author going against a stereotype for a specific effect. I would advise you to use this particular naming method with caution, as it can be obvious and induce a serious case of eye-rolling in the reader.

What rhymes with X’yzlulzq’uzk?

I have seen stories where the alien or the monster has a weird and unpronounceable name. This is good logic: something foreign to humans will probably not be named Mike or Steve, and may possess a name consisting of sounds produced by body parts we may lack. However, the reader of your story is most likely to be a human, so go ahead and make the name easy to pronounce. A reader, when presented with the name X’yzlulzq’uzk will not pause every time to sound it out, and if they do, will be so kicked out of your story they probably won’t finish it.

Don’t try to be cute

Probably the most important rule of naming characters is don’t try to be cute or clever. Naming a character who has been through two major wars, has a prosthetic limb, and a patch of over a missing eye “Lucky” is bumper sticker humor, and will probably make the editor roll her eyes until they fall out and roll under the couch. Obviously if done well, one can break any rule and still find success. I will point to the example of Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game.  Naming your main character Ender, and then having that character go on to (highlight to see spoiler!) nearly kill an entire alien species shouldn’t work. It should make you groan and throw the book at the wall, but instead it’s done so well that it’s perfect.

So, 1) don’t try to be cute, and 2) there are exceptions to every rule.

Make the name part of the character, part of your story

In Kelly Link’s story “Magic for Beginners,” the main character is named Jeremy Mars. A couple times in the story the main character talks (or thinks) about the planet Mars. How could they not? Names define us. Names remind us of those who’ve come before us, and connect us to certain ideas or objects. Of course Jeremy Mars thinks about Mars. His friends probably mention it often. Every new person he introduces himself to must comment on it. This is one way to make your character’s name an important part of your story.

Has your name ever been brought up in a conversation, or mispronounced constantly, or made fun of by other children when you were young? Your character might experience the same thing, depending on their name.

A simple rule for naming your characters

Make your character’s name simple and interesting, but unobtrusive. Probably the best example of this I’ve seen recently is the main character from The Hunger Games.  Katniss Everdeen is a simple name, it’s easy to say, but has a memorable quality to it, because it is uncommon. It is not too cutesy and the author shows how others might make fun of the name (playing off of catnip).

Remember, simple and interesting, but unobtrusive.

Your Turn

What are some of your favorite character names–from your own work or that of others? Tell us in the comments.

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