Quzzle Me This, Facebook

In the TV Series Babylon 5, two of the most important questions asked were “Who are you?” and “What do you want?”by the Vorlons and the Shadows respectively. These two philosophies contrasted the difference between a life focused on the search for personal identity and a life consumed with fulfilling personal desires. (Like the ultimate chocolate chip cookie recipie!) The conflict between the two was one of the linchpins that held the whole series together. In fact, if you delve deeply into the series, you can find hints of more subtle psychological debates such as how we view ourselves through our friends, our family, and our society through the lens of these two questions...but I digress. Sort of.

This is not a post about Babylon 5. This is a post about the evils of Facebook personality quizzes.

Whoa, there, Nelly! Did Cannon just throw down the gauntlet and threaten the popular pastime of using favorite colors, imaginary TV characters, mystical auras, and sandwich combos to define a person’s character, station in life, choice of friends, and worthiness in society? And she’s implying that’s BAD? (I think I just made my point, but I digress again. Sort of.)

Okay, so before I really make someone mad, let me put in a disclaimer. I’m not a Ruth Graham, slamming anyone who doesn’t read “literature.” (Hold your nose up and add a little nasal wheeze into it when you say that word, just to emphasize the correct snobbish pronunciation.) If you want to take a Zimbio.com quiz on which Celebrity Bling Ring you deserve, that’s your right and your choice. Do so for fun. But read on. I digress. Sort of.

Facebook quizzes abound. Do you want to know “What is your Calling?” Bitecharge.com claims its 10 questions can tell you the answer. (By the way, I’m supposed to be a Saint according to this quiz. HA!) On Survley.com you can discover your “Mental Age” (Mine is 23, RIDICULOUS!). You can figure out “What Disney Movie Hero/Heroine You Are” on BuzzFeed.com (I got Anna from Frozen. Meh. Maybe.) And on and on we could go.

However...why do people take these quizzes? Why are they so popular? And are they good for you? Let’s do a little research and critical thinking here.

According to the February 24, 2014 New York Post article by the Associated Press, “Why Online Quizzes are Taking Over Your Facebook Feed,” these quizzes, like horoscopes and fortune cookies, are written so that the answers displayed are broad enough statements to apply to many people, but are couched in wording that sounds personal. They are an easy and fun time killer that don’t aggravate (many) people, and a fun way to share information about yourself with your friends.

On January 29, 2014, Slate posted a similar article by Emma Roller, “Which Type if Internet User Are You?” This article argues that as humans, we want to categorize our world, and Facebook quizzes cater to that desire. These quizzes simplify and define what is “you” so it is easier to understand and convey “you” to others.

In an article on the Huffington Post January 5, 2014, written by Laura Schocker, “This is Why Those Online Personality Quizzes Are So Irresistible,” she points out that online personality quizzes try to add to the narrative psychology of “you”, a sort of “create your own biography” in public. The quizzes offer a type of “self-awareness” of where one stands in the universe for the taker, for the friends of the taker, and allows all the parties to see where they fit in the universe together.

This is where I step in and help guide you along the reality check Yellow Brick Road.

1. When we make “broad statements” and “categorizations” about people, that’s called stereotyping. Stereotyping leads to drawing conclusions and profiling. Racism. Hatred. Pointless violence. Seriously, folks, I know I’m taking this a little more seriously than what the creators of these quizzes intended, but think about it: at its core, without critical thinking, human behavior almost always leads somewhere dark. And when you’re taking these quizzes, you aren’t critically thinking.

2.  Stereotyping yourself is just as bad as stereotyping others. When you start categorizing yourself into little boxes, you limit your capabilities. You start acting the way you’ve been told you’re supposed to act. (Seriously. Think about the last quiz you took and how you started acting afterward. Did you try to more “embody” the characteristics of that result? Hmm?) And furthermore, what does sharing the results of these quizzes with others do? Does it allow others insight into your “inner” self? Or does it merely show people the artificial little boxes you’ve stuffed yourself into?

3. Being “self-aware” has been a buzz-word for some time. Everyone wants to “know” him or herself. These quizzes can give you the illusion of “knowing” who you are, where you’re going, where you fit in the universe, where your friends fit in the universe, etc. This false sense of self-awareness can be heady. Yeah! I’m a Saint. Yeah! I’m Captain Picard. Yeah! I’m a diamond! But what validity do those quizzes have? Why do we need 10 random questions to tell us what to do with our lives or tell us we’re still young at heart? And why are we relying on outside validations to tell us we’re worth something?

The bottom line, in my humblest of opinions, is that these quizzes should be for entertainment and time-wasting purposes only. (And, yes, time-wasting does have its appropriate place in life!)

But I think we should keep in mind that every moment we spend on them, just like the moments we spend looking at Photoshopped models, we skew our view of the reality of the world. I’m one of the world’s worst about looking at pictures of myself and saying, “Who’s that fat chick?” even after losing a great deal of weight, even though according to my doctor, even though according to my health club stats, even though according to my husband, I’m healthy, fit, and good looking.

“Who are you?” and “What do you want?” are serious questions that we spend our entire lives seeking the answering. They can’t be solved with picking colors or elements, TV show characters or dog breeds. You have to dig within yourself and live--really LIVE--to find the real answers. So get off the computer and find your answers for yourself!

Critical thinking. Revise how you see the world, folks.

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Next main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: 

Revising Vs. Editing Deathmatch

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book 

Caught Between Two Curses 

http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website. 

Currrently: How Writing is Like a Marathon

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!

Announcements and Day Post Change

Lots of info, little time, let's get started.

1. Writers in the Southeast Missouri Area, please consider coming to the All Write NOW! summer conference in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Details can be found at the All Write NOW! Facebook page and also on Donna Essner's blog (the conference chair). We'll have several indie presses taking pitches. (Yes! Your novel could be picked up at this conference!) We'll have sessions on craft and technology. We'll even have door prizes and one lucky winner will automatically win a contract with High Hill Press. It's a bargain for $50 I tell you! July 19th, 2014, folks. Mark your calendars and register soon because we can't take registrations at the door!

2. I won't be posting my normally scheduled blog posts on Wednesdays from this point forward. After doing some research, it seems posting Saturdays will not only provide me with a bigger audience, but an audience more willing to share posts. So...you'll have to wait for my next article until then.

3. For those interested I've FINALLY finished the first draft of my YA Near Future Urban Fantasy Shadow of Redemption. (roar of the crowd in my head!) I'm going to do a quick revision of the first 50,000 words, send them to my editor, and hope she doesn't send my check back. THAT would be embarrassing!

So, ladies and gents, until Saturday, revise on!

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Next main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: 

Quizzle Me This: Defining You in Five Questions. Really?

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book 

Caught Between Two Curses 

http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html

and Why is Revising so hard?

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website. 

Currrently: How Writing is Like a Marathon

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!

Card-Carrying Member of Adverbs Anonymous

Hello. My name is Janet L. Cannon and I’m an addict. Yes, I wholeheartedly admit I’m thoroughly and completely addicted to those lovely and lively adverbs. Those beautifully artful words that modify verbs to more carefully describe what’s excitingly happening in my novel.

Umm. Yeah. Seriously. Seriously? Yeah.

Adverb addiction has been an issue with speculative fiction writers since time immemorial, so I don’t feel TOO bad (badly?) about inheriting the disease from all the books I read as a child. It was the pulp culture of the time. But now it’s not.

But why? Why discriminate against a single, beautiful part of speech when there are other, more terrible offenses to complain about like misplaced modifiers and the difference among “their,” “they’re,” and “there”?

1. Well, for one thing, a single candy bar is a treat. An entire bag of mixed minis can make you sicker than a pig on a rollercoaster. Adverbs, used sparingly and correctly, can make your work sparkle. But too much bling can blind the reader and make your piece unreadable.

Consider the following:

She spun around, her hair flowing freely like a waterfall down her back.

Okay, so is there any OTHER way to spin other than “around”? Do waterfalls flow “freely” or in more of a downward motion (i.e. gravity works). You could remove BOTH adverbs and this sentence would work just as well, and in fact, work BETTER.

2. Second, overusing adverbs (and adjectives, too), shows you are a weak writer. Yep. I said it. Flowery words are a subconscious way to try to hide the fact that your nouns and verbs--the foundation of your work--aren’t strong enough to support your piece.

How about this:

He talked softly.

She walked quickly.

Why not say, “He whispered,” and “She ran”? Use stronger nouns, ladies and gentlemen! Don’t hide behind adverbs to try to make your point!

3. Another horrible truth: often, adverbs either a. don’t tell you anything you didn’t know anyway or b. don’t describe what you mean. This means they are sometimes USELESS. POINTLESS.

For example:

She looked grimly at the murderer. (What does grimly look like?)

Anxiously pacing, the boy waited for his mother. (Umm, if he’s pacing, he’s anxious.)

Before you get your panties in a wad, don’t think I’m proclaiming a ban on all adverbs. That would be like telling women they could never eat chocolate again. Or football fans that buffalo wings can only be eaten during the off season.

Use them sparingly. Use them correctly.

With great power comes great responsibility. And sometimes that responsibility is to comfort the grammar nazis in your life. Do you know how to do it?

You say, “Their, they’re, there!”

End sermon.

If you'd like to read a more detailed version about adverbaholicism, try this article:

http://io9.com/5437610/seriously-whats-so-bad-about-adverbs

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Next week’s main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: 

Quizzle Me This: Defining You in Five Questions. Really?

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book 

Caught Between Two Curses 

http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html

and Why is Revising so hard?

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website. 

Currrently: How Writing is Like a Marathon

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!

Book Review - Gravity Box and Other Spaces by: Mark Tiedemann

I have found in my short history of writing reviews, it seems to me that one person’s absolute favorite plate of finely-crafted sushi can be another person’s stomach-turning, “I can’t believe you’d eat raw fish!” dish. Most of liking something is subjective. However, even within this area of subjectivity--both in food and in writing--there are certain standards that most critics can hold up as markers of quality.

Mark Tiedmann’s Gravity Box and Other Spaces published by Walrus Publishing, Inc., definitely contains the marks of quality from beginning to end. The dishes he serves are varied, nicely spiced, and will satisfy a variety of fantastical palates.

In some pieces--for example “By Other Names,” “Private Words,” and “The King’s Arrows”--like a quality chef, he blends in only a hint of mystical twists and lets the reader fill in the gaps. In others the magic or technology takes on a bolder flavor such as in “Preservation,” “The Disinterred,” and “Gravity Box.”

Additionally, Tiedmann’s clever descriptions helps create unique characters for each story. In “The Playground Door” he describes the son Jonathan as having “...a precocious mask of seriousness.” A passage from “Along the Grain” describes the two antagonists when they first appear, running, “...with the gangly abandon of kids in summertime, arms flailing, faces stretched in manic grins.”

As with most speculative fiction, his themes run along the lines of finding one’s true self, the exploration of the human condition against the foil of shiny technology, and the joys and sorrows of relationships in a variety of forms. Yes, for those of you who want to know, this does include passages of adult content both sexual and violent, but they are related to the story, not just thrown in for shock value.

For all my literary friends, the specific genres of his stories include folktales/mythologies, erotic fantasy, magical realism, new age fantasy, supernatural/paranormal, traditional fantasy, sci/fi, and near future sci/fi. IMHO. Mark may disagree. Do you? I’d love to hear from you. ;-)

AND as a side note, I’m highly jealous that Mark has attended one of the Clarion workshops, (the Holy Grail of Sci/Fi and Fantasy writer workshops). One day, my friends. One day….

So, in conclusion, if you’d like an interesting mix of bold tastes, subtle fragrances, and stories that make you wonder, make Gravity Box part of your speculative fiction reading list this summer. And maybe try some sushi.

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Next week’s main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: 

Hello. I'm Janet Cannon and I'm An Adverbaholic.

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book 

Caught Between Two Curses 

http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html

and Why is Revising so hard?

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website. 

Currrently: How Writing is Like a Marathon

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!

Cool Steampunk Article!

I receive a daily email from a website called Daily Writing Tips. It gives me all sorts of cool information, and lo and behold a couple of days after my discussion on speculative fiction genres, this comes out. Yeee ha!
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/steampunk/

Don't forget to check out Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold mid-week to see my review of Mark Tiedman's Gravity Box published by Walrus Publishing, Inc.

Typecast: The Difference Between Subgenres of Speculative Fiction and Why You Should Care

When I was a wee little bit, my sisters handed me these astounding constructions of paper and glue with printed words on them. My sisters insisted, "Read these," and I did. These magical items transported me to worlds I'd never visited, introduced me to people and creatures I'd never met, and taught me to think in ways I'd never thunk before. And then I'd sit...and think some more.

I didn't care that I was reading a fantasy or a hard or soft sci/fi novel. It didn't matter to me if it was a fairy tale, a folk tale, or a myth. I simply enjoyed reading them.

So why in the world do I care what genre I read and why would I want *you* the reader to care what genre you read?

Hold on to that question as we're interrupted by this brief and informative commercial break:

According to the 1999 edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction written by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, "speculative fiction" has become an umbrella term covering works from science fiction to fantasy and everything remotely related. Critics don't like the term, but critics like to pigeon-hole books into specific genres whereas writers sometimes prefer the freedom that the term "speculative fiction" gives them (pp. 1144-1145).

Back to our regularly scheduled blog, it would seem from the summary of this passage here that if you're not a critic, you wouldn't really care what genre you're reading. I mean, come on! There are so many out there and to try to define them clearly is almost impossible. Just a sampling:

• Fantasy types: epic/high fantasy, urban fantasy, folklore, mythology, heroic, sword and sorcery, paranormal, superhero...
• Sci/fi: hard sci/fi, soft sci/fi, time travel, robot fiction, space opera, recursive, space western...
• Punk series: cyber-, bio-, nano-, steam-...
• Either/or: historical, military, horror, literary, alternate history, Gothic, aliens, zombies, dystopian, apocalyptic...
• Mixed: technofantasy, science fantasy, new weird/slipstream, magic realism...

Yet, I argue there are some very good reasons to know what you're reading and here they are:

1. So you can find other books of that genre and read more of what you like. Reading is good. Reading more is better. Find something you like to read and read MORE MORE MORE!
2. So you can find other books NOT of that genre to find OTHER books that you like. If you're anything like most voracious readers I know, you get bored of the same old same old. Plots, characters, and settings of a particular genre tend (I said *tend*) to fall into a rut and breaking that pattern to find new and interesting books is a great way to find even MORE cool books to read.
3. If you're ever on Jeopardy or participate in a game like QuizUp, you might need to know a thing or two about genres. Trust me, QuizUp asks you things you would NEVER expect to have to know.
4. If you ever want to have an intellectual conversation with someone about books and be understood, you need to make sure you're speaking the same language. Knowing the difference between a space opera and a space western could mean the difference between a job interview or a polite invitation to see your way out the door.
5. For those of you who are as yet unmarried and wish to become so one day, being a literary geek is a turn-on to some folks. Yeah. Seriously!
6. If you ever want to submit a story to a publisher or editor, you'd BETTER know what genre they want and how to write it!
7. AND THE #1 reason: Human nature has the propensity to try to define our world by putting it into categories. We might as well give in and let our inner organizer do what it was designed to do and sort our books into semi-neat little piles. There aren't any racial consequences or gender stereotypes to worry about with classifying books. Just the pleasant realization that you can place Piers Anthony's Xanth series firmly in the humorous fantasy category and Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders books in the science fantasy stack. And what if you'd like a little debate with your friends about where to put William Gibson's Neuromancer?

Ideas? Thoughts? Discussion? Disagreement? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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Next week’s main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: My review of Gravity Box and Other Spaces by Mark Tiedermann. Don't worry. No spoilers! Coming in June to an outlet near you!

http://www.walruspublishing.com/bookstore/gravity-box-spaces/

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book Caught Between Two Curses http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html ,

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website.

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!

Book Review: The Circle by Dave Eggers

Talk to anyone who thinks logically and most will agree, pooling resources is a great way to improve your chances of success in any venture. With research, the more information you gather, the more accurate your final results. With the Internet, the more computers networked, the faster the processing and the more information available. With HDTV, the more pixels, the more detailed the image. You get the picture. (See what I did there? Twice?)

Apply that logic a step further:

• connected systems of digital healthcare records so whichever doctor you go to, they can access your records without having to subject you to a lengthy and expensive copying/faxing/mailing process.
• traffic cameras connected throughout towns to help track car chase criminals.
• tracking devices in pets so if they are lost or stolen, they are easily found.

I personally have no issues with these applications. Do you? Want to take the next step? Come on, you know you want to! Let’s go:

• Sharing ALL medical records of ALL people in a digital cloud eliminating the need for expensive medical trials. Make them public domain so anyone anywhere can have access to them so experts across the globe can run computer trials and solve medical mysteries that individual doctors--even large corporations--can’t. This reduces the power of the big drug companies, reduces the need for dangerous medical trials, and gives us more cures faster!
• Placing cameras in EVERY public location so any illegal activity will be tracked and recorded. People will know they are being watched, so they will act better. This will reduce crime. Crimes that do occur will be recorded from a number of different angles, reducing the need for inaccurate eyewitness accounts. Reduction in crime almost overnight!
• Inserting tracking devices into children so NO child is EVER stolen or lost EVER again. Have it also track the medical stats of the people around them and the injuries incurred in the child so if the child is being abused in the home, the tracker will be able to tell the authorities who and when.

What kind of world do we have NOW my friends? UTOPIA I tell you! Perfection! An idyllic world of sharing information, perfect behaviors, and protected children! Everyone wants medical miracles. Everyone wants a reduction in crime. Everyone wants children to be safe. Are you willing to pay the price to get them? This is what The Circle preaches.

Are the characters in the book mind-blowingly awesome? No, but they are engaging. Is the plot twisty and unpredictable? No, it’s straightforward. I guessed it from the beginning, but I’m a suspicious reader. Is the book well-written? Yes, but I wouldn’t rate it the best book I’ve ever read. However, I do recommend reading the book to open your eyes to what is happen right under our noses.

Are you willing to pay the price for what you want?

You might revise your answer after reading The Circle.

What do YOU think? I’d love to hear from those who’ve read the book.

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Next week’s main course on Revision is a Dish Best Served Cold: Typecast: The Difference Between Subgenres of Speculative Fiction and Why You Should Care

On the menu for the future: an interview with Margot Dill (Editor 911) about her new book Caught Between Two Curses http://www.rockinghorsepublishing.com/caught-between-two-curses.html , a review of Gravity Box and Other Spaces by Mark Tiedemann,

http://www.walruspublishing.com/bookstore/gravity-box-spaces/ and much more.

Also look for my articles on Walrus Publishing’s website.

Like Ghost Stories? I’m published in Rocking Horse Publishing’s Spirits of St. Louis: Missouri Ghost Stories. Check it out!