ecmyers: Don’t go easy on her! 
RT @BryanThomasS 5 min to #sffwrtcht with @alayadj and me (Thu Mar 07 01:58:02 +0000 2013)
BryanThomasS: @ecmyers @alayadj Shall I ask her the Barbara Walters on speed questions? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 01:58:54 +0000 2013)
sffwrtcht: Welcome to Science Fiction Fantasy Writer�s Chat. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 01:59:32 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Our goal is to talk w/ writers, editors, & others abt the craft of writing, specifically related to writing speculative fiction. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 01:59:46 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Our format is round table discussion. Please restrict ?s to writing craft, business of writing & the specific works of the guest. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 01:59:59 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Please wait until your question gets answered to ask another & use the hashtag #sffwrtcht for all questions and comments. (Thu Mar 07 02:00:15 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: We may hold questions at times to allow our guest to answer and catch up. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:00:29 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: Tonight�s guest, @alaydj has a new YA #scifi novel SUMMER PRINCE set in future Brazil that�s an awesome read from Arthur Levine #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:01:11 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Tonight�s guest, @alaydj has a new YA #scifi novel SUMMER PRINCE set in future Brazil that�s an awesome read from Arthur Levine #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:01:12 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: As a child, her father introduced her to Joao Gilberto & Brazilian bossa nova, a music for which this host also has great passion #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:01:41 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: She later travelled there w/ her sister & cousin. A Columbia U. grad w/ a degree in East Asian lang & cultures, she lives in NYC #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:02:19 +0000 2013)
Wyld_Dandelyon: Welcome, @alayadj ! (@BryanThomasS, I think you got her handle wrong) #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:02:41 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: She�s authord the vampire series Zephyr Hollis set in 1920s NYC, The Spirit Binders fantasy series & Twisted Journeys grphc nvls #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:02:49 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Her short fiction has appeared in anthos like Zombies v. Unicorns, Welcome to Bordertown, Year�s Best Sf 11, Yr�s Best Fantasy 6 #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:03:29 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: She�s also had stories in Asimovs and Fantasy magazines. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:04:08 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @Wyld_Dandelyon No it’s right. Double checked #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:04:21 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: She can be found on Facebook or at her website http://t.co/0mkFneNbKi.Welcome to #sffwrtcht @alayadj! (Thu Mar 07 02:04:39 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj First things first, where�d your interest in speculative fiction come from? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:05:17 +0000 2013)Wyld_Dandelyon: @BryanThomasS You’ve tweeted versions with 2 As and with 3 As – is she twitter-clones? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:05:31 +0000 2013)
alayadj: Diana Wynne Jones was my gateway drug. Hexwood and The Homeward Bounders forever 
#sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:06:11 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Who are some of your favorite authors and books that inspire you? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:06:37 +0000 2013)
talekyn: @alayadj Welcome to the weekly nuthouse that is #sffwrtcht! (Thu Mar 07 02:06:39 +0000 2013)
Jaleta_Clegg: @alayadj I love Diana Wynne Jones. Dark Lord of Derkholm is one of my faves, along with Howl’s Moving Castle and the rest. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:07:23 +0000 2013)alayadj: Besides Jones, Guy Gavriel Kay is one of my favorite writers on earth, and had a huge influence on young me. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:07:41 +0000 2013)alayadj: Also Ursula Le Guin for how she changed my view of the possibilities of science fiction. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:08:11 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @alayadj Ha! I met him at World Fantasy in Columbus. Which is also when I first met you. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:08:17 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj When did you decide to become a storyteller and how did you get your start? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:08:30 +0000 2013)alayadj: Dark Lord of Derkholm is one of the few I haven’t read! Must get to it someday. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:08:46 +0000 2013)
Octavio_Aragao: RT @sffwrtcht: As a child, her father introduced her to Joao Gilberto & Brazilian bossa nova, a music for which this host also has g … (Thu Mar 07 02:09:12 +0000 2013)
leonicka: RT @sffwrtcht: Tonight�s guest, @alaydj has a new YA #scifi novel SUMMER PRINCE set in future Brazil that�s an awesome read from Arthur … (Thu Mar 07 02:09:18 +0000 2013)alayadj: I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I figured out what novels were. Many aborted novels before I finished my first at 16. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:10:02 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj How�d you learn craft? Trial and error? Formal study? Workshops? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:10:23 +0000 2013)
elisanuckle: RT @alayadj: I’ve wanted to be a novelist since I figured out what novels were. Many aborted novels before I finished my first at 16. #s … (Thu Mar 07 02:11:04 +0000 2013)alayadj: Lots of trial & error at first. I read a ton and wrote many short stories. Committed fanfic. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:11:24 +0000 2013)alayadj: When I started college joined online writing groups. I also read Self-Editing for Fiction Writers by Reni Browne and Dave King #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:11:56 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Ah yes, fanfic. @alayadj Did you start with shorts stories, novels? When was your first pro-sale? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:12:11 +0000 2013)alayadj: It’s the best writing advice book I’ve ever encountered. I read it three times and each time improved my fiction. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:12:40 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @alayadj That’s a great book.I love Ken Rand’s 10% Solution as well. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:13:35 +0000 2013)alayadj: I always wrote both. I like both forms a great deal. Though these days novels take most of my time. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:13:48 +0000 2013)alayadj: My first pro sale was to Strange Horizons in 2004–it was basically my first short story sale of all. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:14:09 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Your 1st novel was Racing The Dark. Where�d the idea for your Spirit Binders series come from? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:14:46 +0000 2013)
Styates31: RT @sffwrtcht: Future Guests 3/13 @davidfarland 3/20 @cegannon1 3/27 @morgankeyes 4/3 @EvieManieri 4/10 @jonathanmaberry 4/17 @happyner … (Thu Mar 07 02:15:30 +0000 2013)alayadj: All my ideas come from so many places. Some elements: Crayon Shin-Chan (the anime), hints of Polynesian and Japanese cultures…#sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:15:42 +0000 2013)alayadj: …wanting an epic fantasy series with brown people, and using gods as a vehicle to explore human-induced environmental damage. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:16:05 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj How long did the novel take to write? aka How long do novels typically take #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:16:38 +0000 2013)alayadj: Racing the Dark took a year (started it studying abroad in Japan). But editing it took at least 2. Most of my novels take a year #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:18:59 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Which came first: world, plot, character? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:19:16 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Lana, a teenaged girl on a nameless backwater island, finds an ominous blood-red jewel that marks her as someone with power #sffwrtcht 1/2 (Thu Mar 07 02:19:31 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: setting in motion events that drive her away from her family and into an apprenticeship with a mysterious one-armed witch. #sffwrtcht 2/2 (Thu Mar 07 02:19:44 +0000 2013)alayadj: The idea of a family displaced was my seedling. I knew they were leaving an island. Then came the worldbuilding. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:20:55 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Tell us a bit about Lana and her world & family. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:21:15 +0000 2013)alayadj: Lana lives in an archipelago where humans control their environment by imprisoning elemental spirits. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:22:11 +0000 2013)talekyn: @alayadj Does your writing process differ from short stories to novels? #sffwrtcht(Thu Mar 07 02:22:32 +0000 2013)alayadj: But some of the spirits are trying to break free, a struggle that destroys Lana’s home and starts her adventures. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:23:19 +0000 2013)alayadj: I tend to write short stories in intense bursts. Whereas with novels I try to pace myself. Short stories feel similar though. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:24:41 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Tell us a bit about how magic works in that universe. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:24:51 +0000 2013)alayadj: Many readers comment on how grim those books are, and mostly that’s because of the magic system. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:25:55 +0000 2013)alayadj: You get powers from binding spirits, and they can only be bound with sacrifices. Painful, unpleasant sacrifices. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:26:33 +0000 2013)alayadj: Which is sort of grim, but means the narrative has a lot of tension #sffwrtcht(Thu Mar 07 02:27:31 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Are you an outliner or a pantser? Did you follow the surprising ride or have it planned? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:29:37 +0000 2013)alayadj: I like surprises, but need to do some planning. I tend to scribble notes for the next 20k words farther than I have written #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:30:49 +0000 2013)alayadj: As I close in, I continue to change the notes. So at the beginning I won’t necessarily know the end, but by the 3/4 point, I do. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:31:19 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj The Spirit Binder books sound like YA but Summer Prince is billed as your first YA. Is that an oversight by publ? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:31:32 +0000 2013)alayadj: But by “notes” I mean illegible scribbles across several moleskines… #sffwrtcht(Thu Mar 07 02:32:55 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Amazing how you find moleskins in NYC. They have anything #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:33:51 +0000 2013)alayadj: �Spirit Binders have crossover appeal, but they’re fundamentally epic fantasy and were published as adult. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:34:55 +0000 2013)alayadj: So Summer Prince is my first book in the YA section of the store. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:35:13 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Let�s talk abt Summer Prince. You started writing it on a train? Where�d the idea come from? on train hunting ideas? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:35:16 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: June Costa�s art may make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King #sffwrtcht 1/3 (Thu Mar 07 02:35:31 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: The whole city falls in love with him but June sees a fellw artist & as they collaborate, like every1 else, she falls in love #sffwrtcht 2/3 (Thu Mar 07 02:36:07 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Their work adds fuel to a growing rebellion against govt limits on new tech. But like all Summer Kings Enki is destind to die #sffwrtcht 3/3 (Thu Mar 07 02:36:26 +0000 2013)alayadj: The train ride was my way to get away and write something different. The idea came from having a lot of Amtrak points, honestly. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:36:46 +0000 2013)alayadj: I love to travel. I like how it gets you outside of your routine ways of thinking and being. It’s a good way to write, too. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:37:18 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @alayadj I enjoy it too.Rode the train to Chicon7. First time in years. Have to do it again. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:37:43 +0000 2013)alayadj: But you should have seen the look my midwestern housewife seat mate gave me when she read what I was typing next to her! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:38:06 +0000 2013)alayadj: The Summer King is an old mythological idea that you can see in many different cultures–from the Mexica to the Celts. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:39:56 +0000 2013)Wyld_Dandelyon: @alayadj LOL – I can imagine the look on the woman’s face so clearly! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:40:20 +0000 2013)alayadj: The idea of young man becomes a king for a year and at the end of that year is sacrificed for the good of the community. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:40:49 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Tell us about the fictional Palmares Tres…just typing that makes me want to chat in Portuguese #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:41:09 +0000 2013)alayadj: So I took that mythological idea and put it in a SFnal context of a city building itself in the aftermath of an apocalypse. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:41:33 +0000 2013)alayadj: Palmares Tres is a matriarchal city built on the coast of the modern state of Bahia in the aftermath of a global apocalypse. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:43:23 +0000 2013)alayadj: It’s a giant pyramid, with the rulers living at the top and the poorest residents at the bottom in a district called the verde. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:43:54 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: FYI Bahia is a Northeastern coastal state with heavy influences from Africans brought as ex-slaves on culture & religion #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:44:35 +0000 2013)
AuthorsUnlim: RT @alayadj: But you should have seen the look my midwestern housewife seat mate gave me when she read what I was typing next to her! #s … (Thu Mar 07 02:45:02 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj And they move around via lifts of a sort? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:45:35 +0000 2013)alayadj: Yes, the pyramid is hollow and constructed of mini-pyramids, whose trusses are hollow and filled with transport tubes. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:47:22 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Is this a standalone or is there a series planned here? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:47:36 +0000 2013)alayadj: This is a standalone. I really wanted to tell a complete story after writing so many series novels. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:48:33 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Obviously you have a passion for the setting which you incorporated well into the book. How much research did you do? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:48:42 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj I really enjoyed how you wove in cultural elements, incl your own love of bossa nova, the class struggle, etc. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:49:40 +0000 2013)alayadj: I read a lot of books, particularly about the history of the African diaspora in Brazil. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:49:40 +0000 2013)alayadj: Also got advice from my sister, who studied in Brazil and knew many sources. And sent it to Brazilian writers for help. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:50:15 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj What�s your writing time look like-specific block? Write `til you reach word count? Grab it when you can? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:50:40 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Well I was married to a Brasilian and have visited there 10+ x. You did it very well imho. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:51:09 +0000 2013)alayadj: I used to be the writer who would languish for weeks and then write 10k words in an exhausting fugue state. Really draining. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:53:24 +0000 2013)alayadj: So for TSP and other books I tried to set myself a very low minimum wordcount. 500 words a day. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:53:56 +0000 2013)alayadj: Takes just as long, but now I’m less twitchy about the process. My writing time is afternoons and evenings. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:54:27 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Do you have any writing rituals or tools? Scrivener? Word? Something else? Do you write to music or silence? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:54:49 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: Please `Like� our Facebook group: http://t.co/26BVdIKY9x #sffwrtcht(Thu Mar 07 02:55:08 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Please `Like� our Facebook group: http://t.co/tFOTDqY6 #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:08 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: Future Guests 3/13 @davidfarland 3/20 @cegannon1 3/27 @morgankeyes 4/3 @EvieManieri 4/10 @jonathanmaberry 4/17 @happynerdjohn #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:20 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Future Guests 3/13 @davidfarland 3/20 @cegannon1 3/27 @morgankeyes 4/3 @EvieManieri 4/10 @jonathanmaberry 4/17 @happynerdjohn #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:20 +0000 2013)
Marquitz: RT @BryanThomasS: Please `Like� our Facebook group: http://t.co/26BVdIKY9x#sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:22 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: Next week, we talk #writing #scifi #fantasy #runelords & more with @torbooks author @DavidFarland! Join us live w/ your questns! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:53 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Next week, we talk #writing #scifi #fantasy #runelords & more with @torbooks author @DavidFarland! Join us live w/ your questns! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:55:53 +0000 2013)alayadj: I love scrivener. I bought a mac just so I could use it. I like having my research right there with my words #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:56:42 +0000 2013)alayadj: I love music while writing. My Summer Prince soundtrack was a lot of Chico Buarque, Joao Gilberto, Jorge Ben & others #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:57:15 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @alayadj I am relistening to the same artists and more thanks to you. LOL It’s been a while #lovebossa #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:58:01 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj What�s the best and worst writing advice you�ve ever gotten? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:58:08 +0000 2013)alayadj: @matociquala Ha! I got the computer almost four years ago, so at the time it wasn’t And it turns out I like macs! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:58:37 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: RT @matociquala: @alayadj This is a bad time to tell you its available for PC? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:59:06 +0000 2013)alayadj: Best: Finish the story. Edit until you can’t look at it anymore. Do it again. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 02:59:46 +0000 2013)alayadj: Worst: Write 2000 words a day. I loved the autobiography of King’s On Writing, but his writing advice stressed me out for years #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:00:06 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Heh. He does make it sound easier than it is #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:00:30 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: Last question @alayadj What future projects are you working on that we can look forward to? #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:00:42 +0000 2013)
matociquala: On writing advice: RT @alayadj Best: Finish the story. Edit until you can’t look at it anymore. Do it again. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:00:53 +0000 2013)Jaleta_Clegg: @alayadj I love my macs, too. Thanks for sharing about your stories. They sound fascinating. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:00:55 +0000 2013)alayadj: I’m writing a YA novel loosely based on my experiences at a DC private school (except this time with a global flu pandemic). #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:01:25 +0000 2013)Jaleta_Clegg: RT @alayadj: Best: Finish the story. Edit until you can’t look at it anymore. Do it again. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:01:28 +0000 2013)alayadj: I did indeed. I’m a third generation DC native. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:02:52 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: .@alayadj Thanks for agreeing to chat with us. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. And do come back. Best of luck w/ TSP etc #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:03:23 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: The book is THE SUMMER PRINCE by @alayadj from @Scholastic /Arthur Levine. #ya #scifi #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:04:19 +0000 2013)Wyld_Dandelyon: @alayadj 2000 words a day is an awfully big push for most people. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:04:31 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: .@alayadj Have a great night. I am really enjoying the book. Off to finish now! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:05:25 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: A transcript for this chat will be up at the website soon.http://t.co/GnsT9s2CbD Thanks for joining us! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:05:36 +0000 2013)sffwrtcht: A transcript for this chat will be up at the website soon.http://t.co/sNNDnxP7fL Thanks for joining us! #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:05:37 +0000 2013)alayadj: @Wyld_Dandelyon Yes it is! But I kept thinking that if I were a *real* writer I could do it. Bad idea. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:05:44 +0000 2013)Jaleta_Clegg: @alayadj 2000 words a day is great for a sprint or a few days or weeks, not every single day. I like your idea better. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:06:30 +0000 2013)BryanThomasS: @Jaleta_Clegg @alayadj I do regularly shoot for 1500-2000 words a day. Depends on the novel…and the writer, I suppose. #sffwrtcht (Thu Mar 07 03:07:09 +0000 2013)Participants
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