Peter Hodges

My instructors said it would happen, and it has. I’m in that weird sort of in-between state where I don’t know if I can write or if I’m just a pretender. I liked it a lot better when I was ignorant of my flaws and could pretend that I was as good as those who were already published. 

Now I know that there is a difference.

Is the difference readily apparent? Not on first blush. Would a layman recognize it? Perhaps; it depends on how well-read they were and how much you can get away with in the name of style. The difference is there, however, and now I know how to spot it and correct it. In the short term, this means drastic editing, thinking, and reformulating of existing works if I hope to have them published. In the long term, this means that I approach “the craft” in a completely different manner. 

This isn’t quite the terrible blow to my ego that I thought it would be. I’ve been taken down a peg or two, but only in the interest of being able to build a stronger foundation when I can climb back to where I (thought I) was before.

While I’m on the scheduled Eat Meat with Pete event this weekend, I’ll be running a few selected writings from my time at Viable Paradise on a scheduled basis. In the comments section (if you’re willing), I would entertain comments not just on the literary merit of the stories, but also the technical aspects of them. It doesn’t matter if you feel you don’t have the skill set for that type of critique; try it anyway. The feedback that I get will prove invaluable if I can get a little bit of insight into the reader’s mind.

Modern SF is pulp fiction with a post modern literary sensibility grafted on as an afterthought. The best of it is technical action with emotional punch; the worst of it is cheap porn for engineers.

This came out of discussion this morning at VP. 

Discuss.

Day four.

Whew.

All of my critiques have been completed; I’ve done the large writing assignment(s) (more on that in a moment). All that is left now is another day of lecture and then a large brouhaha tomorrow night. 

I have to admit to oscillating back and forth between despair, hope, exultation, and determination over the course of the week. There are some really, really talented writers here. To be included in their ranks is both a compliment and a curse. This is an environment where you strive to be better, where you strive to improve at even the smallest level. I think that most of us are at the point where it is the fine tuning that brings us to the head of the slush piles at publishers around the world. Jim McDonald, one of the instructors here, has already said that we’re in the top 1% just by being here. To apply the knowledge that we’ve gained must surely elevate us to a new level.

I will say that I think I’ve met the next great award winner. I shan’t mention her name (without her permission), but I had the opportunity to sit in on a group critique this morning in which her writing was featured. She is little short of incredible. Should I prove to be right, I’ll give her a plug here on The Hodge with her permission.

The bright spot of the day was that my story, completed here at VP and due this afternoon, was one of the six chosen for a final vote as a simulated slush kill. All of the stories were excellent (notably Chang’s incredibly witty “Van Helsing’s Garage”), but I was pleased to be among the top picks. I’ll nudge Kate and have her podcast it upon my return. Some of you might even recognize it, since the seed of the story came from my parody of vampire fiction posted on the site not long ago.

I took advantage of some free time on Wednesday afternoon to walk around the island. Our meeting center/condos are about two miles outside of Oak Bluff, a town on the northeast side of Martha’s Vineyard. The walk was directly along the coast, some of it adjacent to a sea wall. The weather was wonderful. I was comfortable in a pair of jams and a long sleeve t-shirt. The town was charming, although it did have some of your typical tourist trap stuff. I had some salt water taffy, some fudge (they make great candy here due to the weather), and then I caught a cab back to the hotel rather than hoofing it so that I could make it in time for dinner. When I have more of an opportunity, I’ll post some of the pictures I took.

I’ll be journeying home Saturday, so I should resume regular posting soon. Kate is going to fill in with one more post on either Friday or Saturday (getting her to commit is like wrangling a wild mustang), so give her some love in the comments section when she does.

Pardon the twitter-style update, but I have arrived safely, I am settled in to my condo, and am now contemplating a shower before dinner at 6 PM. 

I looks as though I’ll have a pretty full schedule.

More to come later.