Friday, July 4. 2008
population
A strange article to be inspired to make one of my infrequent posts but this article is pretty thought provoking.
No Babies - Declining Population in Europe
As a future this is one that few if any writers have pondered. I recall that David Brin suggested that this current reduction is evolution in practice and as the couples that lack the urgent desire to have children fail to do so, the ones which are keen will have children similarly enthusiastic. This means that we may be living at a time when evolution will reset a few things and in a few or several generations we'll have a population enthusiastic to have children again and the population will start increasing... with no let up as the gene for 'child bearing passivity' knocked out in the 1990s and 2000's.
I shall put my pondering cap on...
No Babies - Declining Population in Europe
As a future this is one that few if any writers have pondered. I recall that David Brin suggested that this current reduction is evolution in practice and as the couples that lack the urgent desire to have children fail to do so, the ones which are keen will have children similarly enthusiastic. This means that we may be living at a time when evolution will reset a few things and in a few or several generations we'll have a population enthusiastic to have children again and the population will start increasing... with no let up as the gene for 'child bearing passivity' knocked out in the 1990s and 2000's.
I shall put my pondering cap on...
Monday, August 13. 2007
preparations
A week and a day to go until heading off to Xian and an uncertain train journey.
I'm meeting with my sister tomorrow evening who is returning from New Zealand on the way to Japan. I'm looking forward to spending a few hours with her in Hong Kong, but we'll catch up again in Japan as well.
I've been polishing up the synopsis for Falling so she and I can discuss it, and it is coming together well. I'm always amazed at how the story and characters come to life and take control of the situation crafting their own stories. I'm more of a wrangler trying to fit these actors into a freeform play, lasooing them and draging them back on course, setting them colliding against one another to see what will result from their interaction - always interesting and surprising... and I hope compelling reading.
I'm surprised about how messed up Gedye is. Originally my hero, the other characters have been beating him up and dragging him down. Ultimately he is a sympathetic character, but he grows in strength as the final act develops.
I've not painted him yet either as I seem to have more affinity with the women in the story - I've painted them first. I think that I'll want to work on some of the environments next. The main focus has to remain the novel, the painting is more of a distraction or a hobby. But it certainly is a great way to relax and to see the characters come to life in living colour.
I'll post some recent paintings here later in the week, and make one of them the mast head for August/September.
I'm meeting with my sister tomorrow evening who is returning from New Zealand on the way to Japan. I'm looking forward to spending a few hours with her in Hong Kong, but we'll catch up again in Japan as well.
I've been polishing up the synopsis for Falling so she and I can discuss it, and it is coming together well. I'm always amazed at how the story and characters come to life and take control of the situation crafting their own stories. I'm more of a wrangler trying to fit these actors into a freeform play, lasooing them and draging them back on course, setting them colliding against one another to see what will result from their interaction - always interesting and surprising... and I hope compelling reading.
I'm surprised about how messed up Gedye is. Originally my hero, the other characters have been beating him up and dragging him down. Ultimately he is a sympathetic character, but he grows in strength as the final act develops.
I've not painted him yet either as I seem to have more affinity with the women in the story - I've painted them first. I think that I'll want to work on some of the environments next. The main focus has to remain the novel, the painting is more of a distraction or a hobby. But it certainly is a great way to relax and to see the characters come to life in living colour.
I'll post some recent paintings here later in the week, and make one of them the mast head for August/September.
Thursday, August 2. 2007
futurewriter
So why *futurewriter?
It is something of a play on words. As I'm not a published author, though I have had some work published in a small Hong Kong magazine, I can not really call myself a writer. That is something for the future.
So *futurewriter is a description of where I'd like to be... in the future.
And when I am first published it will be in the SF genre. Strictly speaking Falling is not necessarily in the future, that's not really made clear in the novel; it may be an alternity, or on a separate planet, but certainly it is not recognisably a future we would recognise as such.
Still a future writer is an adequate description of what I will be writing about as well - the future.
Lastly the sense of period that I am creating in my novel Falling has something of a retro future historical feel to it, and in the design of this blog and the name I am trying to evoke something of this retro future. I hope the name has an antiquated feel to it as well.
Good enough?
It is something of a play on words. As I'm not a published author, though I have had some work published in a small Hong Kong magazine, I can not really call myself a writer. That is something for the future.
So *futurewriter is a description of where I'd like to be... in the future.
And when I am first published it will be in the SF genre. Strictly speaking Falling is not necessarily in the future, that's not really made clear in the novel; it may be an alternity, or on a separate planet, but certainly it is not recognisably a future we would recognise as such.
Still a future writer is an adequate description of what I will be writing about as well - the future.
Lastly the sense of period that I am creating in my novel Falling has something of a retro future historical feel to it, and in the design of this blog and the name I am trying to evoke something of this retro future. I hope the name has an antiquated feel to it as well.
Good enough?
Tuesday, July 31. 2007
Blog Time
I've been meaning to create a blog to track my progress working on my novel, Falling, and some of the inspiration and struggles I've had creating it.
I also thought it timely to get this blog up in time for the WorldCon in Yokohama, now a month or so away.
It's all getting pretty exciting.
Getting tickets together for joining the SF tour of China as well as Japan is almost complete, I have one last ticket that I need to get, and it is proving difficult. The train from Xian to Chengdu that the SF tour will join is K385/388 originating in Shangyang. This makes it difficult to book from Hong Kong. In fact I can't. Nor does it appear that the tour organiser can get this arranged for me from the US.
So I'm going to have to phone to Xian direct to see if we can talk to someone there who can make a reservation for me... even if it is the staff of the Sofitel Hotel which we will be staying at.
If I can't join the train then I'm in a pickle - I'll have to fly from Xian to Chengdu. This is frustrating as the point of going to Xian in the first place. Still there is still hope. More work tomorrow.
The blog design itself is in a state of flux, I think that I'll have to do a quick hack to make it look acceptable at first and then work on making it spiffy. The intention is to post images from the novel on the page so that as work proceeds and paintings are made the blog reflects the state of play. Should be a fun ride and I'm looking forward to sharing some of the ideas and characters in the novel as I get it near to completion.
I also thought it timely to get this blog up in time for the WorldCon in Yokohama, now a month or so away.
It's all getting pretty exciting.
Getting tickets together for joining the SF tour of China as well as Japan is almost complete, I have one last ticket that I need to get, and it is proving difficult. The train from Xian to Chengdu that the SF tour will join is K385/388 originating in Shangyang. This makes it difficult to book from Hong Kong. In fact I can't. Nor does it appear that the tour organiser can get this arranged for me from the US.
So I'm going to have to phone to Xian direct to see if we can talk to someone there who can make a reservation for me... even if it is the staff of the Sofitel Hotel which we will be staying at.
If I can't join the train then I'm in a pickle - I'll have to fly from Xian to Chengdu. This is frustrating as the point of going to Xian in the first place. Still there is still hope. More work tomorrow.
The blog design itself is in a state of flux, I think that I'll have to do a quick hack to make it look acceptable at first and then work on making it spiffy. The intention is to post images from the novel on the page so that as work proceeds and paintings are made the blog reflects the state of play. Should be a fun ride and I'm looking forward to sharing some of the ideas and characters in the novel as I get it near to completion.
