Anti-heroes?

I belong to a writer’s discussion and critique group, the Online Writing Workshop. (Long ago, when I first joined, it was the Dell Rey Online Writing Workshop, but that’s a story for another time.) I’ve added the link to my sidebar for your edification. To any aspiring sf/f/h writers out there–I highly recommend it.

The discussion on the OWW list today concerned anti-heroes. What distinguishes an anti-hero from a villian? Is an anti-hero just a hero with a few flaws (boastfulness, bashfulness, bad acne)? Or does he do truly reprehensible things (lie, cheat, steal, kill, rape), but somehow is redeemed by other aspects of his character or actions in the plot?

Because of our love affair with rebels and the glamour of rebellion, I think we often mistakenly call a hero with flaws an “anti-hero” to increase his mystique. A regular old hero sounds stuffy. What, a person who tries their best to be good all the time? Yawn.

I think that comes from a mistaken impression about how easy it is to do good, even if one wants to.

My short stories, “Drawn to the Brink” and “Portrait of a Pretender” establish several characters, each of whom is trying to do good, but who inevitably come in conflict with one another.

Othmordian, the protaganist of “Portrait of a Pretender,” could be described as a villain or an anti-hero. He is cast in the typical villain’s role–that of the conniving uncle who usurps the throne of his nephew.

But Othmordian has his reasons. Are they sufficient to redeem him? That’s the question…

Amazon Shorts Program

I applied to the Amazon Shorts program, and was pleased to receive this response from one of their editors:

[Tara], fantastic story — apologies for the length of time it took to
respond, but I hope I can make it up to you by letting you know that I am
thrilled to admit you to the program.

So I’m in! I sent off the paperwork this morning.

Whatever is the deal with Amazon Shorts? It’s a fairly new program. According to SFWA, the list of authors who have given it a shot is fairly impressive.

Exciting News from Brink World

“Portrait of a Pretender,” the sequel to “Drawn to the Brink,” may soon be published as an Amazon Short!

I’ll have more news and an excerpt later…

Cognitive Science: The Last Chance

“During the World Cup soccer tournament in Japan in 2002, the match between Ireland and Germany went into several minutes of extra ‘injury’ time. The score was 1-0 to Germany, and Ireland’s hopes of getting into the semifinals seemed to be finished. Then at the eleventh hour, Robbie Keane scored a goal. For every Irish fan who watched the match there could be no doubt: the striker had saved Ireland’s World Cup hopes. The previous hour and a half of skill and luck, good or bad, of a team of trained professionals seemed as nothing compared to the single final stroke. Did Keane really save the day? The question illustrates a curious feature of human thought. In a temporal sequence of events, people zoom in on the most recent one.”

–Ruth M.J. Byrne, The Rational Imagination: How People Create Alternatives to Reality p. 157.

Padding the Ole’ Blog or “Where I Get My Ideas”

As much as I would like to have every daily entry in my blog be an announcement of yet another publication, that ain’t gonna happen. But I don’t want this to be a boring blog, with no entries for months on end. That leaves padding the ole’ blog with some fluff.

(Ahem.) Did I say fluff? I meant insight, deep and profound insight into where I, as an author, find inspiration for my stories. I will put up bits of history, philosophy, science and so on that are quirky and throught-provoking. If it gives you an idea for a story, please feel welcome to explore it!

Dredging Lake Id

I’m dredging the lake of my subconscious for story ideas for NoNoMo (which I really shouldn’t even be doing). I may fish out one of the old ideas that have been swimming around in Lake Id.