"The Astrologer's Telling" up at Daily Science Fiction

...charnel winds that brush the pallid stars and make them flicker low.

Ever since I first encountered that nightmare image, from H.P. Lovecraft's prose-poem "Nyarlathotep," I have wanted to write a story about the stars going out. A morbid urge? Absolutely. But there's a certain virtue in morbidity; it makes me thoughtful and perhaps compassionate, if that's a thing a writer of apocalyptic fiction can be.

And so "The Astrologer's Telling" comes from a different philosophy than Lovecraft's more nihilistic landscape.I hope it proves, as well as terrifying and mournful, perhaps a little inspiring. I spent some time worrying about the science of kindling and extinguishing stars, before I at last embraced the fact that my interest was much less scientific than artistic and emotional. And I hope the story is more impactful for it.

About this time last year, this story received an Honorable Mentions in the Dell Magazines Award for Undergraduate Excellence in Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing (whew! I've never been able to write the full name without looking it up). I am very grateful to Rick Wilbur and Sheila Williams for constructive commentary after the contest.

List: Everything That Can Go Wrong (a Mix-n-Match Adventure)

Storytelling is problem solving--to have a plot, you need a problem for your characters to confront. Then the plot needs a reason behind it, and you have to make clear what's at stake if the problem isn't solved, while having some idea how your characters are going to solve it.

Over the weekend I started brainstorming problems-stakes-causes-and-solutions with a particular series in mind (another one!? Yes, another one). But as I went on I realized this list might serve as a more general resource. It does betray my particular interests as a speculative fiction fan and also my studies in international politics, economics, and development--but then, I think those need to be featured in more fiction anyway! This list is not exhaustive and I'd love to see others adding to it, as well as sharing it around with your own ideas.

These problems are all stated rather generally, and can be used in combination with each other (you'll probably see ways solutions will lead right back to problems). Some should clearly be used with sensitivity, and some have been done a lot, but there's always room for fresh and thoughtful iterations.


Threats (to your character--the stakes):
Death
Maiming
Other violence, assault
Abuse
Capture/imprisonment
Loss of free will
Loss of identity
Isolation
Loss of purpose or direction
Separation from loved person, place, or object
Grief
Illness
Exile, being very very lost and never able to return home
Failure at a crucial project
Abandoned dreams
Unmet potential
Loss or damage of a precious possession
Losing to a rival
Humiliation
Making the wrong decision--loss of opportunity, trust, confidence
Disappointing a loved one, losing regard or approval

Problems (society-wide, usually affecting many people but perhaps including your character):
I've tried to divide these into broad sections, but there remains a great deal of overlap
Political, Social, or Cultural
Oppression (legal, political, de facto) and cultural, linguistic, or legal barriers because of sex, race, religion, loyalties
--resistance to the above
Violence
--civil war
--uprising or rebellion
--invasion
--coup, power seizure
--police violence, abuse
Collateral damage of violence, disaster
Violence threatened (unrest, breaking up of diplomatic relations)
Crime
Government corruption or incompetence
Taxation (excessive, unequal or unjust)
Prejudice
Distrust
Betrayal (large-scale treason or interpersonal)
Enslavement
Colonialism, Imperialism
Unjust laws, obstruction of justice
Broken-down systems, infrastructure
Terrorism
Anarchy
Loss of cultural value--burned books, censorship, destroyed art
Education and childcare--orphans, abuse, homelessness
Migration, exile
Immigration, stigma, culture shock

Economic
Poverty
Inequality
Financial collapse
--Including of an individual business
--- because of boycott, blockade, mismanagement, sabotage
Corrupt corporations
Talented figure languishes in unjust obscurity
Shortages, scarcity of vital resource

Scientific
Unfortunate natural phenomenon/disaster (meteor strike, heath death of the universe)
Experiment gone awry (Frankenstein)
Discovery, revelation of things which should not exist (mystery or danger)
Experiment, invesitagion, or expedition is potentially worthwhile, but extremely dangerous

Environmental
Threats to environments--deforestation, desertification
--especially threat to beloved or sacred environment (ex. the Shire)
Water--droughts, floods, pollution
Pollution in general, trash or dangerous wastes (ex radioactive fallout)
Species extinction
Creature threats (everything from invasive species to monsters)
Loss of a staple crop, animal
Loss of fertility of the land
An inhospitable environment--from Mordor to the Haunted Woods

Health
Epidemic
Individual illness
Famine or starvation (interrelates closely to economic, environmental problems)
Disability, maiming
Fertility or infertility
Injury
Mental health issues: from depression to amnesia to trauma

Spiritual
Haunting
Curse
Threatening supernatural entities
--Malicious (Demonic or vengeful entities)
--Indifferent but threatening to humankind by their very nature (Lovecraftian entities, TV Tropes' 'starfish aliens')


Reasons/causes of the threats and problems:
Miscommunication
Deliberate lies
Mismanagement through incompetence
Unsustainable system or situation continues too long
Lack of planning
Ignorance of crucial information
Malice, mismanagement through malice or sabotage
Perverse incentives
Corruption
Opposing incentives between equally worthy parties
-Between two people, tragically star-crossed
-Between two factions: power struggle
Distrust between two sides that should work together
Jealousy or rivalry
Soulless bureaucracy
Unintended consequences/externalities
Cosmic Evil--or Cosmic Good
Chance, luck, or fate
Zealotry
Apathy
Security issues/fear
Sadism (of the non-sexy kind)
The death drive/will to nothingness

Solutions:
Divine intervention
Communication and collaboration
--Calling upon allies
Finding a satisfactory deal
--Truce
Character makes a sacrifice or trade-off
Technology (a new invention or new application of existing solution)
--Science saves the day
--Return to the Old Ways saves the day
Market-based solutions (why do these never appear in fiction?)
Banding together to institute a new world order (to balance market-based solutions, I offer a socialist revolution)
Public relations, Inspiring Speeches
Education or revelation
Compassion, hearts softening, the power of love and/or forgiveness
Crisis reveals corruption or sparks revolution
Characters 'dodge a bullet', escaping through sheer dumb luck (can be quite effective in horror stories, comedies or as lead-up to a final confrontation where luck won't be on their side)
Shouldering responsibility
Averting a mistake just before it's committed
Violence, or the threat of violence (against people or objects)
--by protagonist
---utilizing a special weapon or clever technique
---sabotage a diabolical plan before it goes through
--or by a greater threat (pursuing shark is swallowed by an even bigger fish)
Nonviolent resistance, defiance
A trickster solves the problem through manipulation, deceit
Use of disguises, hiding to avert or escape consequences
Feat of Strength
Money or wealth--access to adequate resources solves the problem
"Robin Hood" (vigilante justice)
Leadership--the rightful king, or free and fair elections
Heroic gesture inspires love, confidence, proves character's worthiness
Legislation
Litigation
Specific character's choice or judgement is upheld (the cute dog has to decide who he belongs to, the Gods are appealed to, the judge hands down her ruling at the end of an episode of Law & Order)
Evidence is uncovered to prove a character's argument or point
Evacuation or rescue--escaping danger by running, finding a place of refuge
Deliver a cure or solution that already exists elsewhere (Balto, in the movie of the same name, bringing medicine through icebound wilderness)
Deliver a warning
Though doomed, accept or transcend one's fate (the famous sci-fi story Cold Equations, and pretty much any Victor Hugo protagonist). This may or may not have any effect on the broader world.

On why I'm dressed as The Doctor in my Facebook profile photo

That's my personal Facebook profile photo, not the one on my new author's page--which I've recently created upon realizing that, if my only Facebook presence is my goofy personal profile, of course my goofy personal profile will start showing up anywhere Facebook touches.

Which is exactly what's happened.

Oh, don't fret (for that matter, I'm sorry to disappoint), there's no scandal here. I was just amused when a Google alert led me to this cool wordpress site dedicated to reviewing a short story daily, where they reviewed my dark fantasy "A Wizard of the Roads" on December 21st.

First off, I'm downright squeeful to see my writing was used somewhere to celebrate that day where non-Maya across the world panicked based on their misunderstanding of a sophisticated culture's complex calendar system and decided the only imaginable outcome was the world's magnetic poles flipping and everything going asplode. The actual Maya, from what I've heard, were themselves troubled by the fact that they were not permitted to practice their actual beliefs on their ancient cultural sites. Isn't life funny.

I see the above paragraph suddenly became a bit snippy. Sorry, there hit a point around the end of November where I began getting tired of telling people that, among other things, "No, the Maya really do exist in the modern day! They're not extinct! But that doesn't mean the world will go aspolde on December 21st!" A weariness I'm sure many other rational human beings shared. But that's in the past now, we'll never have to go through it again (at least not for another Long Count...good enough for me) and in the meantime, lots of fun end-of-the-world jokes were had at the expense of the foolish panicking non-Maya folk.

And in addition, there I am in all my Facebook profile glory, decked to the nines in an Eighth Doctor cosplay.

I know, I know, and you're right. The Doctor Who TV Movie wasn't even good.

 But that was not the fault of Paul McGann or his wardrobe. As it happens, both were present at the convention where that picture was taken, Gallifrey One 2012 in Los Angeles. Even as this post goes live, I'll be attending my second Gally. This is because--in part thanks to the incomparably gracious Mr McGann's presence (December 21st jokes aren't the only thing I can go squeeful about), and which makes up part of the reason I am keeping this peculiar picture as my image to the 1 billion users of Facebook and beyond--it was some of the most concentrated, unadulterated fun I have ever had in my life. There's something about being completely immersed in a subculture where you understand all of the references. It's like you already know everybody before you get to know them. It's fandom come to life--which could potentially be a horrible thing, I guess, but this is the *good* side of fandom that organizes and hosts conventions, and to someone who is usually just an online fandom lurker this was mind blowing.

The other reasons I'm keeping this picture as my profile image is that
-I am wearing a 19th century gentleman's waistcoat and green velvet frock coat (not actually 19th century; a friend sewed them for me, but still). This is the stuff Oscar Wilde fantasies are made of.
-I'm not usually one for photographs (I've just discovered, since the beginning of 2013, how to use both my netbook's webcam and the camera function on my archaic flip phone), so pictures of me are not dense on the ground. I'd venture to guess that the majority of the pictures of me online are of me in that costume, taking during 3 days in February 2012 (including the picture of Paul McGann kissing me on the hand after I sloppy fangirled all over him. Now you understand the 'incomparably gracious' epithet).

 I return from LA on the 18th, but as this will involve a flight across the entire continental United States I expect to be jetlagged and good for very little for the duration of next week. That doesn't mean I won't gamely try to keep abreast of things (in fact the night I wrote this post I drafted several others so I'll be able to keep updating this blog come heaven, hell, killer flu, or Cybermen invasion). Concerned readers should probably prepare for a second influx of cosplay pictures, though. Along with my Eighth Doctor plush toy this time.