The Amazing SF Death Stories Blog Post Template
28. Oct, 2009 
20 Comments
This morning’s Google Reader roundup brings yet another declaration of science fiction’s slow and agonizing, death rattle infused, demise, this time in the form of commentary from Amy Sterling Casil over at the Book View Cafe’s Blog site (via Charles Tan’s link roundup).
I have decided that enough is enough. Most of this prognostication and eulogizing has been written by professional writers who have scant time and resources to devote to free copy. As other perennial discussions regarding the book publishing market in general and writers needs to become full service production, marketing, advertising and fullfillment businesses in particular have made clear, professional writer’s need to be devoting their time to writing, so that they have something to POD, ‘Cast, Market, Advertise and Blog about.
That they will still have a desire to ruminate publicly on the death, near death or really bad cough that the genre has developed is evident, which no doubt creates an authorial dilemma: should the author spend time writing copy that pays, or should the author spend time writing copy that doesn’t pay but makes the author feel good about – their current failure at becoming an internationally best selling author: or copy about another author’s failure at achieving the same: or at another authors undeserved accomplishment of that goal: or of where the blame is to be laid for their low sales: or their unfortunate need for a day job due to other’s pigeonholing of their work: or their lack of recognition: or other authors inability to write what they want to read: or other authors seeming inability to write paying copy worse than their own: or their grumpiness over the success of writers who DO write copy worse than their own: or the failure of academics to recognize their worth: or of the insistence of academics on recognizing their worth: or on the sorry state of the current generation’s poor reading habits/selectivity/discernment/ability to handle complexity/short attention span/interest in things that are not important to the author: or covering any number of other REASONS WHY -
I have decided to solve that dilemma with the following pre-formatted blog entry. The author, vexed by some unnamable genre-related itch, need only copy, select and post. Then, having scratched, the author can return to doing what they are supposed to be doing: writing paying copy that I want to read.
INSTRUCTIONS: The following is a blog post template. Items in parentheses ( ‘(‘ ‘)’) are optional statements and may be included or excluded as the poster desires. Full customization of the template may be achieved by inserting additional words or phrases before or after the selected optional statements.
When finished, copy should be copied and then pasted into the blog of one’s choice.
THE
SCIENCE FICTION (IS) (NOT) (DEAD) (DOING FINE) (DIED A WHILE/LONG [TIME] AGO) (MAINSTREAM) (WINNING) (LOSING) (THE) (MAINSTREAM) (GENRE) (POPULAR CULTURE) (ACCEPTANCE) (BATTLE) (WAR) (GETS NO) (DESERVES NO) (RESPECT) (ATTENTION FROM) (ACADEMICS) (REVIEWERS) (MAJOR AWARDS) (YOUNGER) (OLDER) (GENERATION) (FANS) (GEEKS) (HAVE) (NO) (TASTE) (DISCERNMENT) (LIKE) (DON’T LIKE) (OLD) (NEW) (EMBRACE) (REJECT) (LOVE) (HATE) POST
[BLOG POST TEMPLATE - INSERT CUSTOM TITLE/OPENING LINE HERE IF DESIRED]
The (success) (failure) of (genre) (mainstream) (fantasy) (horror) (science fiction) (speculative fiction) is due to
[] mainstream authors failure to admit that they are writing genre fiction
[] the traitorous behavior of some award winning mainstream authors who embrace genre
[] academics failure to take the genre seriously
[] academics (grudging) (new found) (long time) acceptance of genre fiction
[] mainstream reviewers to take the genre seriously
[] mainstream literary awards failure to take the genre seriously
[] genre awards traitorous acceptance of (bad) (mainstream) (out of genre) (pop) (watered down) works
[] a (un)natural evolution of genre
[] the failure of genre writers to write good
[] the failure of literary writers to include (plot) (characterization)
[] the theft of genre tropes by literary writers
[] the acceptance of genre in popular media
[] the dumbing down of genre by popular media
[] an inability of the younger generation to recognize genre fiction
[] the inability of the younger generation to read
[] gamers
[] sub-genre upstarts
[] it’s the economy, stupid
[] advancing technologies
[] the existence of bacon
[] (change) (that is too fast) (not fast enough)
[] non-existent – those writing about this “problem” are (moaning) (groaning) (complaining) (making mountains out of molehills) over a non-issue
[] (short attention span) (inability to handle complex ideas)
[] lack of relevance
[] the sorry state of our educational system
[] illegal immigrants
[] E-publishing
[] Publishing
[] (Michael Chabon’s fault) (Margaret Atwood’s fault) (Ursula Le Guin’s fault) (John W. Campbell’s fault) (Hugo Gernsback’s fault) (Jeff VanderMeer’s fault) (Cory Doctorow’s fault) (John Scalzi’s fault) (Charlie Stross’ fault) (Connie Willis’ fault) (Harlan Ellison’s fault) (Disney’s fault) (IO9’s fault) (creation science’s fault) (responsibilty) (accomplishment) (_)
[] the COMING SINGULARITY
[] (Vampires) (Werewolves) (Child magicians) (angels) (paranormal things) (romance things) (Unicorns) (tropes that do not belong in the genre one is currently writing in)
[] the fluoridation of water
[] the very existence of the science fiction world we live in
[] the fact that the science fiction world we live in is not the one we planned for
[] where’s my (jetpack) (flying car) (food pills) (FTL) (moon colony) (_)
[] ta internets
[] LOL Cats
[] Richard Millhouse Nixon’s cancellation of the Apollo program
[] Barry Malzberg’s early recognition that the Apollo program was not about creating permanent space colonies, but was, in fact, a crass, cold war era political publicity stunt
[] (Robert Heinlein’s) (Isaac Asimov’s) (Arthur Clarke’s) (Phil Farmer’s) (H. Beam Piper’s) (Stanley Weinbaum’s) (C. L. Moore’s) (John Campbell’s) (_) fault for (leaving us) (writing)
[] Amazon’s dominance of the book publishing and distribution industry
[] George Lucas’s uncredited appropriation of (Flash Gordon) (Dune) (_)
[] marketing(’s labeling of fiction)
[] blogging
[] the Bush administrations politicizing of funding for the arts
[] the election of Barack Obama
[] is merely another symptom of the decline and fall of western civilization
Which is why I
[] don’t care
[] will keep writing what I write, cause I (write for me) (have a day job) (have a contract) (_)
[] am looking for another market
[] am hiding my authorial jealousy behind a rant
[] am going the self-publishing route
[] think that the (_) award (sucks) (needs to go away) (is unfair) (does a fine job) (is sitting on my bookshelf right now)
[] am glad I have the day-job
[] really, really, really love my spouse for their day job
[] have stopped blogging so I can devote more time to paying copy, regardless of the genre it sells into
This work is protected by a Creative Commons – Attribution By (me) license.
Ha ha ha, I saw you were already over in the other shop, Steve. Hmn. Well, for the good of the order, there’s a whole new remastered section in the bookstore as of the past week or so. Many reissues, etc. At least somebody’s trying . . . It’s all reprints so far, but definitely more activity and effort than I’ve seen for a long time.
I got silly (it was quiet at work today) and automated this for you:
http://www.other-worlds-cafe.com/downloads/postgenerator.php
Should save all kinds of time.
HUGO GERNSBACK would have gone out and used his cane to beat those who would say Sci-Fi is dead!!!! It cannot die, It can only change. There will always be a future, there will always be those who see it today. They will write about, video it, display it for those who’s minds are too small to see tomorrow.
For more information on Hugo Gernsback check out a new biography available on Amazon.
The document was found by me when we closed down Gernsback Publications in 2003. It was an old ms that I edited and produced as a book.
Follow the link and you can go to the book and thanks to Amazon’s “look inside” feature, you can even get an idea of what it covers.
http://www.amazon.com/Hugo-Gernsback-Well-Ahead-Time/dp/1419658573/ref=ed_oe_p
Hope you find it interesting.
For more information feel free to contact me, Larry Steckler, at PoptronixInc@aol.com
You guys are very nice, and the apologies are extremely appreciated. When I first saw this in the early morning, especially glancing over the “options,” I thought that Steve couldn’t have gone to BVC and was just slagging. Now I see that’s not the case in any way. It’s hilarious and true viewed as “pick your options” for problems because of course, ever single writer that used to have a busy book career, and many who hadn’t, has written that type of post in recent years, because the business that once was busy and booming for books, isn’t busy and isn’t booming any longer. Also, since the Crotchety Old Fan implies “crotchety” and “old” – man, I was sad at the last WorldCon I attended (Denver). Because there were so many older fans, and younger ones were gaming, partying, costuming, etc. – maybe watching films – definitely not interacting with writers. That was why I volunteered to do the Young Adult (which turned out to be full-on child) programming, after doing it at LA Con previously. They did get to interact with me, so those poor kids are now scarred for life.
As to the main point of your post, I am carrying Tuesdays at BVC and do have my own blog. Today I have the hugest pain in the back, I think from last weekend of solid work on the book I am revising sitting in a super cheap, crappy folding chair. You couldn’t be more right, Steve. Most people don’t know that I’m also an artist. My daughter is doing zombie for Halloween and I got into the big plastic box that has my art supplies in it last night to get out some decent brushes and basically sat on the floor and got misty-eyed looking at the enormous box of stuff – good stuff. Great brushes, every imaginable sort of paint, including “special favorites,” tons of quality archival paper, small canvases I made and never used, bleh bleh bleh. The best I could do was continue on this book, and 2 other stories in the past 6 months, and the artwork I did earlier was, gosh, it’s going to be December/January. Yeah. You are right.
Bob,
I know that Amy qualified her post with that line (though the folks she chose as examples qualify as “killers of the genre” so far as I’m concerned – but then again, most media SF isn’t SF in my opinion either).
As I said in my response to her comment, her piece actually inspired my satirical post. Though given her reaction I gather she’d rather not take that credit.
She could have asked if it was directed at her instead of accusing me of not reading her piece (I wonder if she read all of mine?) but in the interest of being fair and clear -
full apologies to Ms. Amy Sterling Casil for any unintentional grief my attempt at humor may have caused her.
I cringe each time I stumble across ‘SF is dead’ notices as there is always the possibility that if it’s said enough times then people will start to take notice. It will become even harder to get the genre accepted by readers/publishers if they think you are flogging a dead horse. Amy qualified her opening statement by adding – ‘Don’t get me wrong. Science fiction isn’t dead. It’s alive and well, and Michael Bay, J.J. Abrams, and many others not quite in their stratosphere are entertaining hundreds of thousands, and often, hundreds of millions worldwide.’ as a caveat.
But I’d rather have read something more rallying about SF than a warning of its coming demise.
BTW, I notice your link-back on her page has mysteriously disappeared… I blame alien abduction
Amy–i will go read your piece soon. I read this just as satire, and very good satire. But i’ll read your piece now.
Very clever. Funny, yet sad.
Perhaps the best thing about all the uproar (if that’s not too strong a word) about SF fading away is that there’s a huge amount of very good SF already between covers which can be read and re-read.
I took it as a “generic” article and not addressed specifically at Amy’s piece. I hadn’t read Amy’s article when I sent my comment in. I did just read it now and have to say I agree with some of her points about what’s wrong with a lot of current sf. But I wouldn’t say those problems have killed the genre.
Gary,
I am guilty of assuming that anyone reading the title would approach it expecting humor.
“Your piece was not the object of my piece, rather, it was the inspiration for it.”
That’s clear to me, but you would have been better off making the first paragraph more generic, without a specific example, so a specific person wouldn’t have been able to see it as a personal attack.
“I’m sick of reading the fatuous ramblings of the blogosphere on this subject.”
Dick Geis used to make a living on publishing this sort of thing. The real versions, that is, not a parody.
Amy,
I did read your entire piece. I don’t agree with most of your points, but you presented a mostly personal point of view and I think it is mostly a waste of time to argue with people’s personal views.
Your piece was not the object of my piece, rather, it was the inspiration for it. I laid out most, if not all of the variations on the argument and deliberately did not include “voice” as one of the options because I did not want it to come across as an attack on your piece.
This is not a shoe that you should be trying to put on. It was meant in jest (why else blame the fluoridation of water and lol cats?) and was intended as commentary on the nascent cottage industry of eulogizing the genre.
If you would like me to comment on your piece directly, I’ll be happy to do so.
You said it all, man. I’m sick of reading the fatuous ramblings of the blogosphere on this subject. I for one am confident that science fiction is alive and very well. So confident I just signed my first sf book contract the other day. In my humble opinion, genre fiction in general is doing very well. I think it’s mainstream fiction that’s in trouble. I don’t see any new Hemingways or Fitzgeralds, or even Sinclair Lewis’s out there writing future classics. The lieraterary establishment seems to be dying a slow death due to a number of factors that I won’t go into. Genre fiction, including sf, has a mongrel vitality while the pure breds of the literati seem to have developed a bad case of the mange.
Yeah, Fookin brilliant, Jeff. The dick couldn’t even be bothered to read or respond to what I said. It’s called a straw man, and a dumbass one.
oh fookin hell this is brilliant!