Sep. 23rd, 2006 10:17 pm
Histrionics
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klward"And sometimes words change their meanings. I would prefer my hero to wear a helmet rather than a bassinet, and if he picks up a faggot, could this be misconstrued?"
- Isolde Martyn
Today, David and I attended the Writing History Festival at the NSW Writers Centre. We had not attended this event before, compared to four years worth of Magic Casements. But this is an area of interest to both of us (certainly to Edwina Grey) and we were curious to see how authors behaved outside of our "ghetto".
The answer is with less fannish schtick and more impressive journalistic credits. I have seen Sf and fantasy writers taking their research just as seriously, and horror writers discussing ethics. But I have never heard of a speculative fiction writer engaging in a stand-up battle with the Australian War Memorial. This, apparently, is where facts get you.
We attended three panels, on which we were introduced to many completely new faces. The first was "Ethics and Writing History", featuring Peter Manning, a former Head of ABC TV News and Current Affairs. His new book "Us and Them" examines the creation of the Arabic, specifically Islamic Terrorist and will be purchased Monday. His presentation was that good. The others were interesting as well; especially barrister, novelist and aboriginal national/activist Larissa Behrendt.
The second was "Slices of Life", purportedly an examination of the art and craft of auto/biography. All we learned from a technical standpoint was that biographers become obsessed with their subjects and talk about them at every opportunity, but it was certainly varied and quite interesting. And after ten years in prison on a frame-up, Roseanne Catt is entitled to our attention.
The third, and the highlight for us, was "Writing Historical Fiction", featurng Isolde Martyn (above - she was absolutely charming), Nick Bleszynski (battling the Australian War Memorial over his revisionist biography of Breaker Morant), and Mardi McConnochie, who I didn't know before but whose first novel, "Cold Water", I bought on the way out. The Bronte sisters go colonial - I am salivating. She was the one who said that there was such a thing as too much research, and facts should not be allowed to stand in the way of a good story. Nick Bleszynski went on to say that all the best stories were factual. Of course, the Ethics panel had basically concluded that there were no facts - but moving right along.
Can I draw any overall conclusions? Well, attendance was heavily weighted towards females, and quite a few seemed to be readers rather writers. The panels featured virtually no back and forth between participants, each was like a series of independent presentations - especially the auto/biographers. Perhaps the community is not as close-knit (not a ghetto)? In any case, it was a refreshing experience, which much referencing of current affairs and erudite ancedotes. Quite an inspiration! (for my novel about necromancers in contemporary Sydney)
- Isolde Martyn
Today, David and I attended the Writing History Festival at the NSW Writers Centre. We had not attended this event before, compared to four years worth of Magic Casements. But this is an area of interest to both of us (certainly to Edwina Grey) and we were curious to see how authors behaved outside of our "ghetto".
The answer is with less fannish schtick and more impressive journalistic credits. I have seen Sf and fantasy writers taking their research just as seriously, and horror writers discussing ethics. But I have never heard of a speculative fiction writer engaging in a stand-up battle with the Australian War Memorial. This, apparently, is where facts get you.
We attended three panels, on which we were introduced to many completely new faces. The first was "Ethics and Writing History", featuring Peter Manning, a former Head of ABC TV News and Current Affairs. His new book "Us and Them" examines the creation of the Arabic, specifically Islamic Terrorist and will be purchased Monday. His presentation was that good. The others were interesting as well; especially barrister, novelist and aboriginal national/activist Larissa Behrendt.
The second was "Slices of Life", purportedly an examination of the art and craft of auto/biography. All we learned from a technical standpoint was that biographers become obsessed with their subjects and talk about them at every opportunity, but it was certainly varied and quite interesting. And after ten years in prison on a frame-up, Roseanne Catt is entitled to our attention.
The third, and the highlight for us, was "Writing Historical Fiction", featurng Isolde Martyn (above - she was absolutely charming), Nick Bleszynski (battling the Australian War Memorial over his revisionist biography of Breaker Morant), and Mardi McConnochie, who I didn't know before but whose first novel, "Cold Water", I bought on the way out. The Bronte sisters go colonial - I am salivating. She was the one who said that there was such a thing as too much research, and facts should not be allowed to stand in the way of a good story. Nick Bleszynski went on to say that all the best stories were factual. Of course, the Ethics panel had basically concluded that there were no facts - but moving right along.
Can I draw any overall conclusions? Well, attendance was heavily weighted towards females, and quite a few seemed to be readers rather writers. The panels featured virtually no back and forth between participants, each was like a series of independent presentations - especially the auto/biographers. Perhaps the community is not as close-knit (not a ghetto)? In any case, it was a refreshing experience, which much referencing of current affairs and erudite ancedotes. Quite an inspiration! (for my novel about necromancers in contemporary Sydney)