To varying degrees, I feel what’s happening today in the science fiction and fantasy genre is the same thing that has happened before. Veterans, who have been around in the industry in multiple capacities, understand the machinations of both publishing and fandom. New people, whether they have a vested interest in business or not, bring in fresh perspectives and speculate on how the industry can change. Lines are drawn in the sand and both sides hunker down. It’s “You haven’t been around long enough to understand how changes are implemented.” versus “You’ve been around so long you aren’t willing to change.”

That was a gross generality, mind you, presented for my next point. I see a lot of calls to modernize the industry and make it more welcoming to new folk. A few recent topics of discussion have been diversity in science fiction and fantasy, proposed changes to WorldCon, and addressing personal safety issues at cons. Internet discussions are both exacerbating these topics and highlighting their varying aspects for all the world to see — but this industry is not unique. These same discussions are happening (and have been) in comics, games, music, etc. for some time.

I care, very deeply, about the future of the entertainment industry as a whole and how I will be able to fare long-term in my career. These discussions aren’t going to go away, nor should they. Due to the volume of chatter and emotional tension, though, it’s hard from my perspective to sort out what the proposed solutions are. I feel the way forward is to a) recognize there’s a problem b) come up with satisfactory solutions and then c) work towards them.

So, I’d like to start with one of my own. If there was a “single” change I’d like to see happen now, this would be it.

Mentorship Program

There are many flavor of folk in this industry from fans to support staff to full-time writers, editors, etc. Some of us are in this particular industry part-time; others make a living here. Our experiences vary widely and it is my personal belief that we could benefit from each other’s knowledge.

How? By kicking off a mentorship program. I think this can happen in a few different ways by either building off of what’s already out there or through new efforts. For example, here’s three possibilities that come to mind:

One-on-One

Mentorship could occur on a one-on-one basis where a barter system is deployed for an exchange of services. An example of this would be one party teaches the other how to format an e-book; the other individual provides guidance for incorporating more diversity in their particular story. The barter system can work really well provided it takes on some business-related aspects or involve a certain amount of accountability.

If these relationships are too casual, I can see how this won’t be as effective, but that’s also partly due to my own bias. I prefer to build relationships by starting small and finding common ground.

Coordinated Panel Programming

An easy enough “fix” would be for an introductory-level series of panels designed to help individuals go from their current status to the next level. These panels, with their descriptions, instructions, and materials could be hosted on an organization like SFWA’s website, or on an individual writer’s blog, for folk to use and employ across multiple conventions.

Now, to give credit where credit is due this is not a new concept and some of this already exists. Just recently, I moderated a panel John Klima suggested based off of Nick Mamatas‘s idea.

I’m proposing that we take that concept a step further (if it’s not being done already) because it’s extraordinarily useful for new writers to have access to veterans in a format like that. What I’m suggesting here, is that to build more bridges, we leverage existing convention programming through better coordination. For example, there could be materials for anyone ready and willing to use them housed in a particular location, guidance on how to run these panels, etc.

Spotlight on Resources

As I alluded to earlier, there are a lot of resources out there already that were designed address specific grievances or help new-to-industry folk get acclimated. Many are happening on the author level, but there are conventions, organizations, publishers, website, etc. that are also doing good works.

It’s impossible to find those without serious research right now because the links often get lost on social media or in the midst of a rant. (I will spare you my rant about semantic and social search.) It’d be great if we could get a neutral party (e.g. not a particular writer or editor) or industry-facing organization to collate those. That way, it becomes a destination. “Oh, you’re new to the industry? Hey, here’s a website or web page where you can go to find out the basics.”

Propose Your Own

None of what I’ve said here may be “the” solution, but each one is “a” solution based on my perspective. When I first came to the genre, it was because I loved every bit of it, not because I hated its flaws and couldn’t stand them any longer. I am excited about what the future holds and I hope to read, hear, and see more reasons to be incredibly happy about the industry as the years progress.

What about you? What solutions do you propose to help the industry flourish? How will you bring about positive change? What bridges can we build to bring the community back together?

Mood: Passportitis
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Successfully managed. I’ve impressed myself.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: The house. It cleans itself!
In My Ears: Lose Yourself To Dance Random Access Memories
Game Last Played: Dragon Age II
Book Last Read: Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines.
Movie Last Viewed: Trance
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
Latest Game Release: Serenity Crew, Wedding Planners Cortex Plus, and Shooting Fish
What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.

It’s about two weeks until GenCon, where we’ll launch the Firefly RPG. The logistics of managing personnel, working on the corebook, discussing system elements like Assets and Complications — on top of planning a convention — has slowed my writing to about 25,000 words these past few weeks. The majority of that was game-related.

Now, I needed that downtime because Gaming in the ‘Verse: GenCon 2013 Exclusive (all 272 pages of it) was developed and polished in a few months. We all put ourselves through the ringer for this book and it has turned out beyootifully. Yes, it *is* finished. Laid out, approved by Fox, in PDF/print formats and is now in Indianapolis. (My other GenCon plans, to set up panels and the like for Onyx Path and for my portion of the Writer’s Symposium, were completed months ago. Last year, I was pushing the deal forward for John’s new game ROFL! from Cryptozoic. That game is debuting this year at GenCon, too.) And this week the heavy lifting on the Firefly RPG corebook began as well — and that’s just games!

All this productivity, all this writing, does not remove one of the most important components in game design — playtesting. With everything that was going on, I got stuck when I was working on my Echoes of War adventure, “Friends in Low Places.” My story takes place in a town called Serenity View on the planet Hera. Now, the Cortex Plus system offers a lot of flexibility to take the adventure in a direction you prefer. At the same time, the five-act adventure structure offers crucial beats for the plot.

With that in mind, there were specific things I wanted to see when I playtested the adventure:

• Where did the tissues between Acts rip apart?
• Were the beats accurate?
• How did Timed Actions affect the tension?

The basic structure (e.g. the beats) and the characterization was solid, with the exception of the third act, which I ended up changing to better facilitate the development of the mystery. The connective tissues, however, were the weakest part. I needed to add in setting that allowed the players to explore Serenity View and find more clues.

And added I did! In addition to the cast of five characters who shape this adventure, there are fourteen smaller locations and twenty to thirty minor characters. This is the connective tissue, the ability for players to interact with the story on a deeper level by exploring this new part of the ‘Verse. This is where the game takes place and, though some may call it “fluff,” I’ve always felt that having a fully-fleshed out environment is part of the game experience. If I didn’t provide that here, then the GM would have to create that, so I did. Now, I don’t assume that every GM will use all aspects of the town. My role is to provide more than enough ideas for two or three sessions of play, knowing that most GMs will tweak the adventure to their liking.

Anyway, this is part of the reason why I feel playtesting is so important. The adventure and rules could be solid, or the setting could be there, or a rule could be inappropriate — but on paper you may not realize where your errors are until you play through it.

Oh… And Timed Actions? *Great*!!!!

Mood: Countdown time!
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: NOT ENOUGH.
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Grrr…
In My Ears: Doctor Who Re-Watch to Sooth the Nerves
Game Last Played: *coughs* Candy Crush. Still. Crap times two!
Book Last Read: Magician King Re-read
Movie Last Viewed: Pacific Rim
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
Latest Fiction Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology
Latest Game Release: Wedding Planners Classic Set
What I’m Working On: July 2013’s Progress Report

It’s no secret I am a Doctor Who fan. Additionally, I am also a writer and have worked on IPs like, most recently, Firefly. My job, when I’m working on these properties, is to tell stories and create games for fans and in the best interests of the publishers who hired me. It’s also part of my job to be analytical about settings and characters to find cohesion and understand how the pieces fit. So, naturally I do this for anything else I enjoy — like Doctor Who.

With that out of the way, it baffles me that conversations about Doctor Who as a female have boiled down to a dismissive: “Well, you must be one of them feminists.” So, wanting a new version of the Doctor we’ve never seen before is a political agenda? Another comment I heard was: “They don’t change the sex of superheroes — why the Doctor?”

Yes, they have changed the gender of superheroes, multiple times over in fact. Sometimes it’s a woman assuming the mantle, sometimes it’s an alternate universe, and other times it’s a commentary on gender-swapping as a whole. Link, link, link, link, link. Why? Because it serves as a vehicle for great storytelling that’s reflective of the modern age. Those tales come from writers and artists, true, but comics does not shy away from cultural commentary nor has it avoided experimenting with new and controversial ideas in this art form. You don’t have to look very long or hard to notice how comic books have evolved through the decades. Even iconic, decades-old heroes, like Superman, have changed over the years. Superman from the 50s is not the same hero we know today.

I’m shocked that the Doctor’s gender change is such a threat. Why? Because it’s in the canon and that was reinforced by Neil Gaiman. The definition of regeneration incorporates race, gender, and species shifts and that was presented on screen in “The Doctor’s Wife” (e.g. not just behind the scenes) by Mr. Gaiman when he wrote about the Corsair. (Also, remember a race shift was introduced when River Song regenerated.)

The Time Lords’ ability to change species during regeneration is referred to in the television movie by the Eighth Doctor in relation to the Master. This is supported by the implication by the Daleks that the First Doctor’s apparently human appearance was not his true form (The Daleks’ Master Plan, 1965) and the Fourth Doctor’s Time Lady companion Romana’s regeneration scene in Destiny of the Daleks (1979). In that scene Romana demonstrates an apparent ability to “try on” different bodies from a number of different species during her regeneration, before settling on a final, humanoid form which physically resembles Princess Astra of Atrios (see discussion below).

While explaining the process of regeneration to Rose at the end of “The Parting of the Ways”, the Ninth Doctor suggests that his new form could have “two heads”, or even “no head”, although it is unclear if he is merely joking. In the 2005 Children in Need special, which takes place immediately after, the newly regenerated Tenth Doctor, while examining his new body, makes a point of checking that he has two arms, two legs and two hands, implying that regenerations can sometimes result in physically deformed or non-humanoid forms; whether this is also a joke is not clear (or could be due to the psychological stress of regeneration). In the second part of The End of Time (2010), the Eleventh Doctor also enumerates eyes, ears, hands, fingers, and legs, and after feeling his hair, even wonders for a moment if he has changed sex. (In a later episode, “The Doctor’s Wife,” the Doctor refers to another Time Lord, the Corsair, having been both male and female in various incarnations.) — Regeneration, Wikipedia

This link from the Tardis Wiki has additional information with even more reference points.

Circling back to my earlier point… Have you seen “The Name of the Doctor”? Yeah, definitely not human. Now, the other criticism was that the Doctor wouldn’t be “The Doctor” anymore if “he” was a “she.” Really? In the canon, the Doctor’s personality doesn’t change but his form can and does. So, that means the Doctor’s core identity is iconic but the biological container the Time Lord is housed in shifts. My answer to that question is: “No, the canon states that the Doctor would still be the Doctor. It’s the writer’s responsibility to make it so.”

I, for one, would love to see a female Doctor because it’s a chance for more great storytelling. I get it. Change is hard. How many people didn’t like Amy Pond when she first appeared, but then warmed to her as her story was told? Having a new form is an opportunity to reinforce who (and what) the Doctor is. Why? Because changing what the Doctor looks like won’t alter who “he” is or what affects “his” character has on those around “him” — and that has the potential for amazing narration. For me, this isn’t politics. This is a way to tell new stories in the Who-verse that fit the canon.

And that’s fantastic.

Mood: Who down in Who-ville
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Not buzzing yet!
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Laundry. Doesn’t that count?
In My Ears: Nightmare in Silver re-watch
Game Last Played: *coughs* Candy Crush. DAMMIT.
Book Last Read: The Magician King Re-read
Movie Last Viewed: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list! BUT? Edgar is coming back to life! Huzzah!
Latest Fiction Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology
Latest Game Release: Wedding Planners Classic Set
What I’m Working On: July 2013’s Progress Report

In “adventures in container gardening” land, I have a container of: “I have no idea what this is, other than they’re wildflowers and they look cool.”

Then, there is Edgar. My cherry tomato. Oh, how the mighty have risen and fallen.

This little sprout rose from the ashes of an entire dead pot of italian oregano. I’m worried about my brains and what’ll happen as it continues to grow.

Marigolds are amazing natural pest repellants. Or so I hear.

Then there are the jalapenos. Doing well. As they do in this type of weather.

I have bebeh roses, too. These were mostly dead when I got them, but they’ve been revived due to plant vitamins. They attract the bees.

Spearmint, peppermint, lavender, and lemon balm are some of the other herbs I have planted. (I should learn how to dry them, eh?) The lavender, if it blooms, won’t until the fall. But, the peppermint is growing mighty nice. Still have to replant the other one.

Mood: At one with the world.
Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: HAH! Yeah…
Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Shooooooooooooot.
In My Ears: Residual background noise.
Game Last Played: *coughs* Candy Crush. Still. Crap.
Book Last Read: The Magicians Re-read
Movie Last Viewed: Red 2
Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
Latest Fiction Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology
Latest Game Release: Wedding Planners Classic Set
What I’m Working On: July 2013’s Progress Report