The North Wind Speaks (part 22)

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We know everything

(continued tomorrow0


And today's diagram . . .

Here, scrawled because the writing is coming fast, is a quick diagram of the Bombing of Bocielande Station section, which is, as I wrote inside the red circle, the atrocity at the heart of the novels. It begins with The last Esso station , its back-lit [sign] sinking below the trees like the setting moon. (Extra points to anyone who recognizes that pop-art icon.) Then it goes Into the Fairy Tale Woods and into the past to Brocielande Station. From there, the action goes into the Debatable Hills and then makes a return to the Fairy Tale Woods, of course.

Not that I call them that in the novel.

All of which is in order to introduce Will to Blind Enna.

*

Home from Capclave

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I'm home from Capclave and can report that I had a very pleasant time. Some of my seven panels were better than others but impartial witnesses told me that they were all good. (This is not bragging on my part; it takes all the panelists working together to make one of these things fly.)

I heard that part of the reason the panels worked so well was that the Program committee removed one track of programming, resulting in larger audiences at all the panels. And there is nothing that will make a panel work half so well as an engaged audience. Except when two of the panelists get so angry with each other that they threaten to begin slamming each other with the folding chairs. But I haven't been involved in that kind of melee for years.

For my money, the best panels were the two dinosaur panels featuring paleontologists Tom Holtz and Michael Brett-Surman. Partly because they're both engaging speakers but mostly because their knowledge of the subject was encyclopedic. I was on one panel and Robert Sawyer (who, remember, originally intended to become a paleontologist himself) was on both. Before the one we both sat on, we agreed that our role was mostly to keep our mouths shut and ask respectful questions.

Not easy for either of us, but we managed.

And "The North Wind Speaks" (part 21) . . .

posed by a sphinx?

(continued tomorrow)


And today's diagram . . .

In this diagram I show all the major influences on Cat (and Helen) at the point shortly before she journeys to Ys. Esme and Raven, of course. Barquentine and Saoirse, regrettably. The Baldwynn and the Goddess inevitably. Remarkably, Fingolfinrhod and Dahut merc'h Gradlon haven't been factored in. Even more surprisingly, I seem to have been toying with the possibility of dangling a romance between Cat (at that time Kate Gallowglass) and Barquentine before the reader. Anybody who's read the The Iron Dragon's Mother knows how implausible that would be. (Though I was playing with the tropes of the Romance genre there.)

And the purpose of the diagram? To make certain I wasn't overlooking anybody. There were a lot of characters in play by then.


Above (l-r) Tom Holtz, dodo, Michael Brett-Surman.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 20)

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a cunning riddle

(continued tomorrow)


And today . . .

There is no diagram today.  Consider this a day of rest.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 19)

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The answer to

And today's diagram . . .

This one's easy. It's an organization cart for the Conspiracy.  If you haven't read the novel, you should avoid reading the chart because it does give away some of the plot.

At the top is an absentee Chief Conspiratorial Officer. Under whom are two co-equals, the Chief Acting Head and the Temporary Chief Officer.  (They became the Acting Chief Conspirator and Temporary Head Conspirator in the novel.)  Beneath them are Shipping and REceiving, Employee resources (Lord Pleiades) , the Department of Corruption (A. Frowst) and the Department of Persecution (J. Squarefoot) The departments of Research and Blackmail are under the Department of Corruption. Clerical & Data Entry (Missy Argent) answers to both Corruption and Persecution and thus can play one off against he other. At the very bottom are Clerical Services (Lolly Underpol) and Computers.

Back when I worked for the National Solar Heating and Cooling Information Center, I was answerable to two dotted-line bosses and, let me tell you, it was a strange situation to be in.

*

"Cloud" in Asimov's Science Fiction

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I'm in print again! This time, it's "Cloud" in the November/December issue of Asimov's Science Fiction.

I'm afraid the cover is a little misleading. "Cloud" is not a hard-science tale of survival featuring an astronaut descending through the atmosphere of a gas giant, reliant only on quick wits and a vacuum suit. Alas. After seeing the artwork, I can't help feeling a little guilty about that. Maybe I should write that cover story someday.

Nevertheless, I am proud of the story. It wasn't easy creating a world that exists on the surface of an enormous cloud with New York City at its apex. In fact, it took me a couple of years to write--or, rather, to discover exactly why I was writing a tale of World-as-Cloud. But it came out well, I think, and now readers have the opportunity to make up their own minds about it.


And today's diagram . . .

I've mentioned before that a common development in recent-ish literature is the fantasy novel where the hero/heroine one by one acquires a surrogate family. If you doubt this is a real thing, just take a look at Phil and Kaja Foglio's ongoing online graphic novel Girl Genius (you can find it here) and count the number of allies currently surrounding her.

I did something similar with The Iron Dragon's Mother. (I could hardly avoid it, given that it has a substrate of commentary on what fantasy is and should be.) But I flipped it by using the myth of Inanna as a structural model for the second half of the novel. When the goddess Inanna descended to the underworld, she had to lose, one by one, her armor, her sources of power, her clothing, and, ultimately, her life. Only then could she rise again.

This chart (a timeline reading from top to bottom) catalogs everything that Cat has lost and gained, in order to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything. Because it's only when she's lost everything, including her new name, that she can find a proper resolution to the novel.

Mind you, when that resolution arrived it came as a surprise to me. But given all that Caitlin had paid for it, it was the only one that made sense.


And as always . . .

I'm on the road again. If you're going to be at Capclave this weekend, be sure o say hello.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 17)

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As good as found

And today's diagram . . .

This diagram covers the Death watch chapter. Read for top down, Cat interacts with Fata Narcisse, G (Grimalka), and Queenie. All three relationships come together at Fata Narcisse's death. Spun off to the side are notes to myself not to forget: Claustrophobia and There must be a sense of  many servants.

The sunlike symbol after the death represents transcendence, accompanied by collapse of glamour and revenge. Following which, Cat will escape via Greyhound. 

Thoughts spun off by the diagram include: (hatred of the Fey) "I like her personally, but I hate her kind." and a list of Servants by Profession, including cooks, waiters, janitors, window washers, florists, yard workers. There are many more, of course, but that's a start. Also: Half the compound was given over to servants who kept it running (& those areas the gentry were not encouraged to enter.)

Most importantly, off to the left-hand side, I wrote (desire for a sister) and an arrow leading to (desire for an heir). At this point, I knew Fata Narcisse's intentions and could begin writing the chapter.

Interestingly enough, it was only when drawing this diagram that I realized how much of the novel was about Caitlin's search for a sister. And yet, it was in there from almost the beginning. 

And . . .

I came home from vacation and immediately took off to New England to teach a couple of classes at the University of Connecticut. I got home last night, and now I'm packing to go to Disclave. So... as always, I'm on the road again.

If you see me at the con, be sure to say hi.

*

At the Lima Bean Festival

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Marianne and I topped off our week down the Shore with a visit to the Lima Bean Festival in Cape May.

You may think that Teddy Roosevelt riding a moose is pretty damned American but there's nothing as authentically American as a Lima Bean Festival.  Cape May is a resort town but in October, most of the attendees are local. There are tents where people sell clothing, handmade jewelry, and clever art. Tables where the vendors are selling second-hand stuff less for the money than the conversation. And there are lima beans: Lima Bean Soup, Lima Bean Hummus, Lima Bean Chile, Lima Bean Empanadas... and some Lima Bean Pastries that I didn't dare look too closely at.

I thought that they'd given up on the Lima Bean Earrings but a jewelry lady told me they'd sold out early.

And The North Wind Speaks (part 16) . . .

A lost child?

(continued tomorrow)


And today's diagram . . .

The clearer the novel becomes in my head, the simpler the diagrams. Here, Caitlin's journey is boiled down into three seps:

1. Kill Dragon.

2. Recognize Guilt

3. Recognize Responsibility

Which was far too after-school special for what I had in mind. Kind of a failure in perception, this diagram.

Ths diagram is better. Cat slices through Avernus. At the center are her relationships with Narcisse, Grimalke, the pilots and the haints. The city is divided into the Ruling Class, the Elite, the Blue Collar and the Underlass. The people Cat interacts with include revenants, friends, at least one revolutinary, and servants.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 15)

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and kill him.

And as always . . .

I'm on the road again. So it's possible tomorrow's post will be a little late. I'll do my darnedest, though.


And today's diagram . . .

At the top is a line spoken by Caitlin to Esme when they dine in La Ghoulerie: "You can have anything on the vegan menu." To which, of course, Esme's response would be a disappointed, "Awww."

Today's diagram shows all the major characters as they enter and leave the novel. Note how many are female. Only Fingolfinrhod, Ederkopp, and Rabbit are male. Rabbit is still being held out as a possible love interest. Little does he (or did I) know that he was about to get his ass resolved straight out of the plot.

*

"The North Wind Speaks" (episode 14)

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the cad down

And today's diagram . . .

This diagram is labeled In the Ancient City, which means I had not yet determined the city was Avernus nort hat it was built inside the crater of a (probably) dormant volcano.

This is arelationship diagram not a plot one. At top are Cat, Narcisse and Attercop ("Counselor"). Esme is off by herself because... well, because she's Esme. Cat has a relationship with two pilots (Ysault and Sibyl) without Fata Narcisse knowing about it. Narcisse has a relationship with the Conspiracy as do the pilots.

In the ideas part of the page, I ask Carnival?  which is a good notion. I also suggest bringing in the witches who almost catch Will on the train to Babel in The Dragons of Babel. Which, while not actually a bad idea isn't a very interesting one. So I didn't use it.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 13)

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We'll track

(continued tomorrow)


And today's diagram . . .

This is the diagram where I finally realized Helen V.'s importance to the plot. I drew diverging lines for what happens to all the characters (I've finally reached the point where all those who have come together begin to fly apart), and I realized that I hadn't included Helen. So I wrote her name large. Then circled it. Then saw.

Much as I'm trying to de-mystify the process of writing in this series, there are moments in the process that cannot be put into words.

*

Texas Tommy's Wonderful Tornado

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Pictured above is Texas Tommy who sells a variety of stuffed hot dogs from a hole-in-the-wall place in Cape May, NJ. He is, as you can guess, an eccentric guy with a good sense of humor. The kind of fellow you meet now and then who makes you feel cheerful for the rest of the day.

He is also a culture hero. For Mr. Tommy has created an entirely new and completely wonderful fast food--the Tornado.There's one pictured below:

And it tastes even better than it looks! What Texas Tommy did was to repurpose a soft ice cream machine to serve hot mashed potatoes. To which he added cheese, chili, hot peppers, salsa, and sour cream. The Five Basic Food Groups of Deliciousness.

It's a meal, it's a self-indulgence, and if the Catholic Church ever notices it, it will probably be declared a sin. That's how good it is.

Only in Cape May. And now that the tourist season is over, only on weekends.

And "The North Wind Speaks" (part 12) . . .

 Is it a faithless lover?

(continued tomorrow)

And today's diagram . . . 

This is kind of a mess, but have patience. The plot moves from top to middle, where it says CRASH. I'm trying to work out the implications of Olympia giving birth. Of Olympia herself, I write: A face of unconcern. A single un-winking eye. Hair like flaming oil. Olympia must be aloof, scornful, uncaring. "If I die, then so much the worse for you who were inadequate protectors.

Of the crone Grimka I write: The  crone is a brick of certainty & worth [therefore] se is a haint. Which, in the actual fact, is a false syllogism

Swooping lines represent the crone (Grimka) and Fata Narcisse. Of Narcisse, I ask: Does she die or live? Which is a much less interesting question than the one The Iron Dragon's Mother ultimately answers.

*

The American Phoenix

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Here's a piece of American history that I wish everyone knew. George Henry White was the last African-American congressman of the Reconstruction era. The forces of racism and oppression systematically redrew legislative districts and enacted poll taxes, "literacy tests," and other laws to suppress black voters and one by one shut down politicians of color. On his last day in Congress, White delivered a speech in which he declared, "This is perhaps the Negroes' temporary farewell to the American Congress, but let me say, Phoenix-like he will rise up some day and come again. These parting words are in behalf of an outraged, heart-broken, bruised and bleeding but God-fearing people, faithful, industrious, loyal rising people--full of potential force."

Then he rolled up his sleeves and set to work building up the economic, social, and political power of his race. Whitesboro, NJ, where this marker stands, is part of his legacy.

Over a hundred years later, White's words proved prophetic when Barack Obama quoted them in his second inaugural address. What had been a sad tale of what America is capable of doing to its best and finest became one of vindication and triumph.

And today's episode of "The North Wind Speaks" . . .

. . . was accidentally posted with yesterday's. My bad. The series will continue tomorrow.


And today's diagram . . .

C is for Caitlin and Helen is H. The Heart stands for Romantic Lead who, in the end, never showed up. It turns out that there's no time for romance when you're running for your life. R is for Raven and of course Esme is E.

At this point, I know that Raven and Esme must eventually leave and I'm trying to figure out when Up top it says:

"I'll forget you," Esme promised. "Does that make it better?"
"Hush, monster," Raven said.

And below that, but written before:

Do they leave before the crisis? Of course they do.

Because Esme is Esme and Raven has things to do and a living to earn.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 10)

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and we are all devoted

to her welfare.

And today's diagram . . .

You know how, in the wake of Dungeons & Dragons, the standard for modern fantasy became a lone adventurer slowly assembling a family about themselves? This diagram, read from top to bottom, shows the process of Caitlin becoming her own family. First Helen climbs inside her head. Then the dragon does the same. Esme and Raven become external members of the extended family (as do others). Here, I begin to look forward to the process of Caitlin's shedding of identities with the ultimate goal of becoming singular again.

In the middle, as usual, the ellipses (. . .) indicate the parts unwritten. Those that I'm trying to scry into existence with the diagram.

Ideas created by the diagram include that House Sans Merci is a majority stockholder in the Conspiracy, and the comment by one member of it, "You are representing your mother?" one asked politely.

So I haven't yet written the scene where Caitlin joins the Conspiracy under the nom de guerre Kate Gallowglass. Who becomes, come to think, yet another member of Caitlin's interior family.

I haven't said a word about sisters yet because it wasn't until very close to the end of the novel that I realized their importance to The Iron Dragon's Mother. 

*

The North Wind Speaks (the story to date)

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At Marianne's request, here is the text of The North Wind Speaks to date:

The North Wind Speaks

My sister comes rustling through the birch leaves. Gentle she is, but restless, aloof, and intent on her search. What is the East Wind looking for? If only she'd tell us!

Which brings us tidily up to the  present episode.

And The North Wind Speaks (part 9) . . .

She has a thousand brothers 

(continued tomorrow)

And today's diagram . . .

A very careful diagram here of the entire novel as I then understood it. On top, the introduction of characters and major events. Those to the left are the written parts of the novel. The dotted lines below indicate events happening that neither Caitlin nor the reader know anything about yet. The events to the right are those at the end which I had figured out, more or less correctly. The arc over it represents Fingolfinrhod's life between his disappearance and reappearance.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 8)

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 If only

she'd tell us!

(continued tomorrow)


And today's diagram . . .

My first two efforts to clarify Caitlin's relationships with all six of her mothers. Each one, you'll note, crossed out as I failed to get them right.

And here's what it properly looks like... Caitlin's relationships with her mothers, Aerth, Faerie, the physical and the spiritual and of course her (adoptive, in some ways symbolic) daughter, Esme. Because to understand her mothers completely, she has to have a daughter herself. At this point, at last, the entire novel is so clear in my mind that I can encapsulate it in a single diagram.

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Tales of Old Earth E-Book! On Sale for $1.99! Wednesday Only!

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Good news for e-book readers who either like my short fiction and would like to give it a try. This Wednesday, for one day only, my collection Tales of Old Earth will be on sale for $1.99.

Here's the info that Open Road Media, my e-publisher gave me:

ISBN13	Title	Author	Promo Type	Country	Start Date	End Date	Promo Price
9781504036511	Tales of Old Earth	Swanwick, Michael	ORM - Early Bird Books NL	US	2019-10-09	2019-10-09	$1.99

Open Road will promote the feature via social media. We hope you can share the deal with your network as well. You can subscribe to the newsletters at the links below so that you will get the direct link to the deal on the day that it appears.

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Please let us know if you have any questions. We are thrilled to be part of this promotion; hope you are too!

(Michael again:) This book contains 19 stories, including some of my very best. Two ("The Very Pulse of the Machine" and "Scherzo with Tyrannosaur") won Hugos. One ("Ice Age") was animated for Love, Death, and Robots. Another ("The Dead"), almost became a TV series. And if your mother catches you reading "Midnight Express," you're in very big trouble.

All for less than two bucks. But, as I said, Wednesday only.

And only in the US. I'm sorry about that. But there are legal reasons.


And The North Wind Speaks (part 7) . . .

looking for?

(continued tomorrow)

And today's diagrams . . .

The sequence of events here is pretty much the same as in the last diagram. I've roughed out my understanding of the plot's direction and the introduction of characters in order to give myself space to throw out ideas.

And on the facing page (recto), are the thoughts thrown out. Some were used. Most were not. (A girlfriend named Pogue Mahoney? Really?) But buried in the middle is the very useful "Someone to make her fugitive status explicit to her."

Which became the reappearance of Ysault and Sibyl and once they appeared the novel turned a corner and started to resolve itself.

That's not a spoiler, incidentally. Those who have read the novel understand what I mean. Otherwise... no clue. I had no notion myself at that time.

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The North Wind Speaks (part 6)

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 What is

the East Wind

(continued tomorrow)

And today's diagram . . .

You can tell when the writing's going well because the diagrams get slapdash. Here, Caitlin's left the hobo camp, jumped a train, and is about to play a major part in the birth of a locomotive (here labeled "fire birth." Fata Narcisse still has no name--she's just "elf." So I've come to the ride onward in a luxury coach and am speculating what happens next.

So... "elf betrays her" I speculate, and then "Esme enables escape." A question mark indicates that I haven't decided whether to use those elements. Also feeding into the luxury ride is "Raven?" and an attached note "Too early?" and attached to that, "No! Raven doesn't care about Cat's well-being."

All those elements later came into play but because there was so much else going on, they got pushed into later chapters.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 5)

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and intent on

her search.

(continued tomorrow)

And today's diagram . . .

Back to the plot. Up top, the first section of the novel has been blocked out into innocence, persecution, escape, hobo camp, and train. With a great comment which, in the fact, nobody ever makes: "You've got a mother problem." 

With introduction of a new character. That might be Esme but is more likely Fata Narcisse.

I'm not sure why there's an upside-down blocking out of the first section of the novel below it.

*

The North Wind Speaks (part 4)

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 but restless,

aloof, 

(continued tomorrow)


And today's diagram . . .

Here I have at last what looks to be a map of the entire novel from beginning (top) to end (bottom). The main characters are introduced in a flurry of activity. Caitlin is driven from the military. The dragon dies and disappears from the novel for most of its duration, only to reappear later [in those lines going off to the right, then down and back again to the main line]. She has encounters at the jungle and with the locomotive. Esme makes her appearance and then Raven.

BUT if you look carefully in the middle are two ellipses and in them is all the central matter of hte novel, which I don't know yet. However, as the plot has been moving forward, my understanding of how the book will end has been expanding backwards. So I know now that blood will tell, that Finn dies (or transcends), that House Sans Merci is a majority holder in the Conspiracy, have gotten a glimpse of the glass coffins and know that a great deal comes together in Ys.

So a great deal of progress is being made. All that needs to be understood is how Caitlin moves from crisis to resolution.

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