I have a research and writing plan!
Eep, I’m only a few months into this blog and I’m already running late with my monthly posts! Fingers crossed I can get back on track next month.
RESEARCH
Now that I’m three months into my project, and I’ve built up my databases to as complete as I can get them at this stage, this month I’ve been thinking about how I’m going to approach the writing of the book. I feel like I’ve set the board up really well and now it’s high time to come up with a game plan. I thought I was going to start my re/reading this month but it wasn’t to be. I just kept on with the theory stuff.
To get my head back in the game after a few years out of academia, I spent the last few months reading a bunch of genre theory, especially as it relates to our literature and to spec fic in general, and I now think I’ve found the best plan going forward. So: I’m just going to re/read all the spec fic texts and take notes before I attempt any drafting of the chapters. I’ve created a template doc so that I can take notes for each text according to my chapters/corresponding genre. This is important as so many of our texts cross genre lines.
I’m going to approach my reading as Brian Attebery suggests, in Stories about Stories: fantasy and the remaking of myth. Rather than analysing any given text to decide whether it can be classified as this genre or not (ie. a prescriptive and paranoid way of reading) I’m going to read each text and ask how it might be read within the various genres. For example, in reading Archie Weller’s Land of the Golden Clouds, I’m not interested in asking what the features of the text are that make it purely science fiction or fantasy, and thus arguing for or against anything, I’m instead going to talk about the science fictional elements in the sci fi chapter, the horror elements in that chapter, and so on. In this way many of the texts will be discussed in multiple chapters; they straddle mutliple genres. I think I’ll get a much fuller discussion of genre in each chapter this way, instead of talking about individual texts as only this genre or that one. So I’m just going to read all the stories and take my notes and when I’m done I should have a massive amount of notes for each chapter with plenty of great examples from the texts to use. Who knows how long that’ll take, so I’m not going to set myself unnecessary deadlines or other time limits.
So, in February I’m going to start with my re-reading. I have already read most of these texts in my database but as I mentioned in my last blog post it’s a good idea to encounter them fresh with my new research goals in mind. This is great because I love re-reading! (If it’s a great text that is. I’m not looking forward to rereading the texts I find difficult, but it’s part of the job I suppose.)
Only once I’ve read all the texts (and seriously, god only know how long that’ll take given I’m such a slow reader and the database is quite hefty!) I’m going to get stuck into any theory that is specific to First Nations spec fic. The reason for this is I don’t want this theory to get in the way of my own cultural understanding of the texts. I want to read for those elements myself; I think I have a solid enough understanding of genre to do this. So I’ll read all the theory after I’ve read the texts which’ll just help frame the chapters and fill in the blanks as needed. I’m very firm that I don’t want foreign theory driving this book. I want the texts and their cultural elements to take the wheel.
Still reading for the prize so still can’t talk about those texts publically. One text I did read and will talk about:
- Futuristic Worlds in Australian Aboriginal Fiction by Iva Polak. I really want to love this as it’s the first dedicated book-length survey of our spec fic, but there were so many little mistakes and a few big ones too (I’m not yet ready to write about these publically). So, while I did appreciate the scope and commitment of this text, especially as the author is writing in a second language, I’m really dismayed that there are such inaccuracies about First Nations spec fic out in the world, particularly as this book would probably be considered authoritative. I guess this just proves why my project is important – that we need culturally grounded scholarship about our creative work or there is a risk of misreading our work.
PUBLICATIONS
Nothing published this month!
TALKS
No talks either! But plenty of planning for future talks…
CULTURE
Reading
The Dispossessed, Ursula K Le Guin – re-read this classic. No notes.
Music
Mdou Moctor has been getting a solid workout in this house.
Film & TV
I was glued to the ICJ case, and vaccilated between being consumed with rage and maybe a little hopeful.
Well, that’s it. And, as always, Free Palestine!
Mykaela
Thursday the 8th of February, 2024
Mykaela Saunders 