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Hard Times Are Coming... So Be It.

Finding motivation from speculative authors and co.

G.G. Law

26 Aug 2022 — 3 min read

My brain is scattered this week. After being on the block, the problem now is staying focused. If you’re like me when this happens, you start asking yourself, what was I working on again? What was I trying to say? What exactly am I trying to do here? Why am I doing this?

I’ve learned that it’s important to keep a few author quotes nearby as I write because the struggle is real. Some of my favourites are from speculative or sci-fi writers, Ursula K. Le Guin and Octavia E. Butler.

I bought a book this summer that had this quote in the book jacket.

“Hard times are coming, when we’ll be wanting the voices of writers who can see alternatives to how we live now, can see through our fear-stricken society and its obsessive technologies to other ways of being, and even imagine real grounds for hope. We’ll need writers who can remember freedom–poets, visionaries–realists of a larger reality.” -Ursula K. Le Guin

The quote is an important reminder of why we need to write. It’s an excerpt from a speech Le Guin gave at the National Book Awards several years ago, which is also worth a read. I’ll confess: I may have bought the book just for the quote.

The Octavia E. Butler archive is also a treasure trove of inspiration when in need of a little boost.

Butler was a multi-award-winning author and the first science fiction writer to win the prestigious MacArthur “genius” award. She gained widespread recognition for her work and opened doors for other Black American writers and women of colour in the genre. More than 8,000 personal items, including notes, journals, and unpublished stories, were donated to The Huntington after her death.

These two images from the archive are among the most popular. You can probably guess why.

https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/4_octaviabutler-2_inside_cover.jpg — Octavia E. Butler, notes on writing, “I am a bestselling writer…” 1988. Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. © Estate of Octavia E. Butler. Source: The Paris Review.

Octavia E. Butler, notes on writing, “Tell stories filled with facts…” ca. 1970–1995. The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens. © Estate of Octavia E. Butler. Source: The Paris Review.

Octavia E. Butler passed away in 2006, but her work has been going through a revival these past few years with many of her books being adapted into movies and TV series, and even making the New York Times Best Seller List for the first time in 2020.

Hence:

“So be it! See to it!” - Octavia E. Butler

Here are some other things worth sharing this week:

I somehow ended up reading a lot of speculative/feminist/magical realism/fairy tale-inspired fiction these past few months. I have a penchant for weirdly absurd stories. But these collections of short stories veer to the dark and eerie, and even horror at times. Still, they’re worth reading even if it’s not your usual cup of tea:
- The Water Man is a short story written by Ariadna Castellarnau, who’s fascinated by the beauty found in everything dark and twisted. I found the Le Guin quote in the preface of her book La oscuridad es un lugar (which translates as Obscurity is a Place). Unfortunately, I don’t think an English version exists yet. But this story is representative of the themes she explores in the book.
- Castellarnau uses a quote from Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories as an epigraph. I was intrigued, so picked up a copy at the library. Think gothic feminist rewritings of some classic and not-so-classic fairy tales. A subversive read.
- Both books reminded me of Kim Fu’s Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, which came out this year. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the fact that each story had different narrators.
People on Sunday is a track and album by Domenique Dumont I often listen to while writing.
Not all speculative fiction is dark. Have you heard of the Solarpunk movement? It also has a practical environmental side.
I googled “funny podcasts” the other day for something more light-hearted. I stumbled upon the award-winning podcast My Dad Wrote a Porno. If you enjoy laughing out loud and are interested in learning HOW NOT TO write, this podcast is for you. Warning: you may experience uncomfortable feelings of inner cringing.