This book event recap is dedicated to Flannery. All three of us have read Ender's Game, but there is no doubt, Flannery is the biggest fan of Orson Scott Card's books (well, some of them anyway). She was the one who told me about the event, in fact. As it turned out, Card actually lives in Greensboro, NC, aka the middle of nowhere. I simply had to go see him, weather considerations disregarded, if not for Flannery, then due the fact that there is hardly any chance of any celebrity author visiting my local Barnes & Noble ever again.
I showed up at the store about 30 minutes early (you know, just in case) and at first was concerned whether the event would have enough attendees. I shouldn't have worried. There was a pretty decent crowd of about 50 people. Card must have a very strong fan base as there were people who had come all the way from DC and Atlanta just to see him, in spite of the hurricane Sandy. Overall I thought this turned out to be a pretty neat signing (not that I have anything to compare it to).
I showed up at the store about 30 minutes early (you know, just in case) and at first was concerned whether the event would have enough attendees. I shouldn't have worried. There was a pretty decent crowd of about 50 people. Card must have a very strong fan base as there were people who had come all the way from DC and Atlanta just to see him, in spite of the hurricane Sandy. Overall I thought this turned out to be a pretty neat signing (not that I have anything to compare it to).
Orson Scott Card
OSC himself came a tad early too and started off by signing the books of the people who were already there. First, I thought he was taller than I had expected, and second, he was a very confident author. He took the reins into his hands right away and acted like he'd done this signing thing a million times before (and he probably has), needing no introduction or help from the store's staff, and guiding and entertaining attendees like a pro.
Card was very chatty and managed to have a small talk with just about every person at the event. He was even able to identify my accent after me saying just three words ("to Flannery, please"). He has a rather elaborate set of signing rules though. If you are planning to attend an event with him, you might want to acquaint yourself with these rules posted on his website beforehand.
Card's wife was there as well; he talked of her a lot and during his speaking part she was the one who often kept him on track. He likes to go off on tangents while answering questions.
As 7 pm rolled in, the event started.
Card was very chatty and managed to have a small talk with just about every person at the event. He was even able to identify my accent after me saying just three words ("to Flannery, please"). He has a rather elaborate set of signing rules though. If you are planning to attend an event with him, you might want to acquaint yourself with these rules posted on his website beforehand.
Card's wife was there as well; he talked of her a lot and during his speaking part she was the one who often kept him on track. He likes to go off on tangents while answering questions.
As 7 pm rolled in, the event started.
Asa Butterfield as Ender
1) OSC began his talk with the movie news. Ender's Game, the movie, is a sure deal. It will be released in November of 2013. Card joked that his involvement with the movie ended the moment he cashed his check. However, he did have a small role in the production - he did a very short voice-over of a pilot making an announcement. He did this during his visit to the movie set where he met some actors starring in the adaptation - Harrison Ford (Colonel Hyrum Graff) and Asa Butterfield (Ender). Card was very much impressed with the actors, commenting on how shy and quiet Ford was in person and how smart of an actor Asa was. He said the scene he participated in isn't in his book, but that it's still very powerful. In fact, there are many differences between his book and the movie adaptation, but he is not bothered by that at all. Card expressed his hope that the movie would do well, because only in that case can more of his books could be adapted to screen. In his words, it is customary to blame authors for the failures of movie adaptations of their books and to punish them by not giving their works another chance. (I bet Philip Pullman knows all about that. No more chances for him after the failure of The Golden Compass, whereas Stephen King's movies are being adapted again and again.) Card encouraged all of us to go see the movie when it comes out.
Next OSC took questions from the audience.
Next OSC took questions from the audience.
2) On a sequel to Earth Unaware (co-written with Aaron Johnston): There definitely will be one. Originally this series was conceived as a series of pre-Ender comics. OSC and Aaron had all the stories planned and laid out, but later, while pitching this project to the publishers, they managed to sell it as a series of novels. Earth Unaware uses Card's story but was written entirely by Aaron Johnston. Card was very complimentary of Aaron, saying that he imitated his own writing style perfectly, not in terms of vocabulary, but in terms of style. He can't wait to read Johnston's very own book.
3) On if it's okay for a 7-year old to read Ender's Game: Card said that in his opinion when it comes to YA, the perfect age to read any YA book is at the age of the protagonist -2 years. Ender's Game started when Ender was 5-6. Most likely a 4-year old won't find it interesting, but for a 7-year old this book would be perfectly acceptable, as long as the story itself is engaging enough for him/her.
3) On if it's okay for a 7-year old to read Ender's Game: Card said that in his opinion when it comes to YA, the perfect age to read any YA book is at the age of the protagonist -2 years. Ender's Game started when Ender was 5-6. Most likely a 4-year old won't find it interesting, but for a 7-year old this book would be perfectly acceptable, as long as the story itself is engaging enough for him/her.
Card was supposed to promote his newest book at this event, his YA novel Ruins, but he barely even spoke about it. However, he talked about why Ender's Game is considered adult and Ruins - YA, even though he wrote them both using the same language. He said because there was a section of Ender's Game written from an adult's POV, his publishers considered it adult.
4) Writing advice: Don't just want to be a writer, be a writer and write. Card said that every aspiring writer has to write about 10,000 pages of drivel before becoming a real writer. If you are lucky, you write them before your fist book is published. In his case, he is still occasionally writing drivel because he hasn't reached that mark yet. So if you see nonsense in his books, attribute it to that:)
According to Card, writing never gets easy. Every project presents its own set of challenges.
He also has an explanation for "writer's block." You experience it when you are subconsciously not satisfied with where your story is going. During times when you'd do just about anything BUT write, your mind encourages you to find a new, better path for your story.
5) On why he chose to write such a dark story about child soldiers (meaning in Ender's Game): When the idea of this story came to Card, the concept of a "child soldier" didn't exist, at least not as it does now. So that idea wasn't the core of the story. Rather, Ender's Game was conceived after reading a book about pilots in WWII who got shot down by enemies because they didn't think to watch out for other planes approaching them from behind, above and below. These pilots only looked straight ahead. That's why Card started thinking about 3-dimensional combat in space. In his mind, soldiers had to be very young to be successful at such a training. OSC was only 16 when he thought of this idea, but he found an actual story involving aliens to incorporate it into when he was 23.
6) On his future writing: Here Card got very personal. He said that 2 years ago he had a stroke and it made him think about his whole approach to writing. At the time he had 2 outstanding book contracts and he realized that if he died his wife would have to return both advances and that would eat up all of his life insurance. So now he only accepts money for the books he has already written. Even though financial considerations are always at the forefront of his writing decisions, he never writes books he doesn't believe in.
Then more book signing and picture taking.
All in all this was a very interesting event. Card was very comfortable with the crowd, very sensitive to how the public was reacting to his stories, so at no moment was he boring. He is an engaging speaker and fortunately he left his political opinions I strongly disagree at the door, making this event more enjoyable.
4) Writing advice: Don't just want to be a writer, be a writer and write. Card said that every aspiring writer has to write about 10,000 pages of drivel before becoming a real writer. If you are lucky, you write them before your fist book is published. In his case, he is still occasionally writing drivel because he hasn't reached that mark yet. So if you see nonsense in his books, attribute it to that:)
According to Card, writing never gets easy. Every project presents its own set of challenges.
He also has an explanation for "writer's block." You experience it when you are subconsciously not satisfied with where your story is going. During times when you'd do just about anything BUT write, your mind encourages you to find a new, better path for your story.
5) On why he chose to write such a dark story about child soldiers (meaning in Ender's Game): When the idea of this story came to Card, the concept of a "child soldier" didn't exist, at least not as it does now. So that idea wasn't the core of the story. Rather, Ender's Game was conceived after reading a book about pilots in WWII who got shot down by enemies because they didn't think to watch out for other planes approaching them from behind, above and below. These pilots only looked straight ahead. That's why Card started thinking about 3-dimensional combat in space. In his mind, soldiers had to be very young to be successful at such a training. OSC was only 16 when he thought of this idea, but he found an actual story involving aliens to incorporate it into when he was 23.
6) On his future writing: Here Card got very personal. He said that 2 years ago he had a stroke and it made him think about his whole approach to writing. At the time he had 2 outstanding book contracts and he realized that if he died his wife would have to return both advances and that would eat up all of his life insurance. So now he only accepts money for the books he has already written. Even though financial considerations are always at the forefront of his writing decisions, he never writes books he doesn't believe in.
Then more book signing and picture taking.
All in all this was a very interesting event. Card was very comfortable with the crowd, very sensitive to how the public was reacting to his stories, so at no moment was he boring. He is an engaging speaker and fortunately he left his political opinions I strongly disagree at the door, making this event more enjoyable.
