Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

If you have a question for Charles Yu, feel free to ask it in this thread. You can also start another thread if you feel that your question might spark a longer conversation.

Charles,

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is an amazing piece of transcendent literature that I feel is one of the most original works of fiction I have ever had the pleasure of reading, so thank you! I actually have two questions, so you can pick which one you want to answer (or pick both:-).

1. How much did your own life experiences inform the writing of "How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe"?

2. I would love to spend more time in the universe you created! Are you planning on writing any more stories based in that world? Perhaps some short fiction?

Thanks again for sharing your amazing talent as a writer!

Take Care,

Justyn

Hi Mr. Yu,

I absolutely loved "How to Live..." and had picked up Third Class Superhero years ago and liked that too.

My question is going to be pretty lame and basic but I was curious as to some of the things that influenced your writing. For instance, are you a comic book fan (Third Class Superhero) and if so what comics were particularly influential? What kind of books helped you develop the wonderful ideas in your novel or just inspired you (Science, Science-Fiction and other Fiction)? I have always wanted to pick up more science books but I never know what would I'd be able to digest or where to start.

Finally I just wanted to particularly mention "Florence". I love that story and it is one of my favorite shorts I've read in recent years. I wanted to give it a quick shout out.

Thanks,
Brian

I love How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe and I missed you when you went to the LA Times Festival of Books. Will you have be at any other public events this year?

Hello Charles,

Your books are poignant and beautiful. They seem to represent a rather nihilist, gloomy and lonely view of the human condition. Does this reflect your views about the world and what are your thoughts about how people can survive THIS universe?

Thanks,
Wendy

Hello! I am so excited to be part of this group. Thank you Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ and thank you Patrick, and thank you fine folks who have already submitted some questions. I'm digging into them now...

Dear Justyn,

Thank you for your kind words about the book, and thank you for reading it. Are you sure we're talking about the same book? Well, no matter, we're here now, so I will assume you are talking about the book I wrote! Ha ha, just kidding,

Thanks for your questions. I pick both!

1) About my own life experiences and how they influence the writing of the book: I would say that they had a deep, but not necessarily always clear influence on the universe of the book. Certainly some of the emotional tone of the book, the ambient atmosphere of Universe 31, if you will, that comes from the space inside my head. But in terms of how much of this story about the character "Charles Yu" is autobiographical, I would say not that much. It's more like a fairly distant alternate universe version of my life than a close parallel world, if that makes any sense.

2) After finishing the book, I thought, I will never go back to Universe 31 again. The story feels finished to me. It is, after all, a time loop (as you know). But then again, it's not a true closed loop, right? And the ending is sort of open...

If I did ever go back to it, it would probably be, as you suggested, through short fiction or even some other medium perhaps. It'd be hard to imagine writing another novel. Then again, part of me would like to explore some of the corners of Minor Universe 31, and some of the technologies and characters that were introduced or alluded to. I think it would make a fun video game, actually, although I'm no video game programmer. Anyone know how to make a video game?

Also, I don't know if you have seen this, but I did write an "Origin Story" that is related to the world of the novel. I think of it as a story set in Universe 31-A, a kind of alternate history to the family in the book. was kind enough to publish it recently:



Thanks again for your questions, Justyn, and for reading the book!

Best,
Charlie

Dear Brian,

Thank you for reading both books. Not many people I know have read both. Maybe not even everyone in my family...

I did collect comics as a kid. My mom wouldn't let my brother and I buy that many, so I spent a lot of time trying to speed-absorb the information while in the store. I remember one title in particular was a 64-page single-issue cross-over special type thing, Spider-Man Versus Wolverine. That story stood out for me, because it seemed very much outside of the storylines for those two characters. That sort of opened my eight-year-old eyes, this idea of these two characters meeting in a one-off alternate universe.

I still love reading science books. I don't know what you're most into, but I get a lot of tips from and from . I'm reading a book called CODE by Charles Petzold that is quite amazing. If you tell me what specific areas you are interested in, I'd love to share more of my favorite books with you...

You hold a special place in my heart for mentioning Florence. It's online here, at Eclectica, where it was first published:

Thanks again for your kindness and your questions!

Charles,

Your novel is one of my favorites that I've read this year, it was so brilliantly created and I've shoved it into the hands of many of my friends.

Anyway to the questions - Which character was your favorite to create? Also, which tangent (I think that's the word I want) was your favorite to write?
My favorite character was definitely Charles's boss, and my favorite tangent to read was about the Girl He Never Met (and Never Married).

Can't wait to hear from you,
Paula

Hello Charles,

Your novel is one of the most beautiful books I've read in a while, specially for being a modern science fiction book, is it just a breath of fresh air! Also thank you so much for posting the links for both Florence and Origin Story, I wasn't familiar with them and I really enjoyed reading them, you create wonderful and interesting places to be...well as wonderful as the end of the world and universe can be hehe.

Ok, questions! 1. I have read several reviews were you are compared to Douglas Adams, what do you think about this? were you inspired by his work? and which other authors have been influential for you?

2. I feel your style of writing has so many characteristics, would you consider it humor, drama, suspense?

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to talk to you!

Jess

Happy Tuesday! Excited that there are more questions!

Dear Andrea,

I will be doing many more events this year, yes, including a couple in Los Angeles! Here's a little rundown:

10/2: Reading at WORD bookstore in Brooklyn, NY

10/3: Reading at Google (in NY) as part of Authors@Google

Also 10/3: Panel discussion at the Center for Fiction (in NY) with Kathleen Goonan and Junot Diaz

10/9: At Wordstock in Portland, OR with Vanessa Veselka and John Freeman

10/19: Literary Death Match in LA @ Busby's East

10/21-22: At the Texas Book Festival

10/22: Literary Death Match in Austin, TX

11/13: Reading at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, CA

and looking ahead to 2012, next January I'll be at Key West Literary Seminar, in Key West, FL

I'll try to be better about posting stuff to Twitter () and Facebook ().

Thanks for you interest, and hope I get to meet you at one of these events!

Charlie

Hello Charles,
Let me tell you that it was so difficult to finally purchase your book. It was a recommendation from The Guardian newspaper (the Books section), I immediately felt drawn to the story and also the cover art is funny and catchy. I am from Mexico, so it was hard for me to find it here, thankfully in the USA it was available. It was a journey to find your book but I loved it.
My question to you is regarding those little "tools" you use in the book, like the blank page, that actually broke the reading experience and make the reader part of the story. How did you come up with those kind of ideas? And what was its original purpose? To make us the readers part of the story?

Hello Charlie, just a comment: I got your book from the library. Actually they didn't have it in the collection so I requested it and read it when it came in. I liked it a lot. It was funny and strange at the same time. I just read "Florence" and thought that was great too. I will try to think of questions in the next day or two. Keep up the good work!

Charles (it excites me that I'm calling a real author by their first name),
I was a book store in NYC and saw the title of "How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe". I immediately thought "I have to read this, it's probably awesome." And it was. I just read "Florence." It's very strange, a strange way of thinking, but I like it. I've never read a book written they way "How to live.." is. Or how "Florence" is. I enjoyed them a lot.
My question for you is how did you start writing? And what kept you going?
And now that I've read "Florence" I really wonder, how do you come up with this stuff? And what were you imagining as you wrote "Florence"?

Aviva

Sorry about yesterday, folks. I was stuck inside my TM-31. Back to it today!

Dear Wendy (Message 5),

First of all, thanks for reading, and for your generous words.

I agree with you that the books, both Third Class Superhero and How to Live Safely, can feel melancholy, and even, as you say, gloomy (note to anyone reading this who has not yet read the books: There are fun parts, too! I swear!). I will admit though that it initially surprised me (and to some extent still does) whenever people would tell me how bleak or desolate they think the books are, because I don't see the characters in my stories as being nihilist. Certainly lonely, and even desperate at times. But they're desperate in their search for something, and the fact that they continue to search (for a way out of their storylines, for some meaning in their jobs, for home), I think it means they still think there is hope.

To be honest, I think some of it is just a reflection on my limitations as a writer, too. Melancholy is a key I know how to play in a little bit, and so when I'm composing, I fall back into that key most easily. I'm going to write a book that makes people happy one of these days, even if it kills me.

Thanks again,
Charlie

Hello. HtLSiaSFU is amazing. Loved it - best modern sci-fi in a long long time. Here's my question: I love closed-loop science fiction. I'm assuming you do too (because, you know.) However, I know that lots of people hate it. Did that ever cause you consternation? Or did you just focus on the story being the story and not worry about that stuff?

Dear Paula,

Thank you for saying that. Also, thank you for shoving the novel into the hands of your friends. I hope you are shoving it in such a way that you are hitting mostly the fatty part of the palm, and not, say, jamming their fingers or even cramming it into the webbing between their fingers. Because that would hurt. And I don't want your friends to be hurt. I hope that goes without saying. Especially if being hurt makes them less likely to want to read the book that was just jammed into their hands. Unless, of course, wait a minute...I was assuming you were jamming it into their hands as a kind of brute force recommendation about the literary merits of the book. But maybe you just go around jamming things into people's hands for fun. Or maybe your friends DESERVE having something painfully jammed into their hands because they don't read at all, they just play Angry Birds all day, and in fact, they all hate books. In which case I say: jam away. Use the hardcover version of my book, if possible.

Note to self: Cut back on the coffee and red vines.

Note to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ: If at this point you are considering cutting this Q&A short and/or banning me from the site, I will obviously understand.

Okay, back to Paula (sorry about that, Paula):

My favorite character to create was TAMMY. I think TAMMY has a lot going on that she never shares with Charles. I like to imagine some of her interactions with other inhabitants of Universe 31, especially other software.

My favorite tangent to write was the description of past-tense memory equivalence. After I wrote that little passage, I remember thinking, well, that's the weirdest thing ever, so much for anyone actually reading this book. With most of the tangents (and the interstitials between chapters), I felt that way, i.e., this is too weird, no one will ever let me put this into an actual book. Of course, the trick is that if you connect enough of those tangents to each other, if you make a whole book out of tangents and interstitials, it becomes a different thing altogether.

I'm glad you liked Phil and Marie (The Woman Charles Never Married). I am now imagining the two of them having a picnic. I wonder how Phil's wife, the spreadsheet program, would feel about that. Probably nonplussed. Oh man, sorry about that pun. I'd better stop now.

Thanks again Paula!

Best,
Charlie

So am I allowed to quote the book here?((I'm uh. I'm going to do it regardless)) Because my favorite excerpt is,

"She says that is exactly what she's crying about. That everything is all right. That the world isn't ending. That we'll never tell each other how we really feel because everything is okay. Okay enough to just sit around, being okay. Okay enough that we forget we don't have long, that it's late, late in this universe, and at some point in the future, it's not going to be okay."

It states so well an aspect of our society. I feel like I need extreme circumstances to break out of the mundane, but realize that those days happen rarely if ever. It was well delivered.

((Incoming Question))
I enjoy your writing style a great deal, and was curious as to whether you were ever intentionally funny, or it just happened? It just seems like it would be difficult to cultivate humor and speak eloquently together.

((Another))
Do you have any favorite humorists?/humorous pieces?


What's a proper closing remark for this sort of thing,
-Kevin

Charles,
I'm sorry I didn't just put what I'm about to write in my previous post, but I feel the need to have it have it's own after reading your responses.
First off, you said, "Note to self: Cut back on the coffee and red vines." No one says redvines except for starkids. Are you a starkid or is there a crazy occurrence where someone who is not a starkid actually likes redvines? (Sorry if I'm confusing you)
Also, you said "Melancholy is a key I know how to play in a little bit, and so when I'm composing, I fall back into that key most easily." Are you a musician? You make it sound like you're books are pieces of music that you composed. Which I guess in a sense they are.
Aviva

Dear Jess aka Sweetji:

Thank you for reading, and for your questions.

I am a fan of Douglas Adams's work, and I think it has had an influence on me, both directly (from reading it) and indirectly (through the larger ripple effects of his work on SF and humor in SF in general). I've seen some reviews where my novel was compared to Adams's work, and it is an honor, but it's probably more accurate to say I'm just a downstream beneficiary of his, someone who is swimming in the flow of ideas (and possibilities) that he is the source of.

Some of the writers I go back to again and again for inspiration and instruction: Donald Barthelme, David Foster Wallace (esp. his non-fiction), Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, Nicholson Baker, Richard Powers, to name just a few.

I am glad you said "humor, drama, suspense". I would love it if everything I wrote could be dramatically suspenseful humor. Or humorously suspenseful drama. Seriously. Those three elements, can't go wrong, right? I'm happy if I get just one of those at any given time. I have a jar that I use to collect droplets of each, and I let it accumulate over time. I find that:

1) I'm most often trying for humor, and succeeding to a greater or lesser degree (usually lesser), that

2) Drama or perhaps melodrama (in the sense of emotional conflict) comes most naturally to me, and

3) That suspense (in the sense of being able to make a plot that would make a reader turn the page) comes least naturally to me.

If I were a D&D character, I would want to add some points to my Suspense ability score, even if that meant losing some points off of the Drama score. And I wouldn't mind having a +2 Funny Hammer, if anyone has one to spare.

Thanks again for your questions!

Chaotically good,
Charlie

Okay, I am stupid! Why am I responding to everything in one big thread, making this all confusing? I mean, my writing is confusing enough as it is. Yeesh.

Patrick the Moderator: I fear that it was politeness and your extremely good manners that prevented you from telling me about my poor form. And for that, kind sir, I thank you.

I will now attempt to reply to questions using the button marked "Reply" and not by simply adding a comment to the end of the string like the silly buffoon that I am.

Roxmcr wrote: "Hello Charles,
Let me tell you that it was so difficult to finally purchase your book. It was a recommendation from The Guardian newspaper (the Books section), I immediately felt drawn to the sto..."

Dear Roxmcr:

Let me tell you that I can't tell you how grateful I am that you went to all that trouble to find the book. Thank you!

If I understand you correctly, you live in Mexico, but read about the book in the Guardian (UK?), and then eventually had to buy the book from a US retailer? That is an international story. I wish they sold the book in Mexico. In English or in Spanish.

Note to Mexico: What's up? Are we okay? Why are you mad at my book?

Regarding the "tools" (and thank you for not calling them "gimmicks"): I agree they break the reading experience. I think some people find that off-putting, but I am relieved to see that you actually think they make the reader part of the story. That was what I hoped for: that these tools, or devices would act to open up the universe of the novel a bit, that they could be openings in the text, bridging our world to the world of Minor Universe 31. I wanted the book to be a time machine, but also to be a kind of self-contained world itself, and I wanted the reader to have her or his very own world to hold, a world to inhabit, a time machine to climb into. And, in a sense, each copy of the book, each TM-31, each tiny universe is a little bit different from all of the others, because it is carrying a different reader inside. The reader participates in the creation of the world, by climbing in, just as Charles Yu is actively creating the Book From Nowhere by reading/writing/thinking/dictating it.

If you felt like you were part of the story, that is my best case scenario.

Now, if we could only get the Mexican government to allow time travel...

Charlie

Glynn wrote: "Hello Charlie, just a comment: I got your book from the library. Actually they didn't have it in the collection so I requested it and read it when it came in. I liked it a lot. It was funny and str..."

Hello Glynn,

Well, in that case, just a comment on your comment: Thank you! And glad to hear you are a library-goer. I'm a proud card-carrying member of the Santa Monica Public Library myself. As of right now, I owe $9.60 in fines.

Delinquently yours,
Charlie

@one big thread monster problem. We could always break down your responses into different threads entirely, so as to have a more cohesive structure?

Like a, "Charles Yu's inspiration"
and maybe, "Pertaining to How to Live..."
also with, "Miscellaneous, about the author!"

Then you could go more back and forth with people too! Conversations. We could leave general far-reaching questions here. I'll make the threads, you do what you feel is right, with any question askers too!

Kevin wrote: "@one big thread monster problem. We could always break down your responses into different threads entirely, so as to have a more cohesive structure?

Like a, "Charles Yu's inspiration"
and maybe, ..."

That is very much appreciated Kevin! Thank you.

I guess I'm being a bit self-aggrandizing, though, considering so far this "monster" thread is only 26 messages long, half of which are from me. Thank God for you kind people. Otherwise I'd be in here, asking myself questions. Or shouting just to hear the echo.

Aviva wrote: "Charles (it excites me that I'm calling a real author by their first name),
I was a book store in NYC and saw the title of "How to Live in a Science Fictional Universe". I immediately thought "I ha..."

Dear Aviva,

Thank you for all of your questions! I'm glad you liked "Florence". I think more people have read "Florence" through this thread than have read "Florence" in the history of that story. I'm not sure that math works out, but I hope someone will check that. No, please no one check that. It doesn't make sense. It's not even math.

On to your lovely questions:

1) I started writing stories about 10 years ago, after graduating from law school. The first story I wrote was in the form of word problems from a physics textbook. I didn't even think of it as fiction. I wasn't sure what it was.

2) I don't know what kept me going. Certainly not positive feedback! I must have collected 500-600 rejection slips from my first few years of submitting to literary journals. I think it was just that I couldn't stop myself from writing. And the idea, the hope that someday I'd write a story that would actually entertain people, or affect them the way that my favorite stories affect me.

3) With "Florence" I was thinking about distance and families, and how many people spend most of their lives (5 days a week, 10 to 12 or more hours a day in the office) physically remote from their loved ones. By stretching out the time intervals and distances involved to interstellar scales, I was hoping to make it weird and yet familiar at the same time.

4) I am not a starkid, as far as I know. I suppose I should Google "starkid" to find out.

5) Okay, I Googled it.

6) I'm still not sure I'm a starkid. Although it seems like it'd be cool to be one. Am I still allowed to like red vines? because I do.

7) I'm not a musician. I wish I were. More than I wish I were a starkid. Honestly, if I could be a musician instead of a writer, I would be. Alas, I have no musical talent.

Thanks again Aviva!

Have a red vine for me,
Charlie

I would have a redvine, but I don't know where to find them. Or perhaps I just don't go shopping enough (igh I hate shopping - I'm a nerd). Of course you're allowed to like redvines! I just didn't know anyone did. And even if you're not a musician, I like the analogy-thing that made it sound like you were composing.

Charles wrote: "Dear Jess aka Sweetji:

Thank you for reading, and for your questions.

I am a fan of Douglas Adams's work, and I think it has had an influence on me, both directly (from reading it) and indirectl..."

You know for someone that is "trying" to be humorous you seem like a very funny guy hehe, I like it.
I am not familiar with most of the writers that you mentioned but I will look them up and read some of their works. They seem more social commentary than science fiction writers, interesting.
Maybe by writing novels you get some extra suspense points,+5 each, and bonuses for each reader.
And commenting on something else you replied here, TAMMY is my favorite character of the book, I feel like I want to get to know her more, she seems like she can be amazing.
And one more question, you said you were going to be in Brooklyn on Oct 2nd, what time? I would very much like to be there, I live in Philly and I could make the trip!

James wrote: "Hello. HtLSiaSFU is amazing. Loved it - best modern sci-fi in a long long time. Here's my question: I love closed-loop science fiction. I'm assuming you do too (because, you know.) However, I know ..."

Hi James,

I do like closed loops, in my science fiction, and in general!* It takes some engineering to figure out how to make something self-consistent, at least as a narrative (even if it doesn't necessarily operate according to the laws of physics in this universe), and it also takes some creativity to figure out how to make something interesting for a reader or viewer when they already know (or think they know) how it is all going to turn out.

However, as you rightly point out, some people hate closed loops. Also, some people have pointed out that the loop in HTLSIASFU is not exactly your classic time loop, either. Neither of these things really bother bother me. I wanted a loop structure for the novel because it was the structure that best served the story I was trying to tell. And I wanted the loop to be the way it is (i.e., sort of a squiggly, collapsing loop) for the same reason: it serves the story I was trying to tell. Certainly not to be clever! I'm not clever enough to do much more than what I did, and just making that little loop took about all the brain power I have.

Thanks for reading, and for your question. I was hoping someone would ask about that!

Best,
Charlie

*(Which is not to say I don't like open endings as well. I think HTLSIASFU has a bit of an open ending, in a way.)

Kevin wrote: "So am I allowed to quote the book here?((I'm uh. I'm going to do it regardless)) Because my favorite excerpt is,

"She says that is exactly what she's crying about. That everything is all right...."
Heya Kevin,

I'm glad you like that passage. I like what you said about it as well. On to your fine questions:

1) I don't think I write trying to be funny. I'm not a naturally very funny person, and so when I do try to be funny, I find that it often comes across as just that, i.e., trying to be funny. To the extent there are funnyish things in my stories, I think what happens is that sometimes I say something really honest or raw or direct or all of the above, and that ends up being kind of funny as well. In the words of Homer Simpson, it's funny because it's true.

2) I love the guy who does 27b/6. And Simon Rich's stuff gives me stomach cramps (and face cramps) from laughing so hard. I also love Comedy Bang Bang, the podcast. Comics like Jerry Minor, Paul F. Tompkins, Tom Lennon, James Adomian and Nick Kroll are on that show a lot, and they do characters and bits that are just amazing. I listen to the podcast in my car, and I am not kidding when I say I have almost crashed several times because I was laughing too hard. How about you? Any recommendations for funny things to read or listen to or watch?

Thanks again for your questions!

This is not a proper closing remark for this sort of thing,
Charlie

I'm glad you enjoyed my questions, and I guess somewhat proud to be one who has read both books! Florence is wonderful so it deserved special mention.

With science subjects, I tend to be most interested in Physics and Astronomy and where they intersect (Quantum Physics, etc.). Basically those big ideas like string theory, other universes. You know, the things that gets discussed in big insane Comic books like PLanetary and The Invisibles (both amazing if you haven't read them). Also I'm interested in computers and all that nanotechnology stuff that sci-fi writers love so much. Basically, if its strange, huge or weird, that's where my interest lies.

Brian

Charles wrote: "Dear Brian,

Thank you for reading both books. Not many people I know have read both. Maybe not even everyone in my family...

I did collect comics as a kid. My mom wouldn't let my brother and I bu..."

Charles wrote: "How about you? Any recommendations for funny things to read or listen to or watch?"

I'm a huge fan of Dave Barry for written humor. Most people who are lauded as funny fail to make me laugh as consistently as he does. I also just found Calvin Trillin who is similarly humorous.((Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin))

Then I scour the internet for random funny sorts of things, like the "Intermediate Killer Shark Genre." (())

As far as spoken humor goes Mitch Hedberg and Steven Wright are fantastic. I've recently found you can make a "comedy" station on Pandora, based on comedians and that's been consuming me as of late.

Yay conversations!
-Kevin

Kevin wrote: "Charles wrote: "How about you? Any recommendations for funny things to read or listen to or watch?"

I'm a huge fan of Dave Barry for written humor. Most people who are lauded as funny fail to mak..."

Thanks for the recommendations! I'll check them out.

By the way, I'm a Hedberg fan, too.

Small question,
Is the book reading at WORD on the 2 or the 1st? Their website and your comment disagree.

Hi Aaron,

The reading is on 10/2, at 7pm. I think they are having a book club for HTLSIASFU on 10/1...I hope I get to meet you at the reading, if you are planning on coming.

By the way, the reading is with Seth Fried, who just published a debut short story collection titled THE GREAT FRUSTRATION, which I blurbed and loved. Seth is very funny on paper, and I imagine he's also very funny in person, too...

Thanks again,
Charlie

Thanks to Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ for allowing us to do this, and to Patrick the Moderator (you are silent, but benevolent and, I assume, omniscient).

I loved all of the questions and discussion and ideas and recommendations. Good-bye for now. Come find me on Facebook () or Twitter () if you would like to stay in touch.