Chapter 3: Chapter 3: A letter

September 7, 2006

Dear Mr. Weiss,

I’m certain you get letters like this all the time. Fan letters. For you, this cannot be a first. But for me, it is. I have never written a fan letter before, and normally I would not do such a thing. However, after reading some of your work recently, I have started wondering something that I simply must ask, and have no other way of doing so. Hence, this letter.

Before I get to my question, though, I believe it is good form in a fan letter to express admiration. I agree with the critics. You do have an incredibly fertile imagination, and a phenomenal grasp of the subtleties and pacing of dialogue. More importantly, though, I wanted to compliment you on your ability to write women. I myself did not so much notice this talent, as I am not a woman, but as my female friends have read your work, they have constantly told me how amazed they were that you are not yourself a woman. So congratulations are in order. Writing across genders is a wonderful talent, as is the fact that every single one of your stories passes the Bechdel test: there are always times when two female characters, who are real people, have a discussion about something that is not a man. It’s a very politically correct thing to do, and you do it very naturally.

Personally, I am mostly just struck by your amazing capacity for creating people. I say people, and not characters, intentionally here. Those who populate your books are real people, not mere characters, and certainly not caricatures. It makes it a pleasure to read everything you write. Whether I like them or not, your people are always worth reading about. That is a rare gift. Many novelists rely on good plot, clever ideas, or amazing imagery. You have people. And when you tell a story about those people, no matter what the story is, I’m interested. I care about them, I share their pain and their triumphs. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that they are not, in fact, real people. Simply wonderful.

Now the obligatory ‘I do a bit of writing myself’ paragraph. I have yet to get any significant work published, though I have made a few hundred dollars here and there publishing articles in local papers and such things. And I attribute what little success I have to the things I have learned from what you write. I am not trying to mimic you, nor to plagiarize even your style. Rather, I like your work. My point is that I like to read your work as an inspiration for my own. I have a number of authors I read, each one to find a specific thing to attempt to emulate. In your case, it is, again, the depth and realism of your characters.

I believe that covers all of the prerequisite parts of a fan letter. Since that is done, let me move on to my next point. I said earlier that something occurred to me in reading your work, and it has started me wondering. What I noticed, particularly when reading your two most recent science fiction works, is that you are still trying to get over an old relationship. It seems to me that you have been having significant difficulty, still after all this time, making an emotional connection to a member of the opposite sex. Furthermore, I see through the people in your books that you are very lonely, though surrounded by friends, and are looking for someone to have a relationship with, though you have no idea how to go about doing this.

Which brings me to my question. Two questions, actually: What is the problem? And what makes it so difficult for you to move on?

I apologize if I am being too nosy. I’m only curious.

I know others might say that I am projecting something from my own life onto your works, but I have no such situation in my own life. Rather, it is a pattern I have seen. Your main characters wrestle with these very issues, in a way that is somehow even more real than the rest of them. It shows an intimate knowledge and understanding of such themes and tribulations. So intimate, in fact, that it must be coming from your lived experience.

I do hope that these questions are not offensive, because I absolutely do not intend them to be. If anything, my hope is that you will find these questions to be so insightful and interesting that you will have to respond. The questions are a sort of call to action, an attempt to open a dialog. Of course, if I am wrong, you need only say so, and you will have my deepest and most sincere apologies. Yet, if I did not think I was right, I would not have asked to begin with.

I look forward to a response, if you find the time. If not, I understand. If the choice were between answering me and working on another book, I would very much prefer that you work on another book. The sooner you can put out more work, the better.

Sincerely,

Brian Lynke

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