20 on the 20th — Pat Cadigan
Pat Cadigan: A Brilliant Cyberpunk Author
Pat Cadigan is a brilliant author and has received several awards for her work. Her work is mostly classified as a part of the Cyberpunk movement. Cyberpunk is a branch of Sci-Fi that focuses on technological advancement and is usually set in the future. Cadigan’s writing typically explores how human beings relate to technology. One of her latest novels, Parasite, is a horror fiction novel that features body-possessing parasites and a rebellious teenage girl. Cadigan’s technothrillers often include a dark sense of humor. Many things in her life have impacted her award-winning content and short stories. She has been open about how these impact her plots, characters, and writing style.
Writing Influences
Pat has traveled to and lived in many places in the United States and England. These places have been influential in her writing. She has expressed the epiphany she experienced after moving out of the United States for the first time. It was living in London that opened her eyes to how “US-centric” her worldview was. This awareness has helped her to grow and develop her writing. Pat also details how studying and understanding human nature will help yield successful novels and short stories. Narratives have a more significant impact on the reader when the plot focuses more on people and human nature.
Plots that focus more on principles or situations are usually less engaging. She believes that all aspects of human nature must be embraced and understood to produce useful, well-rounded publications. Pat says that authors must explore the good, the bad, and all the grey areas in between to give a good representation of human nature that will engage readers.
Understanding that not all villains believe or know their actions are wrong is excellent for character development. Exploring this as an integral part of human nature helps to create better stories. Pat knows that no one is inherently good or bad. She believes that this has impacted her perspectives, which subsequently affects her writing style. Cadigan expressed that she does not go for happy endings. However, she tries to end her literature on a good note by demonstrating more positive or sympathetic human nature characteristics.
Why Cyberpunk?
Cyberpunk fiction is a male-dominated genre. Pat is one of the few female authors in this category. While more women authors have emerged, they are still few in numbers. Pat was the only woman cyberpunk writer when she started. Women were not necessarily being ostracized from the genre. They were just writing other things. The lack of women in cyberpunk was cause for concern for many; Pat included. She even searched for women authors whose content could be classified as cyberpunk. This effort proved to be futile. There is no simple explanation as to why there is a lack of female cyberpunk authors. Pat has expressed that the author’s sex does not affect how she reads their work. She judges each book based on its merit.
The lack of female authors of cyberpunk fiction has led to Pat being asked on many occasions why she chose this genre. Pat stated that most cyberpunk authors, herself included, were in the same age group. They were all listening to the same music and reading the same literature. So, despite their differing backgrounds, they had similar influences. However, Pat started writing on her own as she did not personally know these other cyberpunk authors. She was soon contacted by Michael Bruce Sterling, credited as a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre. Pat’s story “Rock On” was later included in his Mirrorshades literary collection. She states that this story has the most excellent earning power out of all she has written.
Despite being one of the few women writers in her genre, Pat Cadigan does not like to be classified as a woman writer. She believes identifying a woman as a “woman writer” is just a way to marginalize her. A man is often called a “good writer,” while a woman’s achievements or expertise is minimalized by calling her a “good female author.” Pat states that she does not write to be classified by her sex or gender. She writes to be best, regardless of gender.
The Role of Music
Pat has mentioned how music plays a vital role in her writing process. She always listens to music when she writes. This helps her to stay focused and prevent her from becoming weary. She states that music is a big part of who she is. Pat mentioned that she opts for music that stimulates the mood for what she is writing when writing. She has expressed that she is not particular about what kind of music she listens to while writing. She goes for anything that helps her to get the job done. Her work’s soundtracks are never published as she is aware that music impacts each person differently; it may mean one thing to her and something different to the reader. Music is more a tool to help her write than it is apart of her stories.
How Reading Influences Writing.
There are many writers that Pat has named as being influential to her. She has stated that reading their written materials is better than any drug. These writers, such as Daniel Dennet and Brenda Laurel, just to name a few, have helped to open her mind and shape her writing. She also credits Isaac Asimov for her scientific knowledge at an early age. Asimov wrote nonfiction books that helped her learn science, which greatly benefited her writing.
Pat is a lover of mystery literature. She applauds mystery writers for their intelligence. She believes a writer must be intelligent to write a mystery that works. Her love for mystery literature has inspired some of her writings. Pat has combined cyberpunk with mystery in some of her books. This combination is known as “cross-pollination.” She has skillfully combined these two genres in her book, Fools, and a few others.
Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Ray Douglas Bradbury are some of the earliest science fiction authors that Cadigan encourages novice writers to familiarize themselves with. She believes getting familiar with their work will help new authors be more creative instead of rewriting the same old ideas. Cadigan also encourages potential cyberpunk authors to read published content like Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and authors such as Connie Willis. Reading previous work from the genre helps to expand the mind and generate new ideas.
Why does Cadigan write?
Pat is primarily concerned with how people are impacted by technology. However, these people are not far-fetched characters that are not relatable. She focuses her stories on everyday people who readers can relate to. Her characters are based on average persons, the problems they face, and their relationships with technology.
Pat writes books and stories that readers can completely indulge in. She believes a good book should not have the reader focusing on the setting, characterization, plot, etc. Pat writes so that her work is enjoyed as a whole, and the reader can escape into the novel. She believes that a good book engages all five senses. Words should form pictures in the mind as the reader plunges into the story. The writing style can be later analyzed, but at first read, a book should have a reader so invested that they do not want to be interrupted.
