I haven’t posted here for a while, but something really got my goat today. But first, an update. As you’ve no doubt guess, I’ve been trying to focus on my fiction, meaning back-burner blog for breakfast. It lost my interest for the moment, as everything else I’ve been doing has been going well. I feel like I’m in a rhythm on my writing where there are fewer blocks. To date, I’ve finished the first draft of my short stories, gotten up to version 2 on Black Hole Son, sent Avatar in for a second critique, finished cataloguing possible places to send my short stories. Right now I’m working the final…
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Star Dragon: I Hope There’s No Midterm
Today was a reading day, and boy are my eyes tired. I finished Star Dragon, which seems to echo a lot of what Mr. Scalzi has been saying about the state of Sci-Fi lit. He says that it involves a lot of science and physics and astronomy, and all that takes away from making a good story, and from encouraging newcomers to read it. In short, “it’s math”. Now clearly, Mr. Star Dragon did a butt load of research on his topic. It involves a space ship which generates acceleation through creating two singularities on each side and wobbling back and forth, then going to a binary star system where…
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Research: fact or fiction?
For reference today, please see a John Scalzi’s article here about a article by Brit music critic Ben Meyers. Short version: Meyers criticized the way the Internet makes research too easy for would-be writers, so you don’t get the ‘real’ experience or facts. Scalzi says he’s using the Internet as an excuse for his own laziness. Now despite that Meyers is a hideous arse candle, and Scalzi serves him a heaping bowl of Snarkies for breakfast, this brings up a question: Say you’re inspired to write a story that takes place in ancient Rome. You know nothing of ancient Rome, but that’s where the story takes place. That’s where it…
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Contradictions in Publishing are Delightful
These are two quotes from John Scalzi. They’re paraphrased here, because I don’t feel like looking them up word for word now.“The Writer’s Market has about 4,000+ listings for agents, publishers, and magazines so you stand a reasonably good chance that someone out there wants to publish your stuff if you write at a decent level.”-Sometime in 2004“You can expect a 98% rejection rate, on a good day.”-One of his more famous writing advice entries, check the Best Ofs