Writing for the Wrong Editor

Writing

A writing friend got an inside tip that the editor of Weird Tales was looking for short cat stories.  I said “Aha!” and pulled out my (mostly unwritten) tiger goddess story, thinking that might be a perfect fit.  I finished it yesterday and threw it up for my group to rip apart, but I was feeling pretty good about it.  It had

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Handing It Out Free Has Never Paid So Well

2 CommentsWriting

When I started blogging writer friends questioned my inclusion of free ‘flash stories’ in the form of crafting pieces.  The tone was definitly, “Oh–Didn’t you know?  That’s considered published.  Oh well.” Their logic was that paid publication is the goal, and flash pieces are widely accepted amongst the semi-pro markets, so I should be submitting them,

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This Week In Words (11-5-06)

Writing

Bildungsroman >n. a novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education. –Origin German, from Bildung ‘education’ + Roman ‘a novel.’ Fusain >n. a crumbly, porous type of coal resembling wood charcoal, used in drawing. –Origin late 19th cent.: from French, literally ‘spindle tree,’ also ‘fine charcoal’ (made from the spindle tree).  Kaffiyeh >n. a

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November–National Write Like a Mad Man Month

Writing

I’ve always thought the contest a cool idea, though I’ve never taken the challenge. I’m afraid I’m too mercenary to devote a whole month to a novel I’m quite confident would have such major flaws that it would never make it inside an editor’s office, let alone onto his desk. But I have a friend who writes a novel

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Apex Halloween Contest

Writing

Well, my entry was not a winner.  Ah, well.  Congratulations to Ben Vincent for the first place win, Carrie Laben for the runner up, and all the folks who recieved an honorable mention.  I look forward to reading Ben’s story in Apex Digest.

The Role of Prophecy

1 CommentWriting

I’ve been working on my fantasy world and thinking about prophecies.  Setting aside any discussion of whether people can have future knowledge (through inspiration, psychic ability, or what have you), there’s still the question of how the prophet communicates what they see in a coherent and believable fashion.  The early warning system. Suppose a prophet is in

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This Week In Words 10-29-06

Writing

dramaturgy >n. the theory and practise of dramatic composition: studies of Shakespeare’s dramaturgy. hippus >n. spasmodic or rhythmic contraction of the pupil of the eye, a symptom of some neurological conditions.  sniffer >n. a person who sniffs, esp. one who sniffs a drug or toxic substance: a glue sniffer. (informal) a device for detecting an invisible and

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Fantasy With No Sense of the Fantastic

Writing

I just finished a supposedly fantasy story in a well-known pro magazine (I won’t name names for fear this actually gets read) and was not impressed.  The story was only so-so, but the worst of it was that the fantasy element was nothing less than someone’s delusions.  The tale wound along, dancing around this concept

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Math: A Writer’s Best Friend

Writing

Anyone who read my blog on the Mathematician Conspiracy will look at that title and feel the urge to get their vision checked.  But as I was solving equations today I noticed that following algebraic steps and carefully simplifying a problem is a lot like editing and rewriting a story.  You start with the core plot issues

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