Where this comes from: A new SFWA member happy to have qualified—who is also one of my writing students—contacted me privately to present misrepresentations of what I said here that were being presented in SFWA’s private forums. I will post MY first reply, the reply from SFWA President Steven Gould, and my definitive response: MY FIRST REPLY: The potential for … Continue reading →
THE ORIGIN AND SUMMARY This discussion refers back to The Ten Normal Genders and the Seven Variations (link opens in new tab), and assumes that you have read it. If you haven’t, it’s long, but I’ve done my best to keep it clear and organized, and you’ll understand the reason for THIS post much more clearly if you’ve read that … Continue reading →
What are the odds of getting a book published professionally nowadays? I’ve read everywhere from one in 5000 to one in 12,000 to one in 100,000. They’re high. Not quite win-the-lottery odds, but high. You think you’re lucky enough to beat them? I do. Consider this. You are the product of 100% survivors. Since the dawn of time, every single … Continue reading →
Some moments define us—define a place and time, who we are to ourselves and to each other, what we are about. And those moments we hang onto desperately, because they come unexpectedly, they are so fleeting, and if lost, we lose a part of who we are with them. In the course of planning out my writing for the night, … Continue reading →
“A side note: I always thought Vincalis was an environmentalist allegory.“ Good. I could have hoped for no better outcome than that you found your own meaning in it. I’m reminded of the lyrics of a song. You can’t always get what you want But sometimes …. you get what you need. Once upon a time, you see, I wrote … Continue reading →
So I got to reading about quantum entanglement and thinking about how it could be used in with worldbuilding to create a magic system. Quantum entanglement is the extraordinarily cool fact that quanta—the very, very smallest, indivisible particles that are force carriers for the matter of the universe—form connected pairs, and these pairs have connections to each other that are … Continue reading →
libra: libra is at the threshold of new thought, new identity, new new new. Lauds to you for taking the risks and venturing into the unknown to find a sweet, profitable,transformed you. No plastic surgery, this isn’t TV. — from Astrology for Writers, Editors, and Filmmakers It’s funny. I’ve finished my last contract. Haven’t sold anything new, nor am I … Continue reading →
The kid called last night. He’s got a room with one of the friends he made in basic, overlooking mountains, with the evening temperature hovering around 60˚. It was dusk, a fog was rolling in, and he was elated that he only had to share a room with one person, and that showers were private. He’s already been warned that … Continue reading →
Picasso and Franz Marc might seem to be odd folks to remember from public school kindergarten. But my kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Quimby, had us doing crayon copies of their work, and discussing what we liked about it. She didn’t name the artists, or the paintings, but I still vividly recall my encounter with Big Blue Horses , the 1911 … Continue reading →
Since the early 1980s, the civilized world has been crushed beneath sheets of onrushing glacial ice. We’ve watched in horror as the world’s great cities have fallen beneath those relentless, grinding masses, as the lights have gone out in heartbreaking, poignant flickers, overrun by darkness that will not retreat for thousands of years, if ever. Here we sit, in our … Continue reading →
