More Unintended Consequences
Help!- I’m trapped in a maze of cardboard boxes, and I can’t find the way out! Read more
Archive for
May 27
7 Comments
The Political Writer
There is a trope going around establishment science fiction where they prove again and again that we’re wrong when we say that “science fiction shouldn’t be political.”
They prove it conclusively, to their satisfaction, by demonstrating that science fiction has always been political, and therefore we’re not only wrong, we’re ignorant of the history of the field. Then they take a victory lap to the acclaim of their sycophants.
There’s only one thing wrong with that: we NEVER said that.
Bad Brain Day
I don’t wanna. I don’t wanna, and you can’t make me. Seriously, I’m barely managing to keep my own head above water. I have to set the kids in front of the screen to get time to write. Which happens once a week, pretty much. I’m tired of it, but there’s no relief in sight. Fortunately (heh, heh) Mrs. Dave will be going back on a normal schedule next week. Fortunately. Yeah. Sure.
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How long before reality hits?
Let’s face it. Most anyone with the slightest understanding of supply and demand, and even economics in general, can see the problems inherent in traditional publishing. These problems are legion and go well beyond the issue of editors choosing books they think we should read instead of those we want to read. After weeks and months of bookstores being closed and the supply chain being restricted (at the very least), we will probably be seeing some changes in the industry sooner, rather than later. Read more
Want something new to read?
Fresh out of the word mines, it’s the official launch of something new, shiny, and good to read! Do you like suborbital planes, revolutions, military advisors with multiple competing agendas, explosions, bush flying, and ambushed ambushes?
When her plane tries to come apart at apogee during a hijack, ballistic airline pilot Michelle Lauden handles the worst day she could imagine. After getting down without losing any passengers or crew, though, she finds her troubles have just begun!
The country she’s landed in has just declared independence from the Federation. The Feds intended her passengers to be the first casualties in the impending war – and they’re not happy she’s survived to contradict their official narrative in the news.
The local government wants to find her to give her a medal. The Feds are hunting her to give her an unmarked grave. As they both close in, Michelle’s running out of options and time. The only people able to protect her are an accident investigation team on loan from the Federation’s enemies… the same enemies who sent her hijackers in the first place.
And they have their own plans for her, and the country she’s in!
Tock tick
Ve know your trope makes ze genre tick, ja. But ve vill interrogate it until its resistance is exhausted and is it villing to TOCK!”
I happened to read yet another critic saying that a book in a competition lacked what its competitors had – They defied classic genre conventions, interrogated tired tropes, and celebrated inclusivity, and it merely reflected the sort of sf that was popular in the 80’s. Read more
May 24
Story from the Start: Denouement
So the action/emotional tension/suspense reaches its peak, the detective reveals the murderer or imposter, the hero emerges from the smoking remains of the bad guy’s lair with only a few scratches (and the girl on his arm), the heroine politely but soundly cuts the predatory Other Woman to win her True Love for herself, the cowboys capture the rustlers before they can get the herd into Old Mexico . . .
Story’s over, right?
Well, if it is a short story, it can be. If you are writing a serial and your readers know that in advance, it can be. If it is something longer, and you drop the curtain here, your readers are going to feel cheated. Read more
accordingtohoyt
TXRed
Amanda
Brad R. Torgersen
davefreer
elliewferguson
Dorothy Grant
Jonathan LaForce
Kate Paulk
kilteDave
Margaret Ball
Pam Uphoff
Blake Smith
Peter Grant
Cedar Sanderson
