So this is going to seem self-evident, but if you write a story in first person POV, you are, in theory, telling this story directly to your readers. It should work equally well on paper, or–and this is key–face to face.

So there’s shouldn’t be scene breaks because you don’t stop in the middle of a story you’d tell someone at a party (unless it was to go get a drink).

Equally, you don’t usually have “meta-narrative”. This means you don’t do an info-dump, then describe a scene, and go back to an info-dump. Remember, always picture yourself telling a story to a friend at a party. If they’d have to ask questions to follow your story, you fail.

That will be all for now.

Tags: First Person POV, The craft

SFScope reports that F/SF distributor Anderson News is having revenue issues. To compensate, they wanted to add a 7c surcharge on all magazine sales. Many magazines, including Gordon Van Gelder’s F&SF refused to pay, so Anderson has now suspended all operations.

The publishing industry is getting hit hard, and pro sci-fi magazines, already ailing in good times, are now having to face set back after set back. If a venture is struggling when the economy is rosy, I fear for it when the economy is in recession. I love the magazine and would love to be published in it (it was after all, the magazine that published The Gunslinger before it was a book by stephen king), but at this point I fear it might not be around long enough for me to break through.

Tags: Anderson News, FSF, Gordon Van Gelder, The Gunslinger

So I was lucky enough to exchange stories with Emery Huang, the Q42008 first place winner of WotF. I sent him a copy of my winning story and in return he let me read his. It was a wonderful experience, and one that got me thinking that I should approach Matthew Rotundo and Donald Mead and suggest the same thing.

Emery’s story was absolutely awesome. I can certainly see why it won first place. It was classic sci-fi, but would fit comfortably into the pages of any modern collection of “Best-Of” anthologies as well, which is a pretty thin tightrope to walk. Emery’s story is also topical, making commentary on today’s economic crisis.

In my opinion, this story is a cut above what appeared in WotF 23 (which was itself spectacular), and I’m proud to be in the same anthology with it. Seeing as how I’m also in the running for the Gold Award, am I worried about the competition? Well, no, since I don’t really expect to win. Emery’s story has great ideas, great prose, and a commentary on today’s society, which is exactly what sci-fi should attempt to do.

I’m not saying my story isn’t any good (I’m not THAT humble). I re-read it last night after the exchange, and despite having read the darn thing probably forty times I still can’t get to the last page without tearing up. Emery’s story is much more cerebral, whereas I like to think that my piece connects more on an emotional level. Apples to Oranges springs to mind. I’d hate to be the judge that has to pick between them.

I just discovered these interesting articles over at The Fix Online: Are We at the End of Science Fiction, Part I and Are We at the End of Science Fiction, Part II.

I think people are confusing the death of the short fiction magazine with the end of science fiction in general. I know it’s hard to come up with new tropes like Time Travel and Alternate Universes, but I don’t think we’ve stopped entirely. Had anyone imagined downloading yourself into a machine earlier than the 1950? Greg Bear pretty much started off a slew of stories on Nano technology in the 80s.

And since when does “Science Fiction” only encompass the narrow field of “Hard Science Fiction”. Surely Space Operas like Star Wars and Star Trek are alive and well. This is especially true in the video game sectore.

I think the real question being asked, is, “Are we at the end of Clarke style idea-driven science fiction?”. And to that, I think the answer is probably yes. Idea driven stories don’t sell these days (at least in short fiction. The DaVinci Code had very little BUT an idea going for it), and I think that’s a good thing. Character driven fiction is really the only way the field will survive. With video games and TV becoming so prominent, books have to go where they CAN’T–into the characters heads to compete. It’s simple economics.

Anyways, the articles are a little long, but certainly recommended reading. After you’ve had a look, please come back to the blog and share your thoughts in the comments section.

Tags: science fiction, The Fix Online

OMG, the evening news is teaching Canadians about a parliamentary system using a hockey analogy. The reporter is standing in a hockey rink. My faith in Canada has been restored.