I'm going to a con today. Yaaaaaaaay!

November is always challenging, what with my innate competitiveness and the whole NaNoWriMo thing. This year has also had added stress at the day job, particularly this week.

So, even though I'll have the added task of remembering to set aside writing time during the convention, I am going to wrap myself in the folds of a convention for the next two days, bask in the pleasure of conversations with colleague and old friends, and feed my ego by waxing profoundly (hey, stop laughing!) on panels.

Oh, and I get to meet Cory Doctorow!

So, I'll see you a Philcon!

Tags: conventions
Current Mood: excited

It's probably too late to do anything about it, but I am still looking for a roommate for Philcon.

I have a reservation for a room with two beds, non-smoking. So, anyone out there deciding to attend at the last minute (or possibly for just a day), give me buzz.

Tags: conventions
Current Mood: optimistic

Today, in honor of Jay Lake (aka jaylake), I will be having nachos.

I encourage you to do the same.

It's all about creating some resonance in the universe, you know?

Speaking as both a small press publisher, and someone who has much of his fiction published by small press publishers, when it comes to awards like the Nebulas I expect to eat a lot of sour grapes.

There are a lot of great novels out this year, and while I might wish my first novel (which came from a small press) had a shot, I know there isn't a chance of that. So even if you're a big fan of the Amazing Conroy (for which, my thanks), please save your nominations and votes for people who have a real chance (e.g., Daniel Abraham and Karl Schroeder).

However, I will proudly pimp "The Moment." This short story probably doesn't have a shot either, again because it it came from a small press anthology, Footprints. I've made a PDF of this story available on the SFWA website, and I'll also happily send it via email to any SFWA member (active or associate) who would like a copy. If that describes you, post a reply and/or send me your email address.

Tags: awards

I came home an hour early from ye olde Day Jobbe™, because I'm going to be working longer hours tomorrow and the next day (I'm attending a meeting of the Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health tomorrow, and running two training sessions on Wednesday).

I used that time to lay down about a thousand words, and then went off to my pilates class. Today's session was a major breakthrough, and it's all going to get very interesting from here out.

We have houseguests for the next two to four days (my sister-in-law and her partner are having their floors redone, so they're staying with us), and we had a pleasant dinner together. Then the three of them went off to a meeting, leaving me home alone to write.

Another three thousand words later and my brain is resembling tapioca. But the scene is done, and I can stop for the night.

My running total is just 40 words shy of 37K. I am quite content.

Tags: nanowrimo
Current Mood: exhausted

I still haven't received my "official email" from Philcon with my schedule. On the other hand, they've posted the schedule, by participant, so I'm going to assume that what's up there is right. Thus:

• Fri 11:59 PM in Plaza IV (Four)—Eye of Argon Reading (26)
  Reputedly, the worst story in the genre's history. Just try and read it without laughing.
  Oz Fontecchio (mod), Keith R.A. DeCandido, Lawrence M. Schoen, Phil Kahn, Hildy Silverman, Victoria Janssen



• Sat 10:00 AM in Executive Suite 823—Making the Most of Your Writers Group (97)
  How do you find a good one? Are they even necessary?
  Oz Drummond (mod), Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Gary Frank, Laura Anne Gilman, Lawrence M. Schoen, Larry Hodges



• Sat 3:00 PM in Plaza III (Three)—Why Aren't We Writing About the Future Anymore? (32)
  Past science fiction used to take place predominantly in the future. Why do there seem to be more and more novels set in the past? Is this a temporary phase or a fundamental shift in the field?
  David Louis Edelman (mod), Cory Doctorow, Tom Purdom, Gregory Frost, Lawrence M. Schoen



• Sat 4:00 PM in Crystal Ballroom Three—Star Trek: Where Does It Boldly Go Now? (129)
  J.J. Abrams rebooting/revisioning of STAR TREK seems to have re-invigorated what many thought was a dying franchise. But where should it go from here, and what kind of stories should it tell? Is it still true to Roddenberry's vision, and how important is it that it remain so?
  Keith R.A. DeCandido (mod), Hugh Casey, Terri Osborne, Lawrence M. Schoen, Samantha Kwait



• Sat 8:00 PM in Plaza I (One)—Insert Tab B Into Slot A (27)
  The treatment of sex in Science Fiction.
  Victoria Janssen (mod), Lawrence M. Schoen, Michael Swanwick, Stephanie Burke, Lee Gilliland



• Sun 11:00 AM in Plaza IV (Four)—Is The Short Story On Its Way Out? (71)
  There have been dramatic declines in magazine subscriptions in recent years. Is the short story medium on its way out or is it an essential part of the genre? Or is it all going digital?
  Gardner Dozois (mod), Neil Clarke, Larry Hodges, Lawrence M. Schoen, Dina Leacock

Tags: conventions
Current Mood: exhausted

I did some writing this morning. Then I went off to a splendid brunch with a good book. Now I'm back home.

After most of a week of crappy damp weather, today the sky is clear, the sun is shining, and the air is warm. I'll return to writing soon, but for the moment I am in the yard enjoying the day. The puppy and I are relaxing/playing on the hammock.

Life is good.

The nomination period for the Nebula Awards opens today. Under the terms of the new rules things are considerably different. If I understand them correctly (and that's by no means a good assumption) the following are true:

1) There is no longer a long list and a short list. A short list will be generated based on whatever is received during the nomination period, which runs from November 15 to February 15.

2) Lifetime, Full, and now Associate Members can nominate.

3) The NAR is gone.

4) SFWA Members may nominate no more than 5 works in each category.

Personally, I think there's both good and bad here. I'm curious to see what effect the limited nomination period will have, but I'll refrain from speculating.

Of minor concern is item #3 because there is now a "running tally" of nominations in the SFWA discussion boards, and that serves a similar purpose.

A more major concern, limiting members to only five nominations, has been somewhat addressed by a policy that allows members to change one or more of their nominations, right up to the February 15th. I think this was a clever decision, and one which ironically works because there is no longer a NAR and a long list.

The main concern I still have though is one of exposure. A weakness in the system has always been gaining access -- or even just awareness -- of deserving works. I fear that, without a longer nomination period, without a long list, and without a NAR, that the only works making the ballots will be novels coming from BIG PUBLISHERS and short fiction coming from "THE BIG THREE" magazines.

Let me point to my own bias and self-interest from the start. I'm a small press publisher. My sole published novel to date came from a small press publisher. Of my 50+ short fiction sales, only one appeared in either Analog, Asimov's, or F&SF. I have a personal vested interest in the small press.

And, in my opinion, so does the field as a whole.

Still, I am not without hope that the Nebula Awards can resist the trend to focus only on major publishers and three magazines, and that hope lies in modern technology, or more specifically our social networks. Online communities and networks such as FaceBook, LiveJournal, and Twitter have greatly increased our ability to alert one another of brilliant works of fiction that might otherwise fall beneath the radar.

SFWA is helping with this by allowing the posting of authors' works in a secure area where, once you've been alerted "hey go read Shimmelfarf's novelette" the work is there for you.

I'm encouraging SFWA members to do just that. If you've read something that would earn one of your five nominations, particularly if it's a work from a smaller market/press, post the details to your blog. Tweet about it. Let your relevant social networks know. If your own work falls into that category, by all means toot your own horn (for the record, I don't consider this ego -- if you don't believe in your work, how can you expect anyone else to?). If it's up on the SFWA site, say so (I'm not clear on whether posting a link is appropriate, but I'm hoping someone who knows will weigh in on that).

Let your voice be heard!

Tags: awards
Current Mood: contemplative

The missing subplot for the Conroy sequel just popped into my head. It's fun and charming and involves a substance that is basically "liquid gravity." Better still, it reinforces an aspect of Conroy's character that I've been a bit light on, and it sets up possibilities for story arcs in subsequent books.

I am well pleased. Excuse me, I need to go write some of this down.

Tags: conroyverse; writing
Current Mood: chipper

I'd been plugging along nicely with my NaNoWriMo efforts until last Friday when I had the computer scare (it turned out that the Mac hadn't died, only that my puppy had gnawed on the power cord and damaged it). Total wordage for last Friday, Saturday, and Sunday was something like 2K. Blah.

Since then, I've picked up the pace again, and while I'm where I'd hoped to be at this point in the month, I'm doing okay. The trick will be to see how much I manage to get done this weekend, what with the Book Launch tomorrow.

As of last night I was at about 26,600 words. I would be quite pleased if Monday morning dawned upon 35K, but we'll see.

Tags: nanowrimo
Current Mood: optimistic