http://www.sfnovelists.com A mutual support group for SF/F Novelists Fri, 09 May 2008 10:53:59 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en There have been a number of books, movies, and tv shows presenting apparent conflicts between the scientific world view and that of the believers in the fantastic. Characterize this dichotomy on a science vs. fantasy spectrum, if you will. I submit that many of these stories, with a few notable exceptions, ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/05/09/science-vs-fantasy-a-false-dichotomy/ There are days that I feel like that proverbial centipede - the one who could walk, nay, run, until the moment when someone asks, "How do you DO that with so many legs to control?" At which point the poor animal starts thinking about his locomotion on a leg-by-leg mechanical ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/05/05/counting-legs/ May Madness has begun.  My kids' schools jam everything possible into this month, I have two conferences/conventions to go to, and a book deadline in June.  So instead of an insightful blog about writing or whatever... I've composed a list of 12 things to avoid when under a book deadline. 1. DVDs ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/05/04/12-things-to-avoid-when-under-a-book-deadline/ As I writer, I'm fascinated by human motivation. Lately I've been really interested in how we respond to fear. A friend of mine said the other day, "sometimes you have to be the bad guy." That struck a chord with me on several levels. No one wants to be the ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/05/03/bad-guys/ Romantic Times Book Reviews had an article in their recent issue called "Stop the Series!" in which they asked various authors if they ever thought it was a good time to quit.  Interestingly, they interviewed at least one author whose publisher didn't give them the option of continuing a beloved series ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/29/committing-series/ This month's blog is more a poll than a post. OK, maybe a poll with an essay question. On weekdays, I write in the evenings. Without going into too much detail, it's usually around 9-10pm before I am able to settle down enough to work. Since I get up around 6am...let's ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/28/larks-and-owls/ I'm "almost done" with the editing of the submission draft of A MAGIC OF NIGHTFALL, my current work-in-progress. Not that I'm done with the editing entirely, mind you. Sheila, my editor, will now read it and have her own comments and suggestions, and the manuscript will go through ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/27/making-changes-uh-no-editing-umm-revising/ Last night, I sat down to work on my SF Novelists blog post for today.  I had an idea I wanted to work with, something I thought would inspire a lot of thought and discussion.  It would be smart.  It would be insightful.  It would have pushed our Technorati rank ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/24/on-failure/ It's late Tuesday night, and I'm writing this post in front of the TV, while primary returns dribble in and the talking heads try to make some sense of the spin.  No, don't worry.  I'm not going political.  But I've been trying to figure out what to write about this ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/23/four-teachers/ Despite (or maybe because of) all the really interesting answers people came up with last time I brought this subject up, I'm still thinking about why fantasy out-sells science fiction. If you're just joining this discussion, it started with a post by Eleanor Arnason over at the Wyrdsmith's blog, in which ... http://www.sfnovelists.com/2008/04/22/darkness-defined-sf-vs-fantasy-redux/