Jamie Todd Rubin's Blog, page 381

Rereading Science Fiction Age, Redux

More than three years ago, I began the process of re-reading my complete set of SCIENCE FICTION AGE magazines and commenting on each issue.  I managed to make through the first 8 issues before I became too busy to continue.  But I have always wanted to continue through the rest of the issues in the 8-year run, and I am now restarted that effort, although I bit more modestly than my first attempt.  Last time I was reading through an issue a week and I simply don't have the time to do that...

Scrivener: the ultimate writer's tool

Today's announcement of the upcoming release of Scrivener 2.0 gives me a good excuse to write about my experiences with this invaluable tool for writers.

There are literally scores of positive reviews of Scrivener available online, and for good reason:  it is an outstanding piece of software that allows a writer to focus on his or her primary job, writing.  Philosophically, Scrivener focuses on content.  Since most professional markets (novels, short fiction, plays and screenplays) have a...

Some reading lists

In light of the Hugo Awards this weekend, a few reading lists that might be of interest to others:

Hugo award-winning novels that I have read
Nebula award-winning novels that I have read
Campbell award-winning novels that I have read
Hugo and Nebula award-winning novels that I have read

And just so people can be incredulous with me:

Hugo award-winning novels that I have not yet readNebula award-winning novels that I have not yet readCampbell award-winning novels that I have not yet readHugo...

The (elusive) paperless office

Yesterday I began the process of upgrading my work laptop to Windows 7.  This was a necessary evil for various upcoming projects.  While in my younger days, virtually every piece of software on my computer was beta, these days I am resistant to upgrades because they are so intrusive.  It takes me nearly 2 days to get everything back to normal, and I usually don't have the time to spare.

I look at these upgrades as major transition periods and good times to do other times of cleaning and...

Writing update

Last night, I started a new story (my 6th of the year) and the first I've ever written which is intentionally planned to be part of a series of stories set in the same universe.  The idea came from the novel that I tried to write for NaNoWriMo last year.  I have no experience writing novels and the truth is, I don't seem to know very much about how to make them work, at least not yet.  However, I liked what I was writing and I though that the central idea and some of the scenes that I had...

Arizona, immigration and the 14th amendment

Am I the only one who thinks that the United States is once again embarrassing itself with its sudden posturing on illegal immigration?  In my mind, Arizona has become the laughing stock of the nation, to say nothing of the world.  And now, Republicans seem to want to amend the Constitution to undo the citizenship clause (which says that if you are born here, you are a citizen).  The clause is a simple and clear one:

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the...

History repeats itself: the financial crisis of Rome

From pp. 331-332 in Caesar and Christ:

The famous "panic" of A.D. 33 illustrates the development and complex interdependency of banks and commerce in the Empire.  Augustus had coined and spent money lavishly, on the theory that its increased circulation, low interest rates, and rising prices would stimulate business.  They did; but as the process could not go on forever, a reaction set in as early as 10 B.C., when this flush minting ceased.  Tiberius rebounded to the opposite theory–that the...

Writing advice from Quintilian (circa 96 A.D.)

I came across this passage of writing advice in my reading of Will Durant's Caesar and Christ (pp. 315):

Clearness is the first essential, then brevity, beauty, and vigor.  Correct repeatedly and stoically.  Erasure is as important as writing.  Prune what is turgid, elevate what is commonplace, arrange what is disorderly, introduce rhythm where the language is harsh, modify where it is too absolute… The best method of correction is to put aside for a time what we have written, so that when we...

My take on story rejections

I've been noting over on Facebook my story rejections as they come through (13 so far this year, on a total of 15 submissions).  It is heartened to see my friends reply with indignant responses, most of them aimed at the editors, and while I appreciate their sticking up for me, I probably need to clarify my own take on these rejections slips.

Stories are rejected not authors.  This is another way of saying that rejections are not personal.  Editors act as gatekeepers for their respective...

A couple more books to drool over

I picked up and/or pre-ordered a couple of books (Kindle editions, both of them) that I am looking forward to reading as soon as I have cleared the pile of current books and magazines from my desk.  Both books are about or tributes to long-standing Grand Master's of science fiction.

The first is Elizabeth Hull's tribute to Frederik Pohl, Gateways. with stories and essays by just about every major writer in the genre.  The second is the long-awaited authorized biography of Robert A. Heinlein...