The Mystery Of Writing.

Nothing we do is as mysterious as we like to pretend.

I'm paraphrasing, because I can't remember the exact words. But it's close enough to something Amy Espeseth said at a writers' workshop I recently attended. It struck a chord with me because it's something I'd recently been thinking about anyway.

There are a number of writers who seem to play up the apparent spirituality of writing, speaking of muses who won't leave them be, words that seem to have been received from some ethereal place beyond our physical universe. Writers as alchemists, turning the 26 letters on a keyboard into something much more. And I suppose non-writers may see writing that way. "Where do you get your ideas?" is an extremely common question.

Of course I get ideas and inspiration, and I make notes as soon as I can. And if they won't leave my mind, then I push them forward in the queue and start work on them.

Dean Wesley Smith offers a different approach. They're just ideas, just words, and he has hundreds of them. No pataphysical explanations, just a mind at work. I guess this is how I see it as well. When I don't have enough ideas for a particuler story, I make them. I create them. Over the past few years I've learned some exercises that help me do this.

But there are those times when I'm writing, when I'm in the 'zone' and the words just seem to pour out, and I wonder. Maybe, just maybe there is a muse watching out for me.

Thirty Three And A Third.

Twelve months after its launch, Galaxy's Edge has been approved by the SFWA as a professional market. Congratulations to Shahid Mahmud, Laura Somerville and Mike Resnick who have worked so hard in achieving that goal.

In September of last year, I wrote on how impressed I was with this magazine, so I was thrilled when I was able to sell Mike a story a short time later. (I also mentioned two other magazines in that piece - interestingly I've also sold to Keith Stevenson at Dimension6. Now I have to sell to Dean Wesley Smith at Fiction River to hit the prophetic trifecta.)

What does it mean for me?

It means that my first pro-level sale, a story entitled Holland:1944, now qualifies as one-third of the required three sales to become a full SFWA member, and I'm pretty happy about that.

Oh, and for the next five weeks or so, Holland:1944 continues to be available to read for free here.

Feel The Moonlight On Your Skin.

A couple of pro-level mags have slipped quietly into the market place this year.

Fiction River, a series edited by Dean Wesley Smith & Kristine Kathryn Rusch, already has three issues out, with each issue being themed. At this stage I've only read the first one. While I enjoyed it and will continue to read the series, the stories varied wildly in quality. I truly hope the standard settles down.

Galaxy's Edge, from the desk of Mike Resnick, is more even, with stories at a higher standard. So far I've read the first two and really enjoyed them both. Mike's so-called 'writing children' (his mentorees) get a bit of space, but on the whole their stories deserve to be there.  The editorial and Barry Malzberg's column have both been entertaining. Add non-fiction by Gregory Bensford and an ongoing serialisation of the almost winner of the 1962 Hugo novel and it's heading in the right direction

Both of these magazines are are available in print and e-book, and are well worth a look.

I'm looking forward to Dimension6 from Keith Stevenson. Keith is a past editor of Aurealis, and has run Coeur de Lion publishing for a few years now. And I've heard whispers of a few more new magazines on the horizon.

All in all the future for SF looks bright. Welcome to the New Golden Age of speculative fiction.

The Dreaded Blank Page.

There's a story I've been wanting to write for a few weeks now. I really like the idea and the concept, and I knew the character, setting and mood that I wanted. I just didn't know how to start it, and I wasn't sure of how to create the desired mood.

Where to start? I know I procrastinated with this one. Which is silly, really, because the advice I give to my students when they ask me about this, is to simply write it.

So I did that, yesterday. I started writing the story. I managed the first paragraph, and while I have no doubt that entire paragraph will be deleted and/or re-written, I've managed to find my way into the story.

There are a couple of novels and short stories that have a similar mood to the story I'm working on. I dug those out and had a quick read to see how those authors created their world. Interestingly, I've become more away of my own writing voice, and I see my voice as suiting this story well.

Now all I have to do is finish it, or as Dean Wesley Smith says, simply write the next sentence.

A Novel Idea.

Yesterday, as an exercise for a workshop I'm currently undertaking with Dean Wesley Smith, I sat down and outlined a novel.

I consider myself a short story writer and I've given little thought to writing anything longer for the moment. I feel I need to develop my skills at the shorter length before I attempt anything bigger.  A novel not only means more words, but a bigger vision and world to write in. So I was very surprised at how I managed to get this exercise done.

And I was pretty happy with the result.

Not that I'm planning on working on this particular idea, but writing a novel no longer seems as unreachable as it did even two days ago.

And, I must say, Dean Wesley Smith is my new hero. If I could only convince him to come to Australia to run his Character voice and setting workshop here.

Workshop Shopping.

I recently completed the Jack Dann workshop, held at Writers Victoria. It consisted of five sessions, roughly a month apart. And while I found it very useful and valuable, it wasn't exactly what I'd thought it was going to be.

I guess I really wanted a masterclass.

There was an extremely diverse range of experiences among the participants - from a few who had never written a sentence before to a couple of us with a history of publications. As such, much of the critiquing was aimed at the beginners.

I read of writers in the U.S. that attend workshops held by Orson Scott Card, or Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith, Mike Resnick, or other writing luminaries. You often need to audition, to submit a piece of writing to attend these workshops before the participants are selected.

I rarely see any SF workshops like that advertised here.

Earlier this year, I looked at an online course advertised by Tracy Hickman. It looked good, the price seemed reasonable but the time was wrong. I'd just signed up for the Jack Dann thing and was finishing up a university course. I decided I would wait until the second half of the year before applying.

I checked it out recently - credit card in hand, and was rather surprised to see that the course had been restructured to involve live online sessions and the price had increased dramatically. More than doubled, in fact.

I'll pass, for the moment. And I'm not disparaging Mr. Hickman. I'm sure his course is excellent. It's just that it's more than I'd planned to spend at that time.

Clarion in Australia is on indefinite hiatus and, even if it re-commenced, taking the six weeks required to attend would be far too costly. (And I think my wife would not be happy.)

If anyone knows of any great online workshops run by people who know their stuff and at a reasonable price, I'd love to hear about it.

I've found the biggest improvements I've made in my writing were immediately after the Jack Dann course, and the Paul Haines mentorship.

And I'm all for improving my writing.

A Tale Of Caution.

Apparently Dean Wesley Smith, amongst others, tells the story of a writer who was submitting to a whole lot of magazines over the period of a few years. Smith refers to this man as Topanga Canyon, as that was where the writer lived. The writer was submitting good work and was regularly receiving personal rejections. The editors, in fact, all knew his name and were watching to see who would be the first to buy his work. Even agents knew his name. He was really close.

And then for no apparent reason in 1991 he stopped submitting and was never heard from again.

Until now.

This story was mentioned briefly on a forum I visit, and one of my fellow frequenters, Preston Dennett, read the story and thought it sounded like it could have been about him. He used to live in Topanga Canyon, he was subbing around that time, and he gave up because he didn't think he was getting anywhere and his non-fiction writing was starting to take off. So he shot off a quick email to Dean Wesley Smith, and sure enough, Preston was Topanga Canyon.

Part of him is elated that he was known by editors and agents, and oh so close. The other part of him is devastated. I know I'd be wondering what might have been.

I don't know how those personal rejections were worded, but maybe a few extra words - something that could have helped him realise just how close he was - might have made all the difference. He's started writing fiction again, and this time he's planning on success.

Don't give up. And if an editor asks to see more of your work, believe it.