I appreciate that, but it doesn't hurt to feel a little on the spot. Working under a deadline is good discipline and I'm trying to build up a solid island of material. These are my flares fired into the sky to see if anyone's interested in my work.
And I'm glad you're enjoying the stuff. Only real writer's sin, as Oscar Wilde said, is being boring, so I'm trying to find things people might not be aware of that are interesting (at least to me) and see if I can make them interesting to other people. It does help keep you sharp as a writer.
And yes, I'm curious just about everything. One of the reasons I became a writer. Helps you mentally organize things, try and find how it fits within the greater universe, plus its one of the only ways to use all the mental crap and clutter I've collected. (Come to think of it, you've reminded me I should do a piece of "Connections" and "Civilization." Always nice to be bathed in warm English accents.)
Anyway, good luck with yours. Go play. See what appears when you start work. See what feels right. Writing is sometimes just leap into the void and see where you land.
Holy crap, Nancy. Thank you very much for the subscription, although you've put me in a bit of a spot in that now I have to keep chugging out stuff. You're welcome to play guest editor and say "Hey, Mayo! Lemme see a story on XXXXX !!!" Always interested in discovering new things.
As to Kurt V, he's a bit like George. He comes up with great ideas but doesn't see entirely sure where to take them. Regardless, he had a sharp eye for people and had no problem using them in his stories. "Slaughterhouse Five" is the usual starting point, but I'd really go back to his sf days and start with "Cat's Cradle" or "Sirens of Titan" to see how smoothly he sequed into S5. The movie of S5 is very good too. Very low key retelling for the most part by George Roy Hill, who was a mainstream director.
Don't feel on the spot. I'm enjoying what you've posted, and how eclectic your interests are. I think maybe you've given me a way to think about writing on my own Substack. We'll see...
I appreciate that, but it doesn't hurt to feel a little on the spot. Working under a deadline is good discipline and I'm trying to build up a solid island of material. These are my flares fired into the sky to see if anyone's interested in my work.
And I'm glad you're enjoying the stuff. Only real writer's sin, as Oscar Wilde said, is being boring, so I'm trying to find things people might not be aware of that are interesting (at least to me) and see if I can make them interesting to other people. It does help keep you sharp as a writer.
And yes, I'm curious just about everything. One of the reasons I became a writer. Helps you mentally organize things, try and find how it fits within the greater universe, plus its one of the only ways to use all the mental crap and clutter I've collected. (Come to think of it, you've reminded me I should do a piece of "Connections" and "Civilization." Always nice to be bathed in warm English accents.)
Anyway, good luck with yours. Go play. See what appears when you start work. See what feels right. Writing is sometimes just leap into the void and see where you land.
I enjoyed your review. Well done. I've never read Vonnegut, but I'm intrigued now.
Holy crap, Nancy. Thank you very much for the subscription, although you've put me in a bit of a spot in that now I have to keep chugging out stuff. You're welcome to play guest editor and say "Hey, Mayo! Lemme see a story on XXXXX !!!" Always interested in discovering new things.
As to Kurt V, he's a bit like George. He comes up with great ideas but doesn't see entirely sure where to take them. Regardless, he had a sharp eye for people and had no problem using them in his stories. "Slaughterhouse Five" is the usual starting point, but I'd really go back to his sf days and start with "Cat's Cradle" or "Sirens of Titan" to see how smoothly he sequed into S5. The movie of S5 is very good too. Very low key retelling for the most part by George Roy Hill, who was a mainstream director.
Don't feel on the spot. I'm enjoying what you've posted, and how eclectic your interests are. I think maybe you've given me a way to think about writing on my own Substack. We'll see...