Watched Cyrano de Bergerac with Matthew. That play fills one of the topmost spots in my list of Things I Actually Liked That They Forced Me to Read in School, so I was quite delighted that the movie version was so well done. Much better than that atrocity Roxanne put out in later years with Steve Martin as the lead. Yuck.
This weekend is the Atlanta Film Festival. Matthew wants to attend a bunch of panels as a networking thingy for his Inde Film Track at Dragon*Con, but I’m not really interested. The screenplay readings one sounds like it might be fun, but the others are all about the nitty-gritty of movie making: directing, producing, funding, marketing, etc. I’ve got all my creative apples in my writing basket. While I certainly can appreciate the finished product, my interest in filmmaking is pretty much confined to potential screenplay adaptation possibilities. So I suspect it’ll just be Hobkin and me for much of the weekend. Maybe I’ll ply my muse with insane amounts of caffeine and sugar and see if I can’t entice her to make an appearance. Prime opportunity to get plenty of writing done. Theoretically.
Or, I might put on a vacuous DVD or five, and vegetate on the couch.
In mundane day job news, I finished testing on a particularly persnickety program today that I’ve been working on for weeks. Whew. It’s like having an anvil lifted off my chest!
Writing Stuff:
A pair of my folk tales are up for critique at Critters this week. Actually, this month. Andrew is doing a four-weeker for this batch for various and sundry reasons. So far, the overall reaction is positive. Hurray. But four weeks is a long time for a work to be up for critique. It just feels . . . I dunno, fatiguing to be under review for so long.
Received confirmation that I have been approved as a guest at Dragon*Con this year. It was a roundabout sort of confirmation. No one notified me about it (even though I know and work with these people!), but they sent an email to Matthew asking him to add my bio to the website as a guest. (Btw, wicked_wish, if I hear word of any such roundabout notices about your guest status, I’ll be sure to let you know!)
Also sent a name suggestion to the director of the Children’s/YA lit. track, as she’s been casting about for what to call her new track. She’s been waffling between “Children’s Lit” and “Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction,” but both of the terms “Children’s” and “Young Adult” mean something in the biz. They connote age ranges that publishers aim their titles at. I thought choosing just one would seem to preclude the other when really she means the whole array. I noticed that book publishers, when they have a children’s/YA division, frequently call it “Books for Young Readers” to include the whole range. Ergo, my suggestion: “F/SF for Young Readers.” So there, I’ve spent my two pennies.
So I suspect it’ll just be Hobkin and me for much of the weekend. Maybe I’ll ply my muse with insane amounts of caffeine and sugar and see if I can’t entice her to make an appearance.
I’m alone this weekend, too. Hopefully, I’ll get some writing done as well. I want to send off “Two Render a Mess” on Monday. What do you think — start with F&SF?
A pair of my folk tales are up for critique at Critters this week. Actually, this month… four weeks is a long time for a work to be up for critique.
Do you have any idea why Andrew included only 60 stories in this quadrupel batch? I expected to see 120, since the typical week’s allotment is 30. I’ve grumbled about this, since I’d hoped “Plastic Fairies” would squeak in.
You’ll probably end up with 72 crits again. ;-P
So far, the overall reaction is positive.
It’s good stuff, Eugie. Anyone commenting on age appropriateness in spite of your note?
“What do you think — start with F&SF?“
Definitely! Always start at the top. That’s one of my mantras!
“Do you have any idea why Andrew included only 60 stories in this quadrupel batch?“
I didn’t count them, but it did seem a mite small for a batch which was supposed to be four times the size of the usual ones. Bug in the system, maybe? Have the triple weeks had 120ish stories in them?
“You’ll probably end up with 72 crits again“
Glah. I hope not! That’s just too many to sort through.
“It’s good stuff, Eugie. Anyone commenting on age appropriateness in spite of your note?“
Thanks! I’m glad you liked ’em. So far no one’s said anything about age except for one oblique statement. One of my regulars commented on my author’s notes. He just said he agrees with my take on writing for children in that they shouldn’t be written down to.
Although I fully expect some Critters will still feel obligated to tell me my writing is too sophisticated for my target audience.
I don’t get it. When I was a little girl, I always hated stories that read like the author was writing down to me . . .
Have the triple weeks had 120ish stories in them?
Because I have nothing better to do on a Friday night, I checked out the last Christmas batch for Critters, which covered three weeks. It contained only 47 entries! I think your 72-crit tale was one of them. Anyway, it appears that the algorithm is 15 additional entries for every extra week, not 30. (30 + 15 + 2MPCs = 47). Bugger.
One of my regulars… said he agrees with my take on writing for children in that they shouldn’t be written down to.
Was this N.G.?
When I was a little girl, I always hated stories that read like the author was writing down to me.
But honey, you’re in Mensa. 😉
“it appears that the algorithm is 15 additional entries for every extra week“
Huh. Sort of seems thin for such a long stretch of critting time . . .
“Was this N.G.?“
Nope. Haven’t gotten his yet! But then it’s only been two days since they went up. He tends to sit on my stories for a while so he can mull over what he wants to say, or so he’s says
.
“But honey, you’re in Mensa. 😉“
Oh, pshaw
. I think all kids hate being talked/written down to.
What is ‘Critters’? Is it on-line?
~Maggie
Re: Critters
Yep, Critters is an online workshop for speculative fiction writers. I’ve been in it for about 18 months; Eugie’s been in it forever. It has its shortcomings, but it’s free. I for one plan on hanging around for a while.
Re: Critters
Thanks, Brittany! Appreciate the info. Site sounds really interesting. Will check it out.
~Maggie
Yeah, what said! I like it because it’s so well run and has such a large readership. I run just about everything I write through them before sending it out to market. I’m a member of a couple other writers groups/workshops, but I keep returning to Critters as my main workshoping group for consistency and sheer numbers. Plus I’ve got quite a few regulars there (like ) whose opinions I’ve come to rely on.
Thanks Eugie! Will check it out.
~Maggie
thanks.
i’ve sent the application twice (from 2 different e-mail addresses),
and e-mailed tackett twice (once from each, asking for just confirmation that it’d been received) … and i’ve heard nothing.
sort of peeved, but oh well.
no biggie.
i just wish they’d say one way or another–or just tell me if i need to send the thing again.
may fax it monday, and then drop the thing in the mail, dammit.
I can ask John about you in person at the next staff meeting if you haven’t heard by then. But that’s in mid-July. I would hope that you’d have heard by then but sometimes things are just plain poky when it comes to Dragon*Con. I think my application got processes so quickly because 1. I’m a director and they all know me personally and 2. I wasn’t asking the convention for anything as a guest except to have my bio listed. I’m already getting my badge and hotel room comped as part of my directorship.
If it matters, I sent my application via USPS as well as email.
i didn’t ask for anything guesty-like either except the bio and general entry; and it’s been about five weeks (fully two since i sent the e-mails).
i understand these things run slow, and it’s not a big deal, really. i just wish i’d gotten a response re: whether or not they’d received it all right. i made a point of saying, “i’m not being impatient about the processing, could you just tell me if it arrived okay?” and still, no response.
i’ll probably send it USPS as well, maybe monday.