Cymera approaches!
Hello and yes, May is basically over and I am trying to work out what happened.
I bought myself a coffee machine, and got some Very good News that hopefully will be shareable at some point in the future. What it should mean is that I will spend the summer editing like a thing that edits a whole lot.
Cymera begins this weekend, and I’ll be there for some of it, and will definitely be hanging about on Sunday, and on Saturday evening. Will be excellent to see writers and readers and creatives all hanging about the Pleasance.
Daily Writing
I’ve been trying to get back into a habit of daily-ish writing — busy working on a new short story now that I have finished the Shadow Jack novelette. (Just waiting on some beta reader feedback so I can have a go at bashing it into shape.
As always, I start a new story with a vague idea and a handful of bullet points and see where I end up. Bit by bit, I am finding the characters and their places in the game. What the game is, I still don't know.
"Margie moved her toes to the next button, and an eerie wail began, soft enough that one could almost believe it was unreal. The trick with tricks was to layer them, subtle and strange. To shift the senses enough that the punters began to doubt themselves. Stray too far into dramatics, and they saw the farce for what it was."
Audiobook News
The narrator for the audiobook for Cast Long Shadows will start recording this week. It's Cathleen McCarron and I am so stoked that she's going to be doing the voice acting.
It would be brill if Cast Long Shadows can reach a wider audience via audio and with such a fab voice actor, I'm sure it will.
Nova Scotia 2 Anthology
I received my final proof pages for my story in the Nova Scotia 2 anthoology that will be released for WorldCon. Each story has an editors' note, and it's been so interesting seeing the variety of stories and the thought the editors have put in to why they chose pieces to showcase Scottish SFFH.
Of my story Sugar Teeth, this is what was said:
"We were captivated by the craft on display in “Sugar Teeth”. The gorgeous prose, the wonderfully strange details that render E’s transformation inexorable, inevitable, a quiet natural process that not even the expectations of neighbours or family can halt. The choice of reaching for descriptive details from both Scotland and the author’s native South Africa is a masterstroke of defamiliarisation that sets up this tale of personal self-determination brilliantly."
So anyway, that was rather nice to read. :)
Editing for Others
When it comes to edits, I always point out that my suggestions are just that -- the final call needs to be the writer's (except for obvious grammar rules that are not being broken for effect.) Majority of writers usually understand this, and if they disagree with my thoughts, they tend to find a fix that works for them and their story, even if it wasn;t my suggested fix.
And that's exactly how it should be. Editing is collaborative. Both writer and editor want a story to be the best version of itself.
Scheduling My Life as a Writer
To get things in order, here's the list of places I'll be at for the rest of the year. I also hope to attend some launches, work and travel permitting, so I'll fill those in as i get details. I'll also add in any panels I'm on or chairing
May - 31st May - Cymera, Edinburgh - chairing War/Peace with Edward Ashton and Premee Mohamed at 6:30 pm online
June - 1,2 June - Cymera, Edinburgh
July - BFS Online: Writing Your Way panel, Plotter or Pantser?, 4pm to 5pm (UK time) on Saturday 6th
August - 8-12 - WorldCon, Glasgow
September -
October - 11-13 - FantasyCon, Chester
November -
December -
If you're going to be at any of these, do say hi!