It's days like this where I wish the RJ site had a chat option.

Yep, Rasalom is Satan in the third sentence then a demon in the fith. While I would find it hard to describe Nightworld and over view the entire series in as few words as he / she did and make it apealing to some one who had not read the series. You would think they could keep the first few sentences consistant.

Well someone has been cleaning up the Wikipedia entry. Looks like it was Bones Weep Tedium. Nice job.

I'm talking about some gentle editing. Everybody needs an editor. FPW himself had 2 or 3 spelling errors in the ARC of Bloodline. Happens to the best of em'.

Back when I lived in Brockport, I studied fictioneering with Nancy Kress. And as I was the only sf soul in the class, we got tight enough for her to invite to dinner with her family. (Her then-husband Michael Kress was a world-class clownboy, but that's another story.) Anyway, one day she asked me if I'd type a yarn for her. (I do not know how a professional writer never learned how to type.) "I pay my typists $10 dollars a page, Michael." "Nancy, please. You don't have to pay me anything." "It's work. It's your time and effort. You should be rewarded for that." What could I say? The story was called AGAINST A CROOKED STILE, earmarked for F&SF. A =real= deadline, Tuesday at 8AM. She gave me her hand-written manuscript the Sunday before. Plenty of time. But I'm the type of guy who leaves everything to the last minute. And that Monday night, I had to throw darts with my team, Higgens' Horehounds. The 'Hounds won the match, and like every winning team, we partied hearty into the night. About 2AM, I remembered: HOLY SHIT! I HAVE TO TYPE A STORY FOR NANCY! SPEED, SPEED, WHO'S GOT SPEED! The bartender's girlfriend was an RN, and she had some. "This is the =only= time, Michael!" I got home, unlimbered my acoustic Corona, got ready for work. Started typing, and the fucking "s" key froze on me. I looked at the typewriter. YOU ARE KIDDING ME, RIGHT? It was not. A frantic half-hour with a toothbrush and 3-in-1 oil, I got it working. Half-assed. Sorta. But workable. Slow, but workable. I carried on like a trouper. And halfway through the story, I found an error. Nancy had used both the English system and the metric system in one sentence. Something like, "He was 6'2 and 100 lean kilos." Not ashamed to confide I sobbed. "This =can't= be right! Should I change it? Nancy, why didn't you learn to type?" I figured, fuck this. The sun is coming up. I'll make it all metric. More sf that way. And =right= at 8AM, I finished. And there was Nancy on my porch. "Is it ready, Michael?" "It is, Nancy, but I had to correct something..." Her pretty eyes narrowed. I explained. "Oh, thank you, Michael. I don't know why I did that. Thank you." "Well, Nancy, since I helped so much, shouldn't the byline read, "by Nancy Kress and Mike Lindner"?

She has such a merry laugh.

Could be, Maggers, but isn't it possible that a young soul serious enough about writing to want his-or-her stuff to reach an audience might be a pro in the making? I think young writers should be encouraged. Don't you?

Not if they don't understand what they're writing about.

Ken V.

Not if they don't understand what they're writing about.

Ken V.

Newborns don't understand a thing besides sucking and sleeping and shitting and pissing. Are you suggesting babies shouldn't be taught?

Newborns don't understand a thing besides sucking and sleeping and shitting and pissing. Are you suggesting babies shouldn't be taught?

Are saying we are born with a blank slate?

Are saying we are born with a blank slate?

Opinions divided about that. I don't think so meself, but I certainly can't prove it.

Newborns don't understand a thing besides sucking and sleeping and shitting and pissing. Are you suggesting babies shouldn't be taught?

You wrote: "... but isn't it possible that a young soul serious enough about writing to want his-or-her stuff to reach an audience might be a pro in the making? I think young writers should be encouraged. Don't you?"

I wasn't talking about babies, and neither were you. You were talking about encouraging someone who wrote about something he/she didn't understand. I replied that they shouldn't be encouraged if they don't understand what they're talking about.

The understanding should come first.

Ken V.

You wrote: "... but isn't it possible that a young soul serious enough about writing to want his-or-her stuff to reach an audience might be a pro in the making? I think young writers should be encouraged. Don't you?"

I wasn't talking about babies, and neither were you. You were talking about encouraging someone who wrote about something he/she didn't understand. I replied that they shouldn't be encouraged if they don't understand what they're talking about.

The understanding should come first.

Ken V.

Well, that's true. I didn't make my point clear. What I was trying to say, if we can successfully teach babies, we can surely both encourage and =correct= older folks. In most cases, I'd hope.