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Marc   04-02-2007, 08:00 PM
#31
It's days like this where I wish the RJ site had a chat option. Wink
WGB   04-02-2007, 08:08 PM
#32
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.
Marc   04-02-2007, 08:58 PM
#33
Well someone has been cleaning up the Wikipedia entry. Looks like it was Bones Weep Tedium. Nice job.
Bluesman Mike Lindner   04-02-2007, 11:30 PM
#34
ccosborne3 Wrote:I'm talking about some gentle editing. Everybody needs an editor. FPW himself had 2 or 3 spelling errors in the ARC of Bloodline. Big Grin 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.
Ken Valentine   04-03-2007, 12:28 AM
#35
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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.
Bluesman Mike Lindner   04-03-2007, 12:35 AM
#36
Ken Valentine Wrote: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?
KRW   04-03-2007, 12:56 AM
#37
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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? Big Grin
Bluesman Mike Lindner   04-03-2007, 12:58 AM
#38
KRW Wrote:Are saying we are born with a blank slate? Big Grin

Opinions divided about that. I don't think so meself, but I certainly can't prove it.
Ken Valentine   04-03-2007, 02:00 AM
#39
Bluesman Mike Lindner Wrote: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.
Bluesman Mike Lindner   04-06-2007, 08:36 PM
#40
Ken Valentine Wrote: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.
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