10 reasons Scrivener is a great tool for new writers

I was once a new writer. I’m not so new anymore, but I can still remember those early days when I decided I wanted to be a science fiction writer. I had all kinds of ideas but when it came to sit down and write the story, I could always manage to find ways to [...]

My Capclave schedule

I will be at Capclave, October 14-16 up in Gaithersburg, Maryland. I’ll be at the convention most of Saturday and Sunday and I will be on the following panels: Saturday, 3pm: Will books survive–and in what form? Sunday, 10am: Short fiction: why bother? (As moderator) Otherwise, I’ll be hanging out at the convention, sitting in [...]

The romance of science fiction serials

Science fiction magazines are known for short fiction: stories, novelette, and the occasional novella, usually in that order of frequency. I’ve written before of my short fiction addiction and science fiction magazines are perfect for feeding that addiction. But every once in a rare while, science fiction magazines offer something almost unique to all fiction [...]

My latest Wayward Time Traveler column is up at SF Signal

In this week’s column, I describe how one day, I might write a column on the convoluted topic of “recursive” science fiction, or science fiction about science fiction. I describe in detail what I might discuss, if I were ever to write such a column. Head on over to SF Signal and get yourself meta.

The Little Miss at one month: a mini-FAQ

After 30 days off for paternity leave, I am back at the day job today. Man did those 30 days go by fast. Since getting back to the office, I’ve gotten quite a few questions about my time off. To help answer those questions, here is a mini-FAQ: 1. Getting much sleep? (Usually asked with [...]

Latest SF Signal podcast on science fiction’s visions of the future

I took part in the most recent installment of SF Signal’s podcast, hosted by Patrick Hester. This week, Paul Weimer, John Stevens, Jeff Patterson and I all discussed our favorite visions of the future with Patrick. You can listen to the podcast over at SF Signal. This one was a lot of fun.

Vacation in the Golden Age, Episode 24 delayed…

I hate doing it, but this last week has been so busy that I haven’t been able to keep up with my reading and because of that, I have to delay the release of Episode 24 by one cycle. We’re juggling newborn and toddler and I go back to the day job on Monday and [...]

Promoting science: where is the next Asimov, Sagan and Gardner?

With the 2012 Presidential campaigns moving into high gear, we find that science is once again under attack. There are a few voices out there making attempts to defend science. There are people calling the Republican candidates anti-science, and the Republican party the party of anti-science. But science is not Republican or Democrat. Science policy might [...]

The latest batch of Astounding’s have arrived!

This batch includes the April through September 1943 issues. The April 1943 issue is the last of the “bedsheet” issues. Astounding went back to its earlier format after the April issue, and even that would not last for long. Soon the premium on paper during the war would push the magazine down to digest size. [...]

Reverse engineering science fiction stories

I sometimes wonder, on the those rare instances when I am watching an actor watch a clip of a movie or TV show that they’ve been in, if the actor thinks of the show the same way we do. Are they sitting there thinking: this clip is the first scene in the movie, but the [...]

The Little Man sings the “blues”

The Little Man is a smart fellow. He talks quite a bit, you can see him making various logical connections and inferences. He knows his numbers from 1 to 10. He has at least the concept of letters. But there is one area in which he seems to be utterly confused: colors. It’s gotten to [...]

An interesting e-book footnote to my previous post on Carl Sagan’s Contact

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am re-reading Carl Sagan’s novel Contact. I mentioned that the tattered paperback on my bookshelf was just kind of calling out to me to be picked up and read. Last night, before heading off to bed, I checked Amazon to see if an e-book version was available. [...]

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  • Vacation in the Golden Age

    Episode 38 August 1942

    Stories by MacDonald, Clement, Rocklynne, Cartmill, Padgett and Knight

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    Episode 39 coming May 28

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