Readercon 21: Thursday

Posted on | July 9, 2010 | No Comments

I arrived at the Readercon hotel in Burlington, MA around 3 pm, after flying into Boston from Baltimore.  Hertz gave me a Chrystler Sebring convertible but–of course–it was too hot to take the top down.

The first person I ran into at the hotel was Mary Robinette Kowal, the new Vice President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).  Mary was previously the Secretary of SFWA and I had worked with her online in my capacity as a volunteer for the organization, but I’d never met her in person.  That situation has now been remedied.

Next, I ran into Barry N. Malzberg.  Now for those who don’t know, Barry is my absolute favorite living writer.  His writing is to science fiction what Shakespeare was to the dramatic form.  I got to meet Barry for the first time at Readercon 19 and have kept in touch with him since then.  He goes for occasional walks around the hotel grounds to stretch his legs and was on his way to do just that when I ran into him.  So off we went together, talking about the history of the science fiction genre, about writing, and as usual, I was in awe and just trying to soak it all up.  Barry offered some excellent advice, and I was so captivated by what he had to say that I didn’t even notice it was well into the 90s out.

I ran into Mike Allen at the hotel desk, whose face I recognized in my capacity at the maintainer of the “Featured Author” section of the SFWA website.  And I saw Scott Edelman in the lobby as well.

Thursday evening at Readercon is open to the public.  There are only a couple of panels and I attended a fascinating one entitled “I Know These People Personally”.  The panel included John Langan, John Kessel, Kit Reed, Barry Malzberg.  Elizabeth Hand moderated.  The discussion centered around the morals of writing characters based on actual people, famous or otherwise.  Just before the panel Scott introduced me to Paul Di Filippo, who’d I’d met two years ago, and who I referred to as the “crazy envelope guy.”  (He also had a memorable story in the premier issue of Science Fiction Age, “Anne”.)

"I Know These People Personally" panel at Readercon 21. From left to right: John Langan, John Kessel, Elizabeth Hand, Kit Reed, Barry N. Malzberg

In between these happenings, I managed to grab some dinner and hit the gym.  I turned in early in anticipation of the very full day that I have today (Friday).

Category: conventions, science fiction
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Three years ago today…

Posted on | July 2, 2010 | No Comments

It was three years ago today that I headed off for my whirlwind tour of Europe.  What a trip that was!

Category: personal

My Science Fiction Age challenge

Posted on | July 1, 2010 | No Comments

With Readercon 21 coming up in a week, I decided to move ahead with an idea I’ve had for a little while now.  I have a complete collection of the outstanding science fiction magazine, Science Fiction Age and I am very proud of it, since it was the outstanding magazine of its day.  A couple years back, at either Capclave or Readercon, I asked Scott Edelman (who edited the magazine over the course of its 8 years) to sign my premier issue.  I was very excited.  I had a premier issue of the magazine signed by the editor.

In looking over the attendees of Readercon 21 this year, it occurred to me that no less than three of the seven authors who had stories in the premier issue will be in attendance:  Paul Di Filippo, Resa Nelson, and Barry N. Malzberg.  So it occurred to me to bring the issue along and see if they wouldn’t mind signed by their bylines.

In fact, it seemed to me that I might try to get as many of the authors of the stories that appeared in Science Fiction Age to sign the various issues that I have as time goes on.  At each subsequent con I attend, I can see who might be there, check which issues their stories appear in, and see if they wouldn’t mind signing.  I’m sure this is not a novel idea, and I realize there will be some authors, no longer with us, unfortunately, whose autographs I won’t be able to get.  But the completist in me thinks it would be swell to get as many as I can.  And maybe, one day, I’ll be writing to tell yo that not only do I have a complete set of Science Fiction Age, but that the issues are signed by the bulk of the authors they contained.

(In fact, I see now that the May 1993 issue has stories by Malzberg and Allen Steele, who will also be at Readercon.  I wonder just how many issues I’ll have to take with me?  Stay tuned…)

Category: science fiction

Writing progress for 1st half of 2010

Posted on | June 30, 2010 | No Comments

I had set myself some ambitious writing goals at the outset of the year, and now that half the year has passed, I can say that I have done a pretty terrible job at meeting those goals. Fortunately, there is a second half year in which I can play “catch-up”.  Here is a summary of the first half of 2010:

  • I wrote a total of 38,300 words of fiction
  • I completed 3 stories (1 story was a complete enough rewrite of another story as to make it “new”).
  • I spent 53 hours at the keyboard
  • I wrote on 34 distinct days (out of roughly 180) which is pretty abysmal.  It turns out to be roughly 2 days out of every 10.
  • On the days that I did write, I spent about 90 minutes at the keyboard, on average, writing just about 1,100 words.
  • My best writing “streak” was February 20-24, during which time I wrote a total of 8,500 words.
  • I made 14 story submissions (I was aiming for more like 50)
  • I received 12 rejections, 3 of which had helpful editorial comments.
  • I have 2 submissions still “outstanding” as the first half of the year comes to a close.

So, what need to change for the second half of 2010 for me to stay close to the goals that I set for myself?  Several things:

  1. I need to write more.  I set out to write 20 stories and I have written 3 so far.  The only way to even come close to 20 is to spend more time writing.  I plan on doing this beginning tomorrow, going back to my habit of getting up earlier and writing in the mornings.  I was doing 2 hours before, but I plan on starting with 1 hour and seeing how it goes.  On a good day, I can write as much as 1,400 words in an hour, but I seem to average about 1,000.  That’s 7,000 words/week or over 180,000 words in the remainder of 2010, if I can stick with the schedule.
  2. I need to write shorter stories.  My stories are typically in the 7,500-10,000 word range.  There is nothing wrong with this, except that longer stories mean fewer stories and fewer stories mean fewer opportunities for submitting.  Also, many markets prefer stories that are under 5,000 words.  I am working on a story now that I am purposely aiming to keep under 5,000 words.  I hope to have this one finished before Readercon.  After this one, I have at least 2 or 3 stories planned which I intend to keep under the 5,000 word-mark.  In theory, this means I can produce the first draft of a story per week.  I’m going to see how this pans out in July and then reevaluate.
  3. I need to have a backup project to keep me writing everyday.  My focus is on the stories.  But sometimes, you find that you are just not in the mood to work on what is in front of you.  I tend to skip writing on these days.  Instead, I am going to try switching to a backup project.  This is a novel-length work that I was planning to save for NaNoWriMo this year, but that I am pulling out now as something to work on on those days that I don’t feel up to facing the short-fiction.
  4. Keep the submissions going.  I will be making my first submissions to both Lightspeed Magazine and Redstone Science Fiction in the second half of 2010, as well as the staple of professional magazines that I have been submitting to all along.

Readercon is next week and events like that usually inspire me to push ahead with my writing.  I’m looking forward to that push, but I am not waiting until the con to get started. I get started tomorrow morning with a goal of completing the first draft of this new story (my 4th for the year) by the end of the weekend.

I’m still aiming for the 5 sales this year, but at this point would be happy with just 1 more pro sale in order to become a full active (as opposed to associate)  member of SFWA.

Category: writing career

Summer reading

Posted on | June 26, 2010 | No Comments

It is summer now and for those who are curious, here is what is on my summer reading list for 2010.  Listed in no particular order:

  • Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis
  • The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
  • The Devil’s Eye by Jack McDevitt
  • Zero History by William Gibson
  • Last and Future Men by Olaf Stapledon
  • WWW:Watch by Robert J. Sawyer
  • Up Till Now by William Shatner
  • The Business of $cience Fiction by Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg

And in my ongoing efforts to read Stephen King’s book in roughly the order they were written:

  • Cujo
  • Pet Sematary
  • Christine
  • Misery
  • Blockade Billy*

And a couple of things that I’m looking forward to later this year:

  • All Clear by Connie Willis (sequel to Blackout)
  • Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
  • Echo by Jack McDevitt

What will you be reading this summer?

*Novella

Category: books

Kindle to the rescue

Posted on | May 13, 2010 | No Comments

It doesn’t happen often, but on those rare occasions when it does, it drives me nuts:  I leave the house and by the time I get to work, I realize I’ve forgotten whatever book it is that I happen to be reading.  I look forward to my lunches everyday because I usually spend that time reading.  It gets my mind off work and breaks up the day for me.  And so when I forget my book, it ruins lunch (and sometime the day) for me.

Today, I forgot my book.

I’m currently reading Stephen King’s The Stand and I’m enjoying it.  When I left the house this morning, going through my mental checklist, I ticked off this check box labeled “take stuff out to car”.  The thing is, Kelly is heading out of town and I took her stuff out to the car, and forgot my own messenger bag in the house.  Inside that messenger bag is my book.

But never fear, Kindle is here!

I’ve had my Kindle since late June and I’ve read a dozen books on it.  In fact, The Stand is the 13th book I’ve read on my Kindle (for those of you who are superstitious).  Of course, it doesn’t matter that I left my Kindle at home.   My lunchtime is not ruined.  I have at least 2 options:

  1. I can continue to read The Stand from where I left off by simply opening up the Kindle App on my iPhone.  Sure the screen is a little smaller, but the text is clear and I’ve read from my phone before without any trouble.
  2. I can download and install the Kindle App for Windows on my laptop and read from there, if I feel like I need a bigger screen.

This is one of those advantages to eBooks, in general, and the Kindle, specifically, that isn’t always captured in the “Why You Should Read eBooks” articles that are all over the web these days.  With an eBook, gone are the days where leaving your “book” (device) at home is a problem.  My lunch is not ruined.

Kindle saved the day.

Category: books, gadgets, kindle

This morning’s amusing moment

Posted on | May 10, 2010 | No Comments

My phone rang and I saw that Kelly was calling from work.  ”Hey, what’s up?” I said.

“Uh, hey,” Kelly said, hesitating just slightly.  ”I uh, well, I called you by accident.  I was trying to cover but I couldn’t come up with anything.”

I couldn’t help it.  I just laughed.

Category: personal

My favorite Harlan Ellison stories

Posted on | April 30, 2010 | No Comments

Five of my all-time favorite stories by Harlan Ellison:

  1. “The Man Who Rowed Christopher Columbus Ashore”: not only my all-time favorite Ellison story, but one of the best pieces of short fiction I have ever read.
  2. “The Whimper of Whipped Dogs”: one of only two stories that have ever really scared me.  (Ray Bradbury has the other.)  The scene in the elevator is absolutely remarkable.
  3. “Susan”: a humble Ellison love story.  Yes, humble and a love story!
  4. “‘Repent Harlequin!’ Said the Ticktockman”: this one can be described in one word: brilliant.
  5. “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes”: Isaac Asimov once described his story, “The Last Question” as the computer story to end all computer stories.  “Pretty Maggie Moneyeyes” is the Vegas story to end all Vegas stories.
Category: science fiction

Let’s see if we can find 1,000,000 people in support of flying by clicking their heels together

Posted on | April 27, 2010 | No Comments

You’ve seen these Facebook groups:   “1 million strong for [fill-in-the-blank].”  These are almost always political, in support of the President, against the immigration bill, whatever it might be.  I views these updates with a growing sense of ennui.  My basic question is: what’s the point?  Certainly 1 million people who “want the old Facebook interface back” might demonstrate to the Facebook powers-that-be that there is some considerable disapproval to the changes they are making.  But what’s the point of 1,000,000 strong against the Arizona immigration bill, or health care reform?  Presumably politicians aren’t spending the bulk of their time reading Facebook updates, and parsing out those names who are constituents for their districts.  (Though I could be wrong here.)  As an expression of opinion, it is harmless, but opinion for important matters shouldn’t be harmless.  It should force issues, educate the public, convince people that change is required.

I see several problems that arise out of these statements:

  1. Argument by numbers.  The implication with each of these statements is that the more people you can get to agree with the statement, the more powerful and true the statement is.  Anyone who has received the most basic instruction in logic will see the fallacy here.  It disturbs me, therefore, that so many people seem to miss it.
  2. Magic numbers.  What is so magic about 1,000,000 people, anyway?  In the United States, it represents less than 1/3rd of a percent of the overall population, and perhaps only 1/50th of a voting majority.  Setting argument #1 aside for a moment, why do the creators of these groups set their sights so low?  Why not go for 5 million, or 10 million people?  Not that it would make a difference in the outcome, but it does illustrate a seeming lack grasp on the scope of a problem.
  3. Opinion-in-a-box.  These statements offer pre-packaged, opinions for the taking.  They are the fast-food equivalent of opinion.  They require no personal investigation.  Clicking a button, it seems, has become the de rigueur method of expressing one’s opinion without having to actually form one.  The danger here, clearly, is that by putting opinion in a neat little box, you neglect everything outside that box.

There are other more powerful and persuasive ways to express opinions.  Write a letter to your representative.  Writer a letter to the editor.  Volunteer for a cause.  Or how about (dare I say) take the time to better educate yourself about the issues of the day.  The problem, of course, is that each of these alternatives takes considerably more effort than clicking the LIKE button on Facebook.  When you get right down to it, it seems to me that it is not so much the opinion that matters as it is the time and effort it takes to express it.

Category: opinion

“Legit” marriages

Posted on | April 21, 2010 | No Comments

I was asked by some good friends to provide an letter attesting to the fact that their marriage was legit.  One of these friends is not a U.S. citizen and is in the process of getting a permanent green card.  Apparently, one of the requirements is to prove that your marriage is not a sham to keep you in the country.  I complied with the request because they are good friends and also happen to be legitimately married.  But as I wrote the more or less boilerplate letter, I grew increasingly angry with the need for this in the first place.  Not wanting to make trouble for my friends, my letter was innocent and to the point, without a hint of sarcasm.   But in order to exorcise the angry demon that has formed within me over this matter, here is the letter that I would have liked to have written (with names changed to protect the innocent).

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing this letter on the off chance that our esteemed Department of Homeland Security should find the marriage of Jack and Jill Jones in any way improper.  The truth is, I feel ridiculous having to state for the record that the marriage of two good friends, one of whom I have known for more than 20 years, is in fact legitimate.  What the hell business is it of yours anyway.  These are honest people.  If they say they are married, take them at their word.  If you suspect they are lying, then I don’t see the point of this letter in the first place.  What would prevent me from doing the same?

For me to have to spell out specific dates and events at which I have seen these friends together saddens me.  What is this country coming to?  What ever happened to the words of Emma Lazarus?  I’m sure you know to which words I refer, since, as an upstanding member of Homeland Security you are no doubt Red, White and Blue all the way through.  When we closed our Golden Door, was it forever?  Are we really trying to dissuade illegal immigration by making it more difficult to immigrate legally?

I have known people–citizens of the United States one and all–who have gotten married for absolutely terrible reasons.  Will we be routing out these villains next?

Regardless, I don’t really see the value of this letter toward your investigation, other than to have one more piece of paper in your file.  Having a letter from me does not prove that my friends are legitimately married.  The fact that they hold a valid marriage license doesn’t prove this either.  Seeing them interact with one another, seeing the way they enjoy each other’s company, seeing two people as one–that is as close as you can come to understanding that when Jack and Jill got married, it was because they loved each other, regardless of where they live.

You wonder why people of the world have grown to hate the United States.  Jesus Christ, take a look in the mirror!  The answer will be staring back at you.

Most Sincerely,

Jamie Todd Rubin

Category: opinion, personal
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  • About Jamie Todd Rubin

    Science fiction writer, software developer, private pilot, Yankee fan, husband and father.

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