Some quick links collected in a spare segment of a manic Monday, in lieu of our usual fare (i.e. me waffling on about stuff): here are some science fiction writers going all meta on our arses and writing about writing:
- Gareth L Powell on the difference between science fiction and fantasy (excerpted from the new BSFA author survey book)
- Philip Palmer on how to write action science fiction (lots of good tips that can be applied beyond that particular subgenre, too)
- Jason Stoddard asks whether fun and meaningful science fiction is possible
And to close up with a topic for discussion, here’s Seth Godin’s take on the oft-reported death of the slush pile:
If you have something good, really good, what’s it doing in the slush pile?
Bring it to the world directly, make your own video, write your own ebook, post your own blog, record your own music.
Or find an agent, a great agent, a selective agent, one that’s almost impossible to get through to, one that commands respect and acts as a filter because after all, that’s what you’re seeking, a filtered, amplified way to spread your idea.
But slush?
Good riddance.
What do you think: is this a case of Godin just not understanding the way fiction publishing works, and hence applying an inappropriate business model to it? Or is he prophesying the unavoidable future of fiction publishing? Your thoughts and opinions would be appreciated.
Given that the bulk of Futurismic‘s readers are US-based, I doubt we’re going to get much sense out of you for a few days while the smoke clears… and if you’ve come here looking for a respite from the election topicality,