Dispatches since 2005
The journal
Announcements, new editions, travel, diving, cooking and the working life of a novelist — 268 entries, all of them here in full.
March 29, 2010 · 142 words
Unusual Apology
Betraying a refreshingly unusual attitude, the screenwriter who wrote Battlefield Earth apologizes for his work. It wasn’t as I intended — promise. No one sets out to make a train wreck. Actually, comparing it to a train wreck isn’t really fair to train wrecks, because people actually want to watch those.It start
Read entry →March 25, 2010 · 386 words
Mamet’s Memo
A memo written by David Mamet has recently surfaced, one that he wrote to the writers of his TV show The Unit. Though the memo is directed specifically to television writers, it nevertheless contains advice which all writers of fiction should take to heart. . . . OUR FRIENDS. THE PENGUINS, THINK THAT WE, THEREFORE, [&h
Read entry →March 24, 2010 · 61 words
Glory Fadeth Not
My story “Abrizonde,” from the Songs From the Dying Earth collection edited by Gardner Dozois and George RR Martin, is on the long list for a British Fantasy Award. As are two more stories from the collection, and the collection itself. Mind you, this is a long list, and it will grow shorter in time. […]
Read entry →March 23, 2010 · 1,074 words
Tech . . . Tech . . . Tech
(Yeah, that title dates me, doesn’t it? Nothing says senile like referencing an obscure Jim Brown movie that has nothing to do with the ostensible topic. Yet here we go, maundering on . . . )I spent part of last week at the World’s Best Technology expo in Arlington, TX. Each morning I woke up […]
Read entry →March 23, 2010 · 184 words
The Pleasing Day
Today had a refreshing sense of normality to it, which so many of them don’t nowadays. I rose, exercised, showered, ate lunch, went shopping. Then I spent several hours spraying weed killer about the property— I’ve been overrun with something called “London rocket,” which is a kind of mustardlike plant with a yel
Read entry →March 16, 2010 · 50 words
Taos Toolbox 2010
To my astonishment, there are still places available at Taos Toolbox, a master class for writers of science fiction and fantasy, June 6-19, 2010. Teaching will be Nancy Kress, Carrie Vaughn, and my ownself. My surprise, however, is your opportunity! Apply at once, so as not to miss out!
Read entry →March 16, 2010 · 328 words
Reviews Too Brief: In the Loop
Okay, so I saw In the Loop and I’d like to spend a lot of words explaining how good it was, but I can’t because I’m leaving town and haven’t yet done my laundry. It’s a British political satire about the spin-up to a familiar-sounding war, and it plays like a combination of Dr. Strangelove, […]
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