One of the things that sometimes comes up when talking to new writers is the question, “How do I acquire mentor?” There’s a glazed and desperate look in the eyes of each querier, and sometimes a bit of professional jealousy, because occasionally we see people in positions where we’re not convinced they really should be…
To talk about this, I need to talk about the scariest thing that ever happened to me. Bear with me.
In 1999, I was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike. The car behind me tapped my bumper, sending me fishtailing across several lanes, and under a trailer truck, which sheared the roof off the car.
When it comes to social networking, Pinterest has emerged as a major player. Cat Rambo provides an excellent overview.
The absolute necessity of a happy ending is another Americanism. So, while I understand why some readers were frustrated with those aspects of the story, I wouldn’t change them even if I could because I feel Americans should be open to other points of view — or at the very least, exposed to them.
I love worldbuilding. I love using symbolic and metaphorical social constructions to exaggerate and concentrate the issues we deal with in the real world.
I absolutely love the military, but I’m not blind to the challenges and limitations of the life either. Control Point was definitely a steam valve in some respects.
In THE LATE AMERICAN NOVEL: WRITERS ON THE FUTURE OF BOOKS, editors Jeff Martin and C. Max Magee have collected a number of new writers* talking about the future of books, and although the word has been interpreted quite differently by the different writers, there’s some insightful pieces included in the mix.
Some panel ideas, which any convention organizer is welcome to grab.
I’ve always been interested in dreams, in the dreamtime, what are they, what is it? The Dreamtime, after all, is both real and fantasy. We all experience it, in that sense it is definitely “real.” But the dreams we experience are “fantasies.”
The energy for my money is all with publishers like Small Beer, Dalkey Archive Press, Aqueduct Press, Coffeehouse Press, and places like that. Strong, committed independents willing to take a chance on great, hard-to-classify material.
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? And what happens to the people you leave behind?
Steven D. Brewer teaches scientific writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He writes steampunky romantasy and fluffy military space opera, often with an LGBTQIA+ focus. Brewer lives in Amherst, Massachusetts with his extended family.
