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I will be there Friday to Sunday doing my usual shtick of wandering in circles looking vaguely lost.

Very very late to this, but I'd be tempted to either fudge it for the sake of getting on (verisimilitude is overrated!) and go with one of the stabby/shooty options tabled so far... or I would have the opposite. Have the leader attempt to be the kaishakunin but then fail. It could be a...

Re: OP - I wouldn't worry too much about it, really. If you can find three names, then search each of the names and pick the one who represents authors closest to what you write. Failing that, see if one of the three is more senior than the others. Failing that, close your eyes, make a wish, and...

Considering there are three days left, I'd say leave it. 1) It'll stress you out trying to get it all done in time. 2) You will probably miss some tense changes due to the pressure and time constraint. 3) The quality of your writing is not defined by the tense. If it is a good story, well...

Note for anyone looking to submit this weekend, the "Post the beginning or your best scene" box has been changed to: Also, it's probably a good idea to submit prior to the final day just in case they have a large number of submissions close to deadline, which could potentially crash their...

Just to throw this out there, does it absolutely have to be that phrase? You could run a whole spectrum of alternatives from a simple "really?" or "no kidding?" to the more overt "thanks, detective" to the outright sarcastic "You don't say? Hold on while I make some notes for my journal".* If...

"When it feels right" is pretty much the answer here. It depends entirely on the person writing, and I'm certain that it's not a problem that magically evaporates after the first novel - I follow a lot of authors on Twitter and the common thread that unites them is angst over editing. The...

As you say - it's not available to view yet, but I doubt queries will live or die on the basis of the genre box - as long as you don't call it Chick Lit or Science Fiction, of course. Don't worry about it too much. Keep it in the back of your mind, maybe see if there's any genre keywords on the...

Two things on this. One, the editorial director at Gollancz commented on Twitter that they are always open to direct submissions. When I pointed out that the Orion group guidelines state specifically no direct subs, she said - Secondly, to anyone having butterflies about whether to sub or...

Bit late in the day but I'm finally sorting out hotel/travel for it. Not been to FCon before but always good to sit in the bar talking books and other nonsense whatever happens. If you're going, see you there!

Just to jump in and share an interesting and marginally related link: Stephen King, aged 14, submitting a story to Spacemen Magazine. Letters of Note: My favorite feature is the Obituary department As to subject lines - title and author name should be included, IMO. It's a pragmatic, sensible...

Congratulations, Ursa!

If you happen across a bald guy with glasses, perhaps wearing a kilt (depending on the time of day) and the name tag "Andrew", then there's a strong likelihood it's me. Right - got to catch a train!

Hi chap. I'm not going to go into a line-by-line critique of this because I think (for me as a reader) there's something fundamental here that's worthy of note. Your first three paragraphs are all about Marjan having a sinking feeling about his day ahead. That there's something not right...

Found this nice data-driven breakdown of a year's worth of self-published sales via Twitter. A year of selling Tides From The New Worlds at Tobias Buckell Online

On a related note, this pretty much sums up why I didn't like Sucker Punch.

Since "returning"* last month I stick to my original concept for 75 word story writing - I treat it as a fun exercise to get me thinking creatively and quickly. I set a 15 minute timer and let it tick down in the background while I thought up, wrote, and pared down this month's entry. For some...

Thomas the Rhymer Seven years was the price of the fairy Queen’s kiss, and Thomas was glad to pay it. Over the years, the warmth of his songs thawed her ice-cold heart. “Wait for my sign,” she said, returning him to Ercildourne. At midsummer, she sent two messengers to call him to her...

I'm getting super-excited about Eastercon now! Just sitting musing on my writing competition entries and thinking about budgets. After 8 months of just sheer mind numbing GRRRAAAHH it'll be good to have a break.

Leaving it unscathed is worse punishment. Dashed clever, those calamities.