HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: timk@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca (Tim Kuehn)
Subject: Re: Sequels (was Re: Work in progress)
Organization: TDK Consulting Services
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 17:37:40 GMT

In article <14433@mindlink.bc.ca> Crawford_Kilian@mindlink.bc.ca (Crawford Kilian) writes:
>I'm not a big fan of sequels either, though I had fun turning Empire of Time
>who haven't completed their first novel yet (and feel daunted by the perceived
>*size* of such a writing project), but a single novel of 100,000 words or so
>isn't really very long. Really. 

How long does it take to put that many words together? 

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Tim Kuehn | TDK Consulting |(519)-888-0766| 				|
| <><       | Services       | timk@tdkcs.uucp timk@tdkcs.waterloo.on.ca|
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------+
From: Alan_Barclay@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan Barclay)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Editing on Hardcopy
Date: 2 Sep 92 07:50:16 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Thonas Beagle writes:

"I used to say that I could never edit on a computer screen.

"My EDI manual is nearly finished and I am reading the thing trying to
fix the worst bits. The only problem is, if I do it on screen, I keep
getting distracted by other bits of text."

I feel crippled without my computer.

But you're right about editing, it's easy to get carried away
with some detail.  I edit in several stages, starting with a hard copy.  On
first go, I edit structure and content.  I find it much easier to refer back
and forth through paper pages than a computer display.  (You can make notes,
too.)  Then I get back on the computer and make the changes, using my zen
discipline to ignore minor details.  Then I slam the text through a spell
checker and a style analyzer, read the report, and go on multiple-target search
and destroy mission.

I don't think I'll ever stop editing with hard copy first, but software is
getting good at finding elementary mistakes, so I use that, too.

Alan
Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Monday, 31 Aug 1992 08:30:57 MST
From: <KVJLC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject:    What now?


     Okay, what now?  So, I took a couple of months off from writing.
What's the big deal.  No harm done right?  Wrong!
     I found out last night what was wrong.  I'm impotent!  Well at
least when it comes to writing done a good line or two.  I actually
found an excuse not to write when I did sit down, and for the first time
I couldn't think of anything interesting to write.  No clever titles
or quick dialogue.  Just a couple of sentence fragments and a couple
of comma splices for my efforts.  I tried to tell myself that I would
write later in the evening when all the boring stuff on television
came on.  But did I do that?  You guessed it, I sat in front of the
tube and went brain dead for a couple of hours.
     The sad part was or is that I really enjoy writing and in the last
year and a half I have had no trouble coming up with short stories or
a couple hundred pages towards my novel.  I don't have writers block as
much as I have the same sympthoms of going back to work after a long
vacation.  I have to many stories to tell and not enough time as it
is, so this feeling of blah has to find somewhere or someone else to
bother.  Writing has (is) my way of inventing that requires less of
my intellectual resources than when I was working on my inventions.
But the ability to create has been taken away by inactivity and I
hope that by just writing this posting I will bring some of it back
soon.
                         *      *      *
     Now to the question at hand.  What can I do to get back into
the swing of writing and more importantly finishing my novel?  I
suppose that everyone has a different technique or idea and I
would appreciate reading what others have done.


Thanks,


Jon L. Campbell
From: Alan_Barclay@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan Barclay)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: New Definition of SF et al.
Date: 3 Sep 92 12:19:26 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Okay, how about this for a definition?

"Speculative Fiction is a group of genres of fiction where one or more of the
key problems to be faced by one or more of the protagonists only exists because
one or more elements of the physical universe, metaphysical universe or the
culture dipicted in the story do not exist today and could not existed in the
past."

Genres:

Science Fiction
Speculative fiction which speculates in the area of physical universe and
culture, within plausible limits (limits which are purely a matter of personal
dogma).

Fantasy
Speculative Fiction which speculates in the area of metaphysics, as well as
anything that would otherwise qualify as Science Fiction, if it were plausible.


Some of the Sub-Genres:

Hard Science Fiction
Science Fiction in which the primary problem develops from an element of
speculation about the physical universe.

Soft Science Fiction
Science Fiction in which the primary problem develops from an element of
speculation about culture and social forces.

Supernatural Horror
Subgenre of Fantasy, mainly characterized by the appearance of a mysterious and
destructive force in a contemporary setting.

Scientific Horror ( e.g. any Michael Crichton novel )
Subgenre of Science Fiction, mainly characterized by the appearance of a
mysterious and destructive force in a contemporary setting.  (see any
similarities?)

Of course, very few novels classify solely in one category.  Even the best
known Hard SF writers like to include metaphysical elements.  Niven has psionic
powers and luck, Clarke has his monolith, and Heinlein said the universe was
one big story and he wrote it.


BJ>Just about all the supposed hard saifai I've seen contains glaring
impossibilities.

Could be you just draw the line between implausibility and plausibility sooner
than most people, or may maybe you're reading the Lenseman series. :)



Alan


Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: cgates@mitre.org (Curt Gates)
Subject: Re: Technical Writing as an alternative to Technial Development
Organization: The MITRE Corporation
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:27:29 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.144554.10913@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov> 
thigpen@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Keith Thigpen) writes:
> I've worked in technical software for about eight years, and feel that 
I'm
> growing stale. I've considered moving into technical writing, but don't 
> really have any idea about how the switch will affect my salary.

With your background, there may not be much salary difference.  However, I 
strongly  suggest that you closely analyze the reasons why you think moving 
to tech writing might restore freshness to your career.  One of the 
traditional disadvantages of being a writer in a large technical 
organization is that you are considered support rather than tech staff.  
You know what that implies, right?  If you plan to be a *good* writer,  
the change means going back to school, taking seminars, etc.   If you are 
willing to do that, you might consider enhancing your software and 
technical skills, instead of making a career change.  If you have hit a 
wall in software, ask what you expect to be doing in tech writing after 
the next eight years.

************************************
I worked as a technical writer ... editing manuals ... on how to dispose 
of sewage in permafrost; we all had to wear white shirts -- that was 
mandatory -- and I was fired at the end of two weeks for spending too much 
time staring out the window.  
(Edward Abbey)
************************************ 
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: mtan@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Maureen Tan)
Subject: First one to correct the typo wins
Followup-To: misc.writing
Organization: UIUC
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 13:41:36 GMT

In article <14670@mindlink.bc.ca>, Alan_Barclay@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan
Barclay) wrote:
> 
> This is what I do when I submit a story to a magazine:

(Lots of good stuff omitted.)

 
Oops!  In item #7, I suspect that Alan means six WEEKS, not six months!
(Typo or Freudian slip, Alan?)  And, although Alan's outline is fantastic,
if you
haven't done so already, I'd suggest you get the WRITER'S MARKET or
similar book or magazine so that you can check specific editorial
guidelines
for the magazine you're sending  your manuscript to.  It'll save you
postage
and frustration.

Maureen (a.k.a. Jane)
From: miner@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Legal Aspects of Pen-Names -- query
Date: 29 Aug 92 22:58:27 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

For several years I've tried, every so often, to get good up-to-date
information about legal aspects of the use of pen-names.  To no avail.
Does anyone know of a source of information on this?-- 
********************************** +.............................+
*- Ken <miner@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>* :All opinions expressed herein:
*There is no privileged position.* :are my own and are not to be :
*	-God, Derrida, others    * : attributed to my employer   :
********************************** +.............................+
From: sahle@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Eskinder Sahle)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Calling Oneself a Writer (Was: Why do you write?)
Date: 23 Aug 92 18:12:42 GMT
Organization: VPI&SU Computer Science Department, Blacksburg, VA

In article <57680020@hpscit.sc.hp.com> fish@hpscit.sc.hp.com (John Fisher) writes:
>
>I've been slow to respond to this question because I've been giving it a
>great deal of thought.  My immediate response was a flip, "For the money
>and fame, of course!"  But I decided that wasn't any more funny than it
>was true. :-]
>
>I've decided that my *personal* reason for writing is a quest for
>knowledge and understanding.  (My, doesn't that sound lofty?)  But
>seriously, I feel my ability to articulate feelings, incidents,
>thoughts, etc., enables me to understand them; or at least leads me in
>that direction.   
>
>This train of thought eventually led me to pose the question, "Is
>rational thought possible without language?"  I've done some research
>into it, but decided it was more appropriate to post it in
>alt.usage.english.  It's an intriguing, if unresolved, question for me.
>
>John Fisher at Hewlett-Packard |
>in Santa Clara, CA             |  Insanity is just a state of mind.
>fish@hpscit.hp.com             | 

Hi John:

I think that the best answer one could give to the question "why do I
write?" is: "I write because I can't help it!"  I really believe that
being a writer is not a matter of choice, but rather a matter of inborn
temperament.  Not everyone can be a writer or has the drive to be a
writer.  For one thing, very few people have even half the patience
required by the process of writing or are willing to sit by themselves
for six or seven hours at a stretch, struggling to organize their thoughts 
and feelings.  

Regarding the question "is rational thought possible without language?"
I agree with you that the issue is fascinating.  Personally, I think
that language comes before thought.  When I write, for example, phrases 
and words pop in my mind and shape the progress of my piece, and it is through
language that I organize my thoughts, not the other way around.  


Ahmed
From: mapd1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nigel Ling)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: "Wow, You're a Writer!"[long]
Date: 18 Aug 92 09:56:09 GMT
Organization: University of Sussex

In article <1992Aug17.163129.29183@advtech.uswest.com> ken@dakota (Kenny Chaffin) writes:

>
>	It seems as if you've bought into the Literary School of You-Have-
>To-Have-a-gift-to-write paradigm which is absolutely false. Writing is a 
>craft just like anything else--music, mechanicing etc.

Yup. Old Tolstoy was a good craftsman. He must have practised a lot.
Probably been good at fixing engines too if they'd been around at the time.
Picasso was a dab hand at his craft too; likewise Mozart. Just goes to
show what a little perseverance can do eh? Yep, craftistry is 99.99%
perspiration, bugger all inspiration.


>	I believe publication can be a good indicator of a real(tm) writer but
>that's not necessarily true either. Writers write. They write stories, poems,
>songs, novels, manuals, books and plays. 

...not forgetting workshop repair manuals.

Nigel
From: Alan_Barclay@mindlink.bc.ca (Alan Barclay)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Languages in SF
Date: 29 Aug 92 07:44:58 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Curtis writes:

"Paul Park, in the first forty pages of _Soldiers Of Paradise_,
creates one of the strangest worlds in genre fiction.

"_Soldiers_ has _no_ invented words; nor does it rely, a la Wolfe, on
etymologies less taken and linguistic fossils.

"A horse, placidly chewing on the severed child's hand in its beak,
is a far more powerful image than a vrishnu, placidly chewing on the
severed murgli's hand in its beak - even if the horse is not a
horse, nor the child a child."

The author summons up the image of an earthly horse chewing a
human hand, then says "ha ha, fooled you!"

This is fine as a device but if it shows up regularly it drives me nuts.
Every time the author says horse I see a herbivorous, hooved quadruped, not
the creature in his world.  As a reader I feel cheated.  For the sake of a
cheap thrill the aurhor has set up image confusion that will persist
throughout the book.  I don't believe this is a virtue.

Alan
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: aba@hp835.mitek.com (Binion Amerson)
Subject: Re: Technical Writing as an alternative to Technial Development
Organization: OpenConnect Systems, Dallas, TX
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 15:51:50 GMT

In article <1992Aug26.144554.10913@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov> thigpen@lambda.msfc.nasa.gov (Keith Thigpen) writes:
>I've worked in technical software for about eight years, and feel that I'm
>growing stale. I've considered moving into technical writing, but don't 
>really have any idea about how the switch will affect my salary.
>
>Can anyone give me approximate salary levels for technical writers? I'm 
>trying not to be nosy. Sorry if I offend anyone, but this has a direct
>bearing on whether I continue this investigation.
>
>Thanks,
>Keith
>
The Society for Technical Communication (STC) periodically conducts a salary
survey of its members and publishes the results in its newsletter "Intercom."
Contact the Society office at:

   Society for Technical Communication
   901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 304
   Arlington, VA 22203-1822
   703/522-4114

There is also an STC Chapter in Huntsville.  The president is:

   Jack Anderson
   6613 Marsh Ave., NW
   Huntsville, AL 35806-1826
   B: 201/730-4805

Binion Amerson
-- 
 Binion Amerson, Senior Technical Writer, OpenConnect Systems, Inc., 2033 
 Chennault Dr., Carrollton, Texas 75006; 214/308-0447; aba@hp835.mitek.com
 General Manager: 40th STC Annual Conference, June 6-9, 1993,  Dallas, TX
From: Crawford_Kilian@mindlink.bc.ca (Crawford Kilian)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: Re: Post-publication Woes
Date: 26 Aug 92 22:45:41 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

Dipak Basu asks what proportion of time writers spend between writing and
promoting their work...depends.

In the mass market, author promotion is largely beside the point. I manage to
get my books reviewed in the local Vancouver papers, which otherwise wouldn't
bother with a paperback original; but reviews have little or no influence on
the sales of most mass-market titles.

With hardback fiction, the publisher may ship the author across the country, to
be taken in hand by a succession of PR folks and dropped into various talk
shows on radio and TV. This is cheaper than a couple of full-page ads in the NY
Times Book Review. I've done only one tour, many years ago. Never again, if I
can avoid it.

But by all means get to know local booksellers, let them know your book is out,
and be ready to cooperate if they ask you to come in for a signing. And
cultivate your local librarians as well! They are wonderful people with not
enough money in their budgets for everyone, so they might as well get to know
you and make you a spending priority. :)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: nadeau@bnr.ca (Rheal Nadeau)
Subject: Re: "Wow, You're a Writer!"[long]
Organization: Bell-Northern Research Ltd., Ottawa, Canada
Date: Fri, 28 Aug 1992 20:13:18 GMT

In article <1992Aug18.095609.27336@syma.sussex.ac.uk> mapd1@syma.sussex.ac.uk (Nigel Ling) writes:
>In article <1992Aug17.163129.29183@advtech.uswest.com> ken@dakota (Kenny Chaffin) writes:
>
>>
>>	It seems as if you've bought into the Literary School of You-Have-
>>To-Have-a-gift-to-write paradigm which is absolutely false. Writing is a 
>>craft just like anything else--music, mechanicing etc.
>
>Yup. Old Tolstoy was a good craftsman. He must have practised a lot.
>Probably been good at fixing engines too if they'd been around at the time.
>Picasso was a dab hand at his craft too; likewise Mozart. Just goes to
>show what a little perseverance can do eh? Yep, craftistry is 99.99%
>perspiration, bugger all inspiration.

I'd go a step further.  Language is a basic human skill, like walking
and running; mechanics and music less so.  Every human (*) can learn a
language, can assemble sentences and express his thoughts.  Yes, some
will do it better than others, or with greater facility, but we all can
do it.

I got up the confidence to start writing again, after several years of
"I'm not cut out to be a writer", because of my running.  Now, as a
runner, I'm no Carl Lewis or Gelindo Bordin - I'm certainly not Olympic
material!  But I can (and have) run respectable 10Ks and marathons; if
I wish to invest the time, I can even do those absurd 100 mile races.
And so I call myself a runner, because I run.

Eventually I realized the same rules apply to writing.  I may never win
a Nobel prize for literature, or sell millions of copies of my latest
bestseller.  But, if I invest the time, I can write well enough to be
published, to give enjoyment, to be a Real Writer (TM).  (And hey, I
just mailed my FIRST submission since the 70s - a children's tale.
And I KNOW it's good enough to at least have a chance!  But whatever
happens, the months I've spent working on it have given ME a lot or
pleasure.)

(*) When I say "Every human", I exclude those born with severe
deficiencies.  Yes, there are people with learning disabilities who
cannot learn to properly manipulate language, or do so with the
greatest of difficulties.  Just as there are people who are born
handicapped, and can't walk.  But they are a small minority, and even
they can sometimes surprise us - consider the legless people who
complete marathons in wheelchairs...

The Rhealist - Rheal Nadeau - nadeau@bnr.ca - Speaking only for myself
Newsgroups: misc.writing
From: jjonsson@alexandria.lib.utah.edu
Subject: Re: Any Screenwriters out there?
Organization: Marriott Library, University of Utah
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1992 01:10:54 GMT

In article <1992Aug22.001433.10551@murdoch.acc.Virginia.EDU> ren@Turing.ORG (Karen Prestemon) writes:


>I've done a bit of screenwiritng, and I'm looking for other people on
>the net who do the same....  Anyone?


>--Karen

Yeah, I've written a couple of scripts, never sold any. I've taken a couple 
of screenwriting courses at my University with varying degrees of interest, 
and I'm in the process of looking for an agent. I think that if anyone has 
any information on getting agents, said info would be greatly appreciated on 
Usenet. . .


Jeff Jonsson
Marriott Library System Support, University of Utah.
==============================================================================
--"It's the sound of the secret--  jjonsson@alexandria.lib.utah.edu
-- machinery at the center of  --  jjonsson@utahlib.bitnet
-- the world." -Cliff Steele   --  "You talkin' to me?"
From: K.Haigh-Hutchinson@bradford.ac.uk (K.HAIGH-HUTCHINSON)
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject: What is Sci Fi
Date: 1 Sep 92 12:35:09 GMT
Distribution: misc.writing
Organization: University of Bradford, UK
Originator: s1497@bravo

That seems a reasonable definition but..

I have been working on a story (for my own amusement.. I do not know whether
I have the talent to make it into a publishable novel)

It is about one society thinking it is alone in the Universe making contact
with a Galactic civilisation. As a result of the contact it discovers
that its political and military systems are not what it believes them
to be. 

The story is about beliefs and cultural change. It is set in a Galactic
setting because that setting seems to allow me to describe alternative
societes. If I write in another setting I would be confined to describing
my characters in terms of the socio-political structures that actually existed
in that setting. Putting it on another planet with a fictitous name gives me
a blank slate.

The story uses all the plot devices that make a Galactic wide civilisation
possible ie FTL travel and communications, Some 'magical' method of crossing
the language barrier. I do not want the entire Galaxy populated by Earth
colonies!! I find it convenient to have a weapon that can stun rather than
resort to having people knocked on the head whilst looking the other way.
But I would not say my story is essentially about starships, translators and
energy weapons with variable settings.

It does not seem to be fantasy because it is not about magic. It does mention
telepathic races but that is about all.

I call it science fiction/fantasy because I do not know what else to call it.
Any suggestions?

Kathy Haigh-Hutchinson
Email K.Haigh-Hutchinson@uk.ac.bradford