Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Short Story Markets and other Irritations

Look, I don't want to get started on a rant here. Okay, I do want to rant, but I'll try to keep it within reason. The other day I received a story rejection in the mail. Not that big a deal to me anymore: shrug, sigh, move on, right? But this one got my goat, as have a few other recent ones for similar reasons. Why?

Because it gives the impression that my story was read and rejected by a grade school student. (This is not the entire form, just the pertinent part, and I'm not naming the magazine.)

Now, I understand that not everyone has perfect penmanship. I understand that the person who filled in this form is likely NOT the person who read and rejected the story. This is probably some summer student working long hours for crappy wages, who fills out dozens and dozens of these forms daily and sticks them in horrible-tasting SASEs. I don't blame the person who wrote this. At least it is legible.

But I do blame the professional magazine that allows their rejection slips to go out looking like this. My seven-year-old son prints more neatly. Magazines have always seemed to want authors to believe that each story is treated with care and attention, and while we may be savvy enough to know that this isn't always exactly true, the illusion of professionalism would still be nice. So give the poor rejection-form flunky a typewriter and the rejected writer some dignity, already.

* * * * * * * *
On another note, what is up with the ever-burgeoning proliferation of magazines looking for "dark" fiction? In browsing the SpecFicWorld market listing for suitable markets for a 5k word non-"dark" fantasy story I find--a bare handful. I mean, it's one thing if I can't sell a story this length because it's not good enough, but it's a completely different thing if I can't find more than a market or two to send it to. Luckily, this little rant has me thinking dark thoughts, so perhaps it's a good time to get off the 'Net and start writing...

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Friday, July 27, 2007

Who Wrote Me?

This is cool...although there are some Heinlein books I would choose to inhabit over certain others...




Which Author's Fiction are You?



Robert Heinlein wrote you - you stranger in a strange land, you.
Take this quiz!




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Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Restless and Disgruntled

This afternoon I've been thinking about my writing and feeling more and more disgruntled. Mostly with myself, because I feel that I'm not applying myself to it the way I should be if I want results--real results.

This could be because I haven't written anything during June and July...June was simply too busy, July was filled with getting ready for vacation and then going on said vacation and then recovering from said vacation, at least until today. Today I'm thinking that I could, should start working on something again. I'm just not sure what I should tackle, I suppose.

I seem to see a pattern with my novel-writing: I write the first draft, work diligently on the project trying to get it closer and closer to submission-ready...and then some reason crops up that I have to leave it for a while, and it goes cold. The task of picking it up again is so daunting, my mind doesn't want to take it on. Or possibly there are other reasons hidden deep in my psyche that are holding me back. Whatever the cause, I feel very annoyed with myself because of it.

I'm considering giving myself an ultimatum--that I won't be allowed to participate in NaNoWriMo this year if I don't have ONE of these projects finished and in submission before then. It's drastic, because I love doing NaNoWriMo so much, but I'm thinking about it. Maybe the threat will make me buckle down and get to work.

I did send a sub out to Strange Horizons this afternoon, so perhaps that's something.

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (no spoilers!)

Today I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I asked my husband to pick it up after work on Tuesday, since the copy I had ordered from amazon.ca was just not arriving quickly enough. My kids are amazed that I read it so quickly, but I will say that I found it to be a page-turner. There was none of the sidetracked wandering that seemed to characterize Order of the Phoenix, which I had worried about a bit since Deathly Hallows is also quite long. I have read someone else opine that Rowling has become a better writer over the course of the series, and I have to agree. But that's what we writers are always told, practice, practice, practice!

All in all, and without giving anything away, I think the author tied everything up very neatly and satisfactorily. I enjoyed the book and can't wait until some of my friends have finished and are ready to discuss it!

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Sunday, July 22, 2007

Jam Making 101


I don't know how old I was when I first ate "store-bought" jam, but it could easily have been not until I went away to university. Preserving was a summer ritual at home, and next door at my grandmother's house. Mounds of berries would be crushed, cheescloth bags would hang in the pantry dripping juice for jelly-making, and of course the houses would be filled with the unmistakable and delectable aromas.

Once I had my own household, though, it was a task I viewed with some trepidation. I remembered it as such a huge undertaking! I wanted to make homemade jam since nothing else compares to it in flavour, but couldn't bring myself to commit whole days to it. What I failed to realize was that the marathons of preserving I remembered from childhood were for batches and batches of jam and jelly and marmalade and other preserves--not a single batch! When I finally tackled the task I was amazed at how quick and easy it actually is. I made strawberry jam this morning and thought I would share the process, in case anyone out there is wishing they could do the same but feeling daunted.

As you can see in the first picture, start by washing and hulling enough berries to yield 3 3/4 cups when crushed. If you can find a helper to crush the berries, so much the better. My son wanted to help but deserted me after a few minutes, claiming it was too hard and the crushed berries were now "gross." ;) The berries go into your (very) large pot or Dutch oven.

Meanwhile, clean jars should go into the oven for sterilizing, as well as any other glass or metal implements you might be using (the glass measuring cup is for scooping up and pouring the jam into the bottles). Jar lids go into a pot of water, are brought to a boil for about 30 seconds, then taken off the heat until we're ready for them. Since it's impossible to estimate exactly how much jam will result from the batch, I always prepare a few extra jars and try to have a couple of sizes available.

Next we add lemon juice, sugar, and/or other ingredients as the recipe requires, and turn on the heat. While waiting for the jam mixture to come to a boil, you can get a jump on the cleanup if you want, since you won't be needing the bowl you crushed the berries in, the masher, or the measuring cup again.

The jam must come to a boil, and boil hard for one minute. I stir the jam during this minute to keep the pot from boiling over, but it's wise to wear oven mitts as the hot jam is very bubbly and can give you a nasty burn.

After the jam has boiled for the minute, it's removed from the heat and fruit pectin is added according to the recipe. Then the jam is stirred for five minutes and we skim off the pink foam that boiling has caused to form. When I was a child, a little dish of this skimmed foam was a great treat!

Now to put it in the jars. Use the sterilized utensils to fill each jar to within 1/4 inch of the top. Be careful! The jars and utensils are hot and you'll have to wear oven mitts through this procedure. It's a bit awkward, but do-able.

Seal the jars with two-piece lids, tightening the rings firmly and being careful to touch the lids as little as possible (and just by the edges). Remember the jars are hot! Now, the question of processing arises. Processing means putting the sealed jars back into boiling water for ten minutes or so, to further reduce the risk of spoilage. Many people won't make jam without processing the jars, but I never have and also have never had jam spoil, even after a year in the cupboard. So it's your call. I also suspect the type of pectin used may be a factor in this, so be sure to read your directions carefully.

While you finish the cleanup, it's time for my favorite part--listening for the "ping" of the jar lids as they cool and seal down tight. Each one makes me smile. Any jar that doesn't ping should be refrigerated and used first. Time elapsed for the entire process? About an hour and a half, including cleanup. I think that's a reasonable time investment for such a delicious return.

There are many jam-making resources on the Internet which will give you much more detail than this, but I wanted to emphasize that it's not really a huge task, and very rewarding. Best done without little people underfoot for the actual cooking and bottling process, just for safety's sake. Try it!

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Thursday, July 19, 2007

There And Back Again

Well, we're home from our vacation and as it's plain to see, there were no blogging opportunities on the road. I do have some musings to share, which I think I'll get to over the next few days, but tonight my brain just wants to do fun things like check on my friends' blogs and do Internet quizzes. Like this one, the Book Quiz:




You're The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe!

by C.S. Lewis

You were just looking for some decent clothes when everything changed
quite dramatically. For the better or for the worse, it is still hard to tell. Now it
seems like winter will never end and you feel cursed. Soon there will be an epic
struggle between two forces in your life and you are very concerned about a betrayal
that could turn the balance. If this makes it sound like you're re-enacting Christian
theological events, that may or may not be coincidence. When in doubt, put your trust
in zoo animals.



Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.



Which is a fun and interesting result, both because when I first read the Chronicles of Narnia all the theological stuff was completely lost on me, and because I have very recently had encounters with many and varied zoo animals.

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Thursday, July 05, 2007

Catching up...sort of...

In a way I can't believe it's been a month since I've written anything here, and in another way it's completely understandable. June is such a busy month--everything seems to explode at once. Numerous events as school wraps up, birthdays abound, the yard and garden suddenly need hours and hours of attention, weddings start cropping up, and vacation plans must be made. Seems that if it's not on this list, it's not getting done.

So here it is, the night before we leave on vacation, and I'm finally getting a minute to sit down. I should be working on The Scriptorium, but I'm thinking I'll just have to do a few minor updates to the page in the morning (if I have time) and call it a mini-issue. My plan was for a big July/August issue but that just hasn't happened.

Writing has been similarly abandoned by the wayside, although two new story ideas have been bouncing around in my head and I hope to work them into a little better shape while we drive west for long hours. I still have six story subs out; I'm hoping that I don't come home to a mailbox filled with rejection slips in a couple of weeks. Ah well, if I do, it will give me something to dive right into.

I have four books in my bag ready to go tomorrow: Orphans of Chaos by John C. Wright, which is a fascinating read but sometimes makes my head hurt when the main character is describing how she can see into the fourth dimension; the Nebula Awards Showcase 2007 edited by Mike Resnick, which I'm enjoying hugely; The Ethical Imagination by Margaret Somerville, from her CBC Massey Lectures Series; and Goblin Hero by Jim C. Hines, which I'm hoping to get to soon because I can't wait to find out what happens to Jig next.

At any rate, I think we'll have Internet access for most of the trip, so I may be blogging my way to Ontario and back...we'll see how it works out.

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