I've heard many expressions of disappointment, frustration, and sometimes despair about story rejections. As a veteran of many story rejections myself, I totally get it. But sometimes I think new writers (or maybe I should say newer writers, since I'm relatively new myself) have an unrealistic notion of how long […]
Sun, 20:19: Sale! (Details after I get the contract.) 🙂 Mon, 08:59: Duotrope tells me that I have a 22% acceptance rate over the last 12 months. This is partially due to reduced submissions, but still…
Sat, 17:06: Finished that first draft (noir story); clocks in at 9,000 words, and boy, does it need work!
Thu, 21:10: Wrote 14,911 words during July, which makes 29,714 in June & July together. After such a dry spell, I can’t tell you how good this feels. Thu, 21:27: I never made so many friends my whole life as in the few years since I started writing. Such an […]
Wed, 23:34: Hah! Hit my 20,000 word goal in the Clarion Write-a-thon! Wed, 23:44: RT @ac_wise: CLOCKWORK PHOENIX 4 is now available in ebook format. MYTHIC DELIRIUM 0.1, too! http://t.co/jGVzUlNnTs
Tue, 22:26: RT @Liminal: The story I recently read by @ken_schneyer for @PodCastle_org was cited as the story that “hooked” someone on the podcast. I a…
Mon, 15:18: Took the # 52 instead of the # 60, & was 3/4 mi the wrong way before I realized my error. Well, I wanted a walk anyway. #facebookatbusstop Mon, 18:23: Two days, two rejections. #wheretosendnext Mon, 18:44: When you invite writers over for dinner, you wind up with […]
Things I am officially doing at Readercon: Friday July 12: 2:00 PM NH Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop Group Reading. Heather Albano, E.C. Ambrose, James L. Cambias, F. Brett Cox, James Patrick Kelly, Ken Schneyer, Sarah Smith. The Cambridge Science Fiction Workshop, founded in 1980, is the oldest professional SFF writers […]
I'm trying to imagine: If I belonged to an organization that contained actual Nazis (i.e., people who honestly believe (and say publicly) that it would have been better if the 25% of my extended family that survived the Holocaust hadn't), would I want to resign from the organization unless those […]
As most of my friends know, in 2009 I attended the Clarion Writers Workshop, which changed my life as advertised. I have a whole mess of posts about it. Every year Clarion runs a Write-a-Thon to coincide with the workshop. The idea is that while the students are beating their […]
You can now read my story "Hear the Enemy, My Daughter" on Strange Horizons. It's also available on their podcast, read by Anaea Lay. Enjoy!
I know next-to-nothing about D&D, but, according to one lengthy online survey, I am a: Neutral Good Human Druid/Wizard (3rd/3rd Level) Ability Scores: Strength-12 Dexterity-13 Constitution-13 Intelligence-16 Wisdom-14 Charisma-12 Alignment: Neutral Good A neutral good character does the best that a good person can do. He is devoted to helping […]
A very happy birthday to jongibbs, whose surveys of SFF-related posts have taught me much!
A very happy birthday to jongibbs, whose surveys of SFF-related posts have taught me much!
A very happy birthday to madderbrad, a good and supportive friend!
My story “Keeping Tabs”, originally published in Abyss & Apex in 2011, is now available on Escape Pod, read by Dani Cutler. Rated PG-13 for violence, sexual situations, and vulgar language.
Yes, I generally like the idea of a free market — that is, I think it’s good when goods and services are allocated according to the decisions of the free choice of economic actors within a society. Also, I generally dislike the idea of government running my life. Having said […]
Every year when the award nominations come out, there are dark mutterings about biased, complicated goings-on behind the scenes that result in nominations of Stories-And-People-I-Don’t-Like and prevent the nominations of Stories-And-People-I-Like. Usually these accusations are wildly silly, but sometimes they touch on the natural and understandable bias that is structurally […]
I’m delighted to report that Analog Science Fiction & Fact is going to buy my story “Life of the Author Plus Seventy”. I mailed the signed contract yesterday. “Life of the Author” is another lawyer-SF story, something Analog seems to enjoy. It’s also, like my previous lawyer story in Analog, […]
I’ve been tagged by the marvelous Heather Albano (author of the e-novels Timepiece and Timekeeper, and famous writer for Choice of Games) for The Next Big Thing Blog Hop. This sort of thing is normally aimed at novelists, but I adapted it to fit one of my upcoming stories: What […]
My tentative schedule for Arisia 2013, January 18-21: Friday, 7:00 – 8:15 p.m. (Bullfinch 3W) A Hero Like Me — Vikki Ciaffone (m), Genevieve Iseult Eldredge, Catt Kingsgrave-Ernstein, Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert, Ken Schneyer: How much does a reader want to be able to identify with the protagonist of a story? Does […]
I just got the word that is going to buy my story "Selected Program Notes from the Retrospective Exhibition of Theresa Rosenberg Latimer" for Clockwork Phoenix 4. Very happy. This is my second sale to Mike; my story "Lineage" appeared in Clockwork Phoenix 3 in 2010. My 2012 report […]
For those of you who are SFWA members, here are my 2012 stories that are eligible for the Nebula Awards: Novelette: "Serkers and Sleep", Beneath Ceaseless Skies #96 (May 31, 2012). Short Stories: "Financial Strategies for Innovative Researchers", Mad Scientist Journal (October, 2012). "Confinement", SQ Mag #2 (May 2012) (Finalist […]
Here is the last electoral map I'll do before the election: The changes from last time are: MT from red to dark orange NV from yellow to green NH from yellow to green NM from light blue to dark blue OR from dark blue to light blue OH from yellow […]
Only two visible changes: Arizona goes from dark orange to red; New Hampshire goes from green to yellow. There are now seven states within the 3% margin (yellow) range, and these will decide the election. Of these seven, all but two are infinitesimally leaning toward Obama rather than Romney; consequently […]
Here is my one panel at this year’s World Fantasy Con in Toronto: Saturday, November 3, 12 noon: THE REAL WORLD IN FANTASTIC FICTION (Ian Drury (Moderator), Donald Crankshaw, Geoff Hart, Kristin Janz, Christopher Kovacs, Kenneth Schneyer) Just because a story is set in a secondary world doesn’t mean its […]
This is the first map I've posted here since September 29, although I posted another on FB in between times. A number of significant changes from 9-29: Pennsylvania goes from light blue to green North Carolina goes from yellow to light orange Indiana goes from orange to red Missouri goes […]
My odd little story, "Financial Strategies for Innovative Researchers" is now available at Mad Scientist Journal. Enjoy!
This one was fun to do. Bold the ones you have and use at least once a year, italicize the ones you have and don't use, strike through the ones you have had but got rid of. I wonder how many pasta machines, breadmakers, juicers, blenders, deep fat fryers, egg […]
As some of you know, I have been creating vote-adjusted electoral maps of the United States since the election of 2000. You can see some of them at my other LJ, here: http://rhetoretician.livejournal.com/2008/10/ I've decided to do it again this year, but on this LJ, where more people are following […]
Yesterday we lost the generous and wry Leonard Pung. He had recently been diagnosed with leukemia, and suffered rapid respiratory consequences from the disease and/or the chemotherapy. He had sent his friends an optimistic e-mail about his treatment within a day or two before he died. I met Leonard at […]
In two weeks I'll be doing a Torah Aliah at my niece's Bat Mitsva. For them as don't know, this means I'll be getting up and reading a brief Torah portion during the ceremony. It's a great honor. It's also a bit daunting, as my Hebrew is awful, and when […]
I’m very pleased to report that Strange Horizons has bought my story, “Hear the Enemy, My Daughter”. SH is just about the perfect market for this piece. The first draft was written with the support of my Kickstarter project. (Yes, it takes me a long time to move from first […]
Joyously I spread the word that time_shark has launched his Kickstarter project for Clockwork Phoenix 4! Mike’s own LJ post about it is here.
Although I think of myself as a writer, I am a teacher by trade. The ideal form of education, of course, is to develop the highest intellectual faculties of the students at all times — to be Socrates to each student. There is an optimistic vision of pedagogy (I first […]
UPDATE: This schedule is now CONFIRMED. The full Readercon 23 schedule is now up here. A handy grid version is available here. I’m going to be giving four readings at Readercon 23, to be held July 12-15 at the Burlington Marriott, Burlington, MA. I’m also serving on two panels. New […]
I saw this on Mary Robinette Kowal‘s blog. No one tagged me, but it looks like fun, so I thought I’d join in. The ‘rules’ are: “Go to page 7 or 77 of your latest work. Read down to the seventh line and then post online the next seven lines […]
My fantasy novelette "Serkers and Sleep" is now up on Beneath Ceaseless Skies. Rated PG-13, probably, for described violence, implied sexuality, and scary stuff. Enjoy!
My dark, urban fantasy story "Confinement" is now available on SQ Mag. It's more graphic and disturbing than is my usual wont. Not for kiddies. After reading, you might want to study this image, which I first saw in 1995:
Here’s my schedule for the upcoming Boskone 49 at the Boston Westin Waterfront, Feb 17-19: Panel: SF/F/H in the Classroom, Fri 18:00 – 19:00, Griffin B.A. Chepaitis, F. Brett Cox, Jack M. Haringa (M), Kenneth Schneyer Description: Kids today don’t have to hide their SF book in class. It is […]
Subscribers to Daily Science Fiction will receive a copy of my middle-aged fantasy story “The Age of Three Stars” in their e-mail tomorrow. Non-subscribers will have to wait a week… Or, you could subscribe! 😉
Here are my five short stories that are eligible for the Nebula Award this year. Three of them are currently available for free online, and the other two have been posted to the appropriate SFWA forums. “The Mannequin’s Itch“, The Pedestal Magazine #67 (December 21, 2011). (Audio version available at […]
Here’s my schedule for Arisia, January 13-16, 2012 at the Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel. Schools for Magicians Fri 5:30 PM (Douglas) – Cecilia Tan (mod), Charlene Brusso, Victoria Janssen, Bob Kuhn, Kenneth Schneyer A Hogwarts degree isn’t the only path from mundanity to magehood. Let’s consider how writers have portrayed […]
You can read my weird little story “The Mannequin’s Itch” for free on The Pedestal Magazine. There’s also an MP3 of me reading the story aloud. This is one of the stories I wrote pursuant to my Kickstarter project in 2010.
Here are my answers to the Weird Questionnaire translated and posted by Edward Gauvin on the VanderMeers’ Weird Fiction Review: Éric Poindron’s Étrange Questionnaire 1 – Write the first sentence of a novel, short story, or book of the weird yet to be written. The potatoes were finally going to take their […]
Two pieces of publishing-related news: My hypertext story “Neural Net” is now available on Ideomancer. Unlike most hypertext stories I’ve seen, I’m convinced that this one couldn’t have been told any other way except through hypertext. I must say, it gives me an appreciation of Woolf/Joyce/Faulkner that I never had […]
This was fun. I fed some of my stories into a text-analysis bot. When I fed it “Keeping Tabs”, currently on Abyss & Apex: I write likeWilliam Gibson I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing! When I fed it “Tortoise Parliament”, which is in First Contact: Digital […]
I’m on the left, and I’ll admit that it’s easier for me to get annoyed at mistaken or dishonest reasoning from people I disagree with. I’m more likely to yell at the screen when it’s Bill O’Reilly than when it’s Chris Matthews. It’s a character flaw. But sometimes even the […]
I am inordinately fond of time travel stories. I’ve published a few of my own, (see, e.g., (“Liza’s Home”, “Conflagration” and “The Never Fair”), and long argued that their juxtaposition and confusion of memory and expectation allow for a kind of emotional resonance you can’t achieve anywhere else. Tell me […]
Here is my review of Timepiece by Heather Albano. Jane Austen Characters in an H. G. Wells Situation If Elizabeth Bennett or Eleanor Dashwood had been given the choice of living the privileged, restricted Regency life into which they were born, on the one hand, or hurtling into the future […]
Kenneth Schneyer 