We never even noticed the demise of the glossy magazine. One day they were just gone, missing from waiting room tables everywhere as though they’d never been, with only empty racks and dusty outlines to mark their passing.
By and large they’re quite unmourned, it’s sad to say. It’s tough to miss the sort of writing one only reads while killing time waiting for a haircut, articles you can put down unfinished without regret.
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“If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”
Dorothy Parker
To Begin With
I’ve been writing for over a decade, and I’ve been doing it full-time for nearly eight months. In all that time, I’ve earned a few thousand bucks — enough to complicate my income taxes, not enough to pay for my daily ramen and now weekly cup of coffee. If you hope to write for a living, either start off wealthy or be Stephen King.
But that’s not success.
(more…)In an earlier article, I supplied a list of publications to which a prospective writer of short genre fiction might submit their work. While that’s an invaluable resource, by itself it won’t get you far. In fact…
…but before I get started, let me give you some excellent second-hand advice:
(more…)“If you have any young friends who aspire to become writers, the second-greatest favor you can do them is to present them with copies of The Elements of Style. The first-greatest, of course, is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.”
Dorothy Parker
As a writer of genre fiction, I’m often asked advice on where best to submit work. The following list has been cobbled together using information posted on the websites for the several magazines. Special thanks are due to Austin Hackney of writingcooperative.com for providing the initial inspiration, as well as a few tips I would have missed otherwise.
The following list begins with sci-fi and fantasy, has a block of flash-only, horror and New Weird, two mystery mags, and closes with kids and literary publications. NO NEWS OR OP-ED PUBLICATIONS ARE INCLUDED. Only those publications that pay in cash rather than prestige made the list, since prestige contains zero nutritional value.
(more…)In order to do this properly, we’ll need a discourse, so that all sides can find middle ground that they can agree on. And in order to communicate, we’ll each need to use the same words to mean the same things.
For example: It might surprise some people to learn that there is actually no such thing as an “Assault Weapon”. Sure, you’ll find it in the dictionary of your choice, but the definitions are nebulous and disagree. They named the 1994 law after it, but the descriptions involved such superficial specifics as a bayonet lug or pistol grip without enough generalities to retain long-term value. The law expired in 2004; by then, the industry had long since retooled such that they could largely avoid its strictures.
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This is a picture of a SiG MCX.
It’s a highly efficient modular tactical infantry weapon, designed to be easily modified so as to be the proper gun for any situation. It’s lightweight, reliable, and deadly. Oh, and a homicidal maniac used one to kill fifty people in Orlando the other day.
At the moment, the nation is sick and tired of hearing about guns and shootings. We’ve had enough, and if the problem doesn’t get solved, We The People are about to fire a whole raft of Congressmen and Senators. And the lawmakers in question know this full well, so they’re making a lot of extra noise about it this time around.
In fact, so very much noise is being made that I think we’ve lost sight of what exactly it is that we’re talking about. (more…)
The current national discussion on gun control is taking place between a large number of people, many of whom have differing levels of expertise with the use or identification of weapons. Many of those desiring greater restrictions on firearms are unfamiliar with them, which is entirely reasonable; firearms aficionados and collectors would be the most likely to educate themselves on the subject, whereas those who fear or mistrust them would be likely to avoid any contact with the weapons in question.
Unfortunately for the dialogue, this lack of expertise detracts from the credibility of those wanting change. Additionally, decades of intricate and confusing gun laws have muddied up the conversational waters even more. Since profitable discussion requires mutual respect, and since the subject is simple enough to learn, read on. (more…)
It’s said even Reagan was against every Tom, Dick, and Harry owning an AK-47. And that may well be true; on the other hand, what difference does it make? We should keep this discussion to the essentials, and reduce whatever we can to its core.
There exists a philosophical difficulty with banning “assault rifles”; it can be (more…)
The Not Fake News 