Most of this blog is about writing, so most of the posts will be categorized, ‘Writing’. You can select this if you don’t care about anything that’s not writing.
For any of you in the Boston area, I’ll be at Boskone 50 next weekend. It looks like they’ve got a great schedule planned, with Guest of Honor Vernor Vinge. For myself, I’m looking forward to three panels with fascinating people: Is the Internet Reprogramming Our Brains? (Panel), Fri 18:00 – 18:50, Harbor II Short […]
I recently passed a milestone that some might consider dubious: 100 rejections for my short fiction. I’m not actually sure which one was my 100th, since two recent ones have no entry in my Duotrope database, but I’m going to say that it was for my story “In Training” just because I like the sound […]
Waaaay back at the beginning of last year I made some plans for my writing this year. Focusing on what I could control (rather than, say, making my goals “sell X number of stories”) I wanted to finish either 10 stories, or 5 and a novel, and submit at least 40 times — in other […]
I just got word that I have made my first SFWA-qualifying sale! (Don’t worry, I signed the contract before posting here…) I will share the details soon, I hope. I just want to clarify when this can be made public. In the meantime, here’s our cat singing to her dinner:
One of the great things about being an SF writer here and now is seeing how widely our tropes have scattered into the public consciousness. I had to go out on an errand this morning, and drove by the local med school, and I did a double-take to see a bunch of walking dead! Because […]
I consented to share a small portion of my genius with my friend and fellow writer Anaea Lay at her site as part of her Lies for Fun and Profit series. I don’t know why she calls it that.
It was pointed out to me that the version of my story Unintended Consequences that was in last November’s Drabblecast Episode 224 is not the same as the original version on this site. I’d expanded it in response to editorial feedback; here is the version that aired, below the cut. (Or possibly without the cut […]
So, there’s this story I wrote a while back — a really fun one, I think, which got some very kind rejections but not yet a home. And there’s a market, with a respected name and a long history, and maybe some recent troubles. This market looked like a good fit for this story. So […]
My reading at Readercon went very well. Thank you to everyone who dropped by; I’m greatly encouraged by your reaction to the scene I read. I hope that my attempt to do voices for it didn’t confuse you too much. That piece was the opening scene from my novella “Claudius Rex”, which (under the title […]
I’m just finishing up cramming snacks, pens, and changes of underclothes into my duffel bag, and getting ready to head down to Readercon 23! This will be my second year attending, after having a blast last year. Those of you skimming the program may have come across this gem: 30. Noon NH Group Reading: Codex […]
John P. Murphy 