OK, the notes aren’t very good today (not that they were all that good to begin with) because I only got three hours of sleep last night due to working on my story. I was lucky — my roommate, Scott Roberts, stayed up all night working on his story.
AM=Anne McCaffrey
AM: You may not make a lot of money as a writer, but there’s great satisfaction in seeing your name on a book.
“You’re a writer when you can’t not write.” (A double negative only strengthens the positive.)
I submitted a lot of books before I sold my first.
One of the nice things about the science fiction field is we’re always willing to welcome new people.
Keep a record of the characteristics of each character.
If there’s a subject you don’t know much about, find an expert to help. Be sure to have your expert read the portions of your story that relate to his expertise.
SW=Sean Williams
SW: With regard to the advice you hear, take what you need and leave the rest. But remember the rest, because you might need it later.
I submitted to WOTF every quarter. It took me ten entries to win.
“Quit now, you’ll never make it. If you ignore this advice, you’re halfway there.” — David Zucker
Be a part of the SF community.
If you’re writing something that you’re not enjoying, readers can pick up on that.
CB=Charles Brown (Publisher of Locus)
CB: The average full-time writer makes $4000/year.
If you don’t want to sit down and write every day, don’t be a writer.
Learn to write short fiction; your novels will be better.