My writing week (29)

Hi all,

I finished chapter eighteen and I am well into chapter nineteen of my novel. I finally got the main characters back together so the conflict could resume. I still feel I have about 10,000 words to go, at least.

New Scientist magazine has an edition devoted to science fiction this week. Its available free online, and I have been reading a few of the answers to the question: does science fiction have a future? by writers such as William Gibson and Stephen Baxter. They quickly dispel the myth that science fiction is predominately about predicting the future. It is more about change and in an ever changing world, more and more people are going to want to read about change. In my opinion, some people will want to read about change, others are happy to have their reading stuck in a rut. But the more people accept change, I think the more likely they will find stories that are stagnant in their world view point boring and unrealistic. The thing that concerns me more than the future of science fiction is whether reading novels and stories has a long or even meduim term future.

I failed to make time to critique anything again this week, but I did read a lot. I finished reading the haunting and devastating novel 'The Road' by Comac McCarthy. A short novel, which a lot of fantasy writers should read to learn about cutting down on the unecessary. I am sure Cormac McCarthy agonised over ever single word in it. I will review it later in the week.

Graham.