Starting this entry, iTunes is playing "The World is New" by Save Ferris.

I read through Strange Horizon's submission guidelines last night, and they have a list of plots they see too often. Over dinner tonight I read a bit of a book about writing short stories, and the author was discussing "learning to see." After dinner I watched an episode of Star Trek Voyager.

So I had thoughts of trying to see and a list of plots to avoid and an episode of a series I generally enjoy. I enjoyed the episode. Star Trek has it's own particular "standard plots" and this episode even made reference to "an occurrence on the Enterprise D, when a holodeck character took control of the computer." I really like subtle (this one was quite shy of subtle) references to "the device" from within a story, even though they can easily destroy the suspension of disbelief. Overall the Voyager episode avoided the overused plots on the Strange Horizon's list, although it skimmed awfully close to number 9. I guess most episodic television requires a twist or two and the balance between predictability and arbitrariness is part of the screen writer's art.

If you've read this far, I'm sure you were expecting me to have come to some sort of insight from all of this. Sorry to disappoint. This is pretty much the stage of my writing at the moment. Ideas pulled together that don't quite go anywhere. But I'm trying, and I am writing. I wrote a story the other day (thanks again to Erin for lighting that fire under my tush). I like it, even though it's currently trivial, it has potential and I'll work on it. And I'm writing down EVERY idea I have and actively attacking them from many angles.

that's all right now.