Meanwhile, I'm still writing fiction, and my group is still meeting. We have a meeting tonight, with five stories up for critique. I've got a horror story on the block. Horror, I've found in a couple of fledgling attempts, is hard to write. You're trying to incite a very particular emotion, and that's hard to do. Especially since there are so many cliches in the genre.

Also, you have to worry about coming across as completely silly, though I guess this is a problem with many creative endeavors. I think Steven King remarked that self-consciousness was the bane of the artist, and I think he was right. You can't start second-guessing yourself, especially if you're writing about werewolves, vampires, or other monsters, or it'll kill your muse.

Anyway, the group is churning out the stuff hand-over-fist these days, which is nice to see. Tonight's meeting should be fun...and interesting.

Also, the last week brought a pair of rejections, a couple of "No thanks, but send another"'s from Strange Horizons for my near-future Go story and from Paradox for my Darwin alternate history.

Just keep your head down and plow ahead.