Four things and a thought
Thing 1: I sold a story! Falling Into the Earth, the single Clarion story I wrote that was a mess-worth-saving, to The Speculative Ramayana Anthology!
I utterly rewrote it; doubt a comparison would find a single shared sentence between latest-Clarion-draft and this one. And I learned a lot in the process -- including having it brought home how much I've learned since Clarion helped me lay the foundations :)
And this story is close to my heart. And my vulnerabilities, which I don't like admitting but dammit am going to :)
Thing 2: On that note, Clarion will be opening to submissions in a couple months, so if you're wanting to go now is the time to start thinking about submissions stories! Especially if you're like me and don't already have two stories that meet the requirements and aren't horrible.
Thing 3: Unless I have a major health crash in the next two days, I will be at Conjecture on Saturday. If you'll be there let me know?
My panels are:
Saturday 10:00AM Windsor Panel: Steampunk Primer
Saturday 4:00PM Eaton Panel: Writing Groups
Saturday 6:00PM Garden 1 Panel: Mythic Fiction
Thing 4: I know a number of people thought E. Moon's post was fine till the outright bigotry hit. I... was uncomfortable before then, and got some clarity in comments, but don't think I fully understood why till last night, when Gord Sellar spelled it out
His is a long post, but I think it's very much worth reading and encourage everyone to do so.
And my thought: I am thinking, in the wake of E. Moon's post and subsequent discussions, that anytime anybody uses "human nature" in their argument, or excuses behavior by calling it "human", they are obscuring the matter. It's one of those partial truths that's horribly misleading.
Because everything people do is human nature. We are human, we live in human bodies and we think with human brains. There is no getting out of it; it is impossible for us to do anything that isn't within the human range.
It's a false argument to claim that bigotry and intolerance are just human nature -- because so are acceptance, understanding, respect, caring, reaching out, supportiveness. It's a matter of which we pick to emphasize, focus on, make important, encourage.
I have made this argument in the past, myself, excusing fail; when I did so I was wrong. It may be hard, but we always have a choice.
Similarly, calling someone human is no excuse. The despicable acts our species has been guilty of should stand evidence to that. Saying "Well she's just human" is saying "I am not willing to question the status quo for your little oppressions".
I utterly rewrote it; doubt a comparison would find a single shared sentence between latest-Clarion-draft and this one. And I learned a lot in the process -- including having it brought home how much I've learned since Clarion helped me lay the foundations :)
And this story is close to my heart. And my vulnerabilities, which I don't like admitting but dammit am going to :)
Thing 2: On that note, Clarion will be opening to submissions in a couple months, so if you're wanting to go now is the time to start thinking about submissions stories! Especially if you're like me and don't already have two stories that meet the requirements and aren't horrible.
Thing 3: Unless I have a major health crash in the next two days, I will be at Conjecture on Saturday. If you'll be there let me know?
My panels are:
Saturday 10:00AM Windsor Panel: Steampunk Primer
Saturday 4:00PM Eaton Panel: Writing Groups
Saturday 6:00PM Garden 1 Panel: Mythic Fiction
Thing 4: I know a number of people thought E. Moon's post was fine till the outright bigotry hit. I... was uncomfortable before then, and got some clarity in comments, but don't think I fully understood why till last night, when Gord Sellar spelled it out
His is a long post, but I think it's very much worth reading and encourage everyone to do so.
And my thought: I am thinking, in the wake of E. Moon's post and subsequent discussions, that anytime anybody uses "human nature" in their argument, or excuses behavior by calling it "human", they are obscuring the matter. It's one of those partial truths that's horribly misleading.
Because everything people do is human nature. We are human, we live in human bodies and we think with human brains. There is no getting out of it; it is impossible for us to do anything that isn't within the human range.
It's a false argument to claim that bigotry and intolerance are just human nature -- because so are acceptance, understanding, respect, caring, reaching out, supportiveness. It's a matter of which we pick to emphasize, focus on, make important, encourage.
I have made this argument in the past, myself, excusing fail; when I did so I was wrong. It may be hard, but we always have a choice.
Similarly, calling someone human is no excuse. The despicable acts our species has been guilty of should stand evidence to that. Saying "Well she's just human" is saying "I am not willing to question the status quo for your little oppressions".