tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post6348510979309832901..comments2024-03-27T23:53:59.771-04:00Comments on SleuthSayers: The Z-FilesLeigh Lundinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07921276795499571578noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-77863952513227366522021-12-05T21:37:43.507-05:002021-12-05T21:37:43.507-05:00Good point, Rob! It would be just like me to screw...Good point, Rob! It would be just like me to screw up that way and then miss it in all the edits I try to do between writing THE END and actually sending it off. Sure hope I didn't do any of that in this story, and if I did I hope Linda'll catch and correct it.<br /><br />I have certainly been known to make boneheaded errors like that in the past.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-67767742420319426382021-12-05T19:02:04.515-05:002021-12-05T19:02:04.515-05:00One more challenge of writing about the pandemic: ...One more challenge of writing about the pandemic: hunting for references to your characters smiling, frowning, or otherwise using their mouths to demonstrate emotion to others...Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-44331276590778262132021-12-04T22:59:18.077-05:002021-12-04T22:59:18.077-05:00Oops. Correction.
Instead of: The only thing I d...Oops. Correction. <br /><br />Instead of: The only thing I deleted were those several stories . . . <br />I should have said: The only things I deleted IN those several stories . . .<br /><br />Good grief.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-85236278263438503602021-12-04T22:55:55.597-05:002021-12-04T22:55:55.597-05:00Rob, I didn't know about (or didn't rememb...Rob, I didn't know about (or didn't remember) those anthologies. I hope they're doing well. As for your story, it sounds good to me, and I hope you WON'T rewrite it. As I said, my references to the pandemic weren't a part of my plot, and yours is. <br /><br />I do continue to find it a little surprising that the ONLY thing I deleted were those several stories of mine that I referred to, that I couldn't sell, were my occasional uses of facemasks, distancing, etc. Could've been a fluke, but when I changed them that way, they sure sold fast. It's a strange world . . .<br /><br />I have indeed read LITTLE GREEN MEN, and all the other Buckley novels. I think he's one of the best at writing that kind of book. And I enjoyed his take on the whole alien-abduction thing.<br /><br />Thanks for the comment!<br /><br /><br /><br />John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-38668065704465612482021-12-04T21:55:07.787-05:002021-12-04T21:55:07.787-05:00There have been two at least two anthologies that ...There have been two at least two anthologies that were specifically about the pandemic, and a third that often referred to it: https://lbcrimes.blogspot.com/search?q=covid I have written one story set very much in the pandemic but haven't sent it to a publisher yet. I think I could rewrite it without covid, and have considered doing just that, but the pandemic seems to be such an influence on the characters' thinking (especially the hero who would like to build a closer relationship with a female co-worker) that I feel it wouldn't work as well. We shall see what happens.<br /><br />As for the Z Files, have you read Christopher Buckley's hilarious novel Little Green Men? He offers a different theory about the alien abductions, one that is depressingly reasonable.Robert Loprestihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08844889305615182897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-15785112368603999542021-12-04T20:00:16.245-05:002021-12-04T20:00:16.245-05:00Good thought, Eve. One point I might make, here: m...Good thought, Eve. One point I might make, here: my use of Covid in this story was only as a setting. Throughout, I described a number of characters using facemarks, etc., but included no mention of infections, illnesses, deaths, or any of the suffering and tragedy of the pandemic. Or vaccines, for that matter, since this was written before they were developed. Even so, I did worry that my inclusion of ANY reference to Covid might've backfired. <br /><br />As always, one never knows whether a submission will work or not. I was fortunate, here.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-82499837110319793812021-12-04T18:25:05.638-05:002021-12-04T18:25:05.638-05:00I haven't used Covid in a story yet, because -...I haven't used Covid in a story yet, because - despite Boccaccio writing about the pandemic plague while it was ongoing - with our generation, it seems that it's too soon all the way around. And even Boccaccio just used it as an excuse to get 24 wealthy gorgeous people on a Medieval Love Island. Eve Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03015761600962360110noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-21196733592896109322021-12-04T13:48:54.423-05:002021-12-04T13:48:54.423-05:00Bob, I agree, especially on the point of not using...Bob, I agree, especially on the point of not using Covid in a comedy. I doubt that would work at all, and if it did it would certainly have be written by someone more skilled than I am. Also, yes, if we continue to never refer to it in fiction our writing is going to eventually look dishonest or at least uninformed.<br /><br />I've so far read (I think) only two novels that refer to Covid at all--SQUEEZE ME by Carl Hiaasen and NEVER by Ken Follett. Neither used it extensively, and it didn't affect the plot in any way.<br /><br /><br />Thanks for the thoughts!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-24523561087359635032021-12-04T13:08:37.887-05:002021-12-04T13:08:37.887-05:00I've overtly used the pandemic in one story, t...I've overtly used the pandemic in one story, though tangentially. COVID-19 is an another anxiety in a POV riddled with anxiety. It's a mainstream lit story, which is a very hard thing to sell anywhere.<br /><br />The subject is hard because it's a multi-layered and ongoing tragedy. For me, that rules it out as direct fair game for comedy, at least until it's behind us a bit more. But mid-pandemic is the world we're all dealing with. At some point, it's dishonest not to incorporate the real impacts.Bob Mangeothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07888391367916922601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-25582055455276836212021-12-04T12:39:12.455-05:002021-12-04T12:39:12.455-05:00Steve, I'd say you're right not to mention...Steve, I'd say you're right not to mention Covid. It seems odd not to, but I've certainly found it harder to sell stories that include any such references.<br /><br />Yep, AHMM seems to respond anywhere from 11 to 13 months after submission. I've had some acceptances and rejections a little earlier or later in the cycle, but a year seems about right for most of them. Publication can take awhile too, after acceptance. I now have five stories that have been accepted and haven't yet appeared in the magazine. BUT . . . there are many writers, and I'm one of them, who'll tell you it can be worth the wait. <br /><br />Another point: I believe editor Linda Landrigan has said she's the only one who reads submissions--she doesn't rely on screeners--and I think that's still true. <br /><br />Even so, a year's a long time to wait, especially if an anthology pops up in the meantime that would be a good fit for a story. <br /><br />Thanks for the note!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-22230821724778472572021-12-04T11:52:02.867-05:002021-12-04T11:52:02.867-05:00Thought-provoking post, John.
I've written fa...Thought-provoking post, John.<br /><br />I've written far more short stories than I used to over the last 18 months, and none of them have mentioned Covid. In fact, I'm in the early planning stages of a story now in which I have actually considered mentioning masking and social distancing for the first time. Now I'm not sure if I will do that or not. It's going to depend on how the whole thing develops, and it's still very early. I haven't actually put down more than a few random ideas on paper.<br /><br />As for the year for acceptance, that's about normal at AHMM, isn't it? I have some stories out there, and none of them is more recent than about January. Two were sent in 2020. I expect to hear one way or the other by the end of the year. Steve Liskowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07107703903536520140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-13708122673228158812021-12-04T10:40:06.760-05:002021-12-04T10:40:06.760-05:00Could be, Don. Maybe the mention of the pandemic i...Could be, Don. Maybe the mention of the pandemic is just too current, too real and scary. <br /><br />If fiction is intended to be an escape from our real world and our real problems, readers might not want to hear about things like that. Interesting point.John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-33322817238829955502021-12-04T09:49:12.479-05:002021-12-04T09:49:12.479-05:00Is it the pandemic generally, or that it's con...Is it the pandemic generally, or that it's contemporary? Why I'm asking...would it be easier to set a story in the years of the bubonic plague, or the world-wide killer flu of the early 20th century? Does distance in time mitigate the impact and implications of a pandemic, because we know that we survived it? Don Coffinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07198988872512792834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-62773331760062037632021-12-04T09:32:56.049-05:002021-12-04T09:32:56.049-05:00Ha! That's interesting, Josh. It's especia...Ha! That's interesting, Josh. It's especially interesting to me that Kerry requested the removal of the direct reference to Covid. I've been submitting stories regularly to Mystery Magazine (formerly Mystery Weekly) for a long time now, but so far none of them have contained pandemic references, and I see now that they probably shouldn't!<br /><br />It seems that most editors, at least those of mystery markets, are still reluctant to call attention to the virus in the fiction they publish--and I can understand why. On the one hand, it's a distraction and a downer, but on the other hand, that's our world right now, and we all know it.<br /><br />Many thanks for your thoughts!John Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04001712728130488485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3119105822589181967.post-33186369303941679962021-12-04T09:07:17.831-05:002021-12-04T09:07:17.831-05:00Congrats on the sale, John! I'm looking forwar...Congrats on the sale, John! I'm looking forward to reading the story when it comes out.<br /><br />I haven't done much writing in recent months, but the one new story I <i>have</i> written included a direct reference to the pandemic. I submitted it to <i>Mystery Magazine</i>, and editor Kerry Carter asked me to take out the word COVID. I did, replacing it with a mention of "the world situation" that made it impossible for two friends to meet at a bar to toast the memory of an old actor they'd admired as kids, and with that small change Kerry took the story. (It's called "The Brimley/<i>Cocoon</i> Line," and it ought to show up in MM in a couple months or so....)joshpachttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123432071405643210noreply@blogger.com