jamesdmacdonald

My Boskone Sked

This weekend I’ll be at the Boskone science fiction convention. Here are my panels: Would You Baptize an Extraterrestrial? Friday 17:00 – 17:50 When we finally meet the aliens, how will the encounter affect the Earth’s religions? Does their sentience guarantee a soul capable of salvation? Is it likely that they will be creatures ofContinue reading “My Boskone Sked”

On Not Being Scammed

I might as well bring this up now: I have another rule: Yog’s Law: Money Flows Toward the Author. While information wants to be free, entertainment wants to be well-paid, and we’re part of the entertainment industry. “Show business” has two words: “show” and “business.” Despite some hilarious efforts by notorious scammers and bottom-feeding vanityContinue reading “On Not Being Scammed”

On Advice

Writers are forever giving writing advice. This is because a) writers are a chatty bunch (we like to write stuff) and b) one thing that we all know is how to write. We like to talk about things we know. And new writers are forever looking for advice from the old hands. First thing, beforeContinue reading “On Advice”

On Plots

What is a plot? It’s a sequence of events, with one special property. A sequence of events is this happened, then that happened. A plot is this happened, then that happened, because. Some say there are three basic plot engines: Person against nature Person against person Person against God “Person against person” includes as aContinue reading “On Plots”

On Dreams

So, can dreams turn into novels? Indeed, say I, for I have done it. Here I point to our novel Land of Mist and Snow. It started as a dream of a 19th century sailing ship racing against a steam locomotive. A kraken was somehow involved. The kraken didn’t make it to the finished novel.Continue reading “On Dreams”