Since my last post the editing has been moving forward slowly. Most days I only add or subtract a few dozen words. I’ve been waffling over how much planetology is really needed to set up the ending, and trying to find a way to cram in an explanation of some backstory that most of my critiquers didn’t pick up on. The problem I have is that, the way I write, by the time a story is ready for critique it’s pretty much a hermetic whole. I find that there just isn’t any place to put in even a single extra sentence without breaking the rhythm of the scene, and taking information out generally leaves something hanging someplace else. So making even minor changes involves fairly severe restructuring. Which means a lot more thinking than typing, and quite often finds me putting it back the way it was in the first place. I just love my own deathless prose too much.

Also since my last post, I’ve gotten another rejection (that story, at least, is already back in the mail), and the August Locus, containing reviews of the September Asimov’s. Alas, Nick Gevers found my story “unconvincing” and Rich Horton didn’t see fit to mention it at all (though he did say he’d been unimpressed with the issue as a whole). Le sigh.

I also got my preliminary Worldcon schedule, and I’m mighty happy with it. I got two readings, and I’m on panels with some very keen people. But I’m going to be a very busy boy:

• Wed 2:30pm: What I Do When I Should Be Writing with Fiona Avery, Phyllis Eisenstein, and Sarah Monette.
• Wed 4:00pm: Mix & Match Writing Challenge with John Barnes, Peter S. Beagle, K. A. Bedford, and Valerie Estelle Frankel. “Authors are presented with a character description for a well-known character, the setting of a (different) famous work, and a brief plot description of still another work. Without knowing their sources, they create and tell a story on the fly.” I’m moderator for this one, so I might be handing out the assignments rather than playing.
• Thu 5:30pm: Themed Reading: Weird Sex with Cecilia Tan and Sean Williams. Shall I read the ovipositor sex scene from Remembrance Day or the all-dialogue biotech sex toy implant short-short?
• Fri 4:00pm: Zen Scavenger Hunt with Pat Cadigan, John Pomeranz, Geri Sullivan, and Mary A. Turzillo. “Panelists each bring ten items. Audience members ask for a type of item, a la a standard scavenger hunt. The panelists will then have to show one of the items they’ve brought and try to convince the audience that their item is the best match for what was requested.” Should be fun.
• Fri 5:30pm: Intermediate Writing with Jay Lake, Mike Shepherd Moscoe, and Deborah J Ross.
• Sat 10:00am, Jay Lake Roast with Christopher J. Garcia, Dr. Lawrence M. Schoen, and (duh) Jay Lake. I’m moderator of this one, God help me. If anyone reading this has any Jay Lake anecdotes or wants to participate in the roast, drop me an email.
• Sat 2:30pm, Is SF Like a Shark? with Charles N. Brown, John-Henri Holmberg, Don Sakers, and Vernor Vinge.
• Sun 11:00am, Reading. Please do come. I’m told my readings are quite entertaining.

I will also have an autograph session at the Asimov’s table in the dealer’s room, not that I expect anyone to want my scrawl; I have a writers’ workshop section; and of course I will be at the Hugos. See (many of) you there!