Further Marginalia

Writing's a pretty boring thing, if you're looking from the outside. A guy gets on the 7am ferry and has his netbook out soon as he sits down. Types furiously, until he has to slam the lid shut and make a move or he won't be getting off at all. The most boring thing in the world.

But inside that guy's head? There's galaxies and ages and when he looks up he can't believe that's his 35 minutes is up.

Which is a very long-winded way of saying that writing on my commute is still working for me. Most days it's the  only writing time I get, but it seems to be enough. Yet another way that writing is similar to running - sprinting's for suckers. Only way you ever get anywhere is doing a little, growing a little, every day. Here endeth the lesson.


It's voting season for the Sir Julius Vogel Awards again. Although only New Zealand residents can be nominated, anyone in the world can vote. There's a list of eligible works by SpecFicNZ members here. Helen Lowe lists a some eligible works here.   My story Young Love on the Run from the Federal Alien Administration New Mexico Division (1984) is eligible in the short story category.

One story I'd like to bring to your attention is Steam Girl by Dylan Horrocks. It's an absolutely masterful story, something small and intimate that's also a planet-spanning adventure. It was published in Steampunk!, edited by Kelly Link & Gavin J. Grant. Seek it out. You won't regret it.