“Aging children, I am one”*

Jim Hines’ call for guest blogs about representation in fiction got me thinking. And the folks who have posted over there since have kept the thoughts coming. Seriously. Go check out the last several guest posts on Jim’s blog. They’re great.

Another thing that’s added to my thinking is the latest kerfuffle with the gatekeepers of “real” science fiction. Some folks have been remarking that when all the old farts die, the sexism/racism will die with them.

Hahahahahaha. No.

That’s not how it works. Assuming that the only sexists/racists/homophobes/trans*phobes/etc are old guys is lazy thinking. And assuming that at 51, I’m one of those folks? Well, that just pisses me off.

It also makes me want to do my best to wreck spec fiction by writing about people who aren’t all straight, white men. Which brings me back to the matter at hand.

Weekly Linkroll (Monday edition)

Yeah, links didn’t happen yesterday. But here they are today.

An Open Letter to Jane Doe, the Victim of the Steubenville Rape Case (Trigger Warning)
Lucy’s Football made me cry last week. This post is beautiful, and I’m torn between hoping that Jane Doe reads it and that she is staying the hell away from the Internet for a while.

I Am Not Your Wife, Sister or Daughter. I Am A Person.
The Belle Jar discusses the problem with the language used when standing up for women. Even if this is used in a well-meaning way, it’s still defining women by their relationship to men, not on their own. Patronizing and not good.

New Peacock Spider Video!
Bug Girl’s Blog posts a really cool video featuring peacock spiders. Even if you’re afraid of spiders, you might dig this. So cute!

Dark woods
I love cemeteries, so this Wordland post hit the spot. So many stories lay hidden.

Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of History
One week left to get in on this wicked cool kickstarter that will fund a speculative fiction anthology with stories from the points of view of folks who normally don’t get to write history (wow, long sentence is long). I gave what I could and am excited to read it when it comes out. The list of writers already signed up is pretty amazing. Check it out.

Eisenstadt v. Baird: The 41st Anniversary of Legal Contraception for Single People
Can you believe that  legal access to contraception for single people has only been around in the US for 41 years?

New poll finds the majority of women voters consider themselves feminists
Feministing shares the results of a recent Ms. poll. Surprisingly good news.

Pterosaur: Dinosaur Named After Daisy Morris
Five year-old girl discovers a new dinosaur and has it named after her!

Words in Progress

So, the Winter of the Novel is almost over. Spring arrives in about a week and a half. Where does the novel stand?

Well, I’ve edited the bulk of it and spent a lot of time parsing out what (out of everything I’ve written) belongs in this novel and what belongs in the other. I’ve also written about 50 or so pages, and that’s pretty good for me, productivity-wise, so yay. Thirty-seven of those pages are typed up and living in Scrivener now.

Is it done?

Ha ha, no. Not hardly. But it’s coming along, and I may even be ready to begin the final act. Not sure, though. With all the parsing and such, I’m not really clear on how the thing flows anymore, so the next step in the plan (and I’m hoping to have the first 4 parts of that step done by the start of spring) is to:

1. get everything typed up that needs typing,
2. including all of my scribbled edits, most of which are not in Scrivener
3. print the results out, and
4. give to R, alpha reader extraordinaire, so he can read it in its new form (however long that takes), and then
5. discuss what needs tending to and where to go next.
6. Go there.

Seems like a good plan. Here’s hoping it works.

In other writing news, I sent back my galley comments for Winter Well this week. It’s a gorgeous book with really cool stories therein; you’re going to want to read this.

I’m also pondering submitting something to Crossed Genres’ newest anthology in the making, Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of History. More than pondering; there was actual writing last night. We’ll see how that holds up. Gotta say, it was interesting to switch gears from future dystopian USA to early 19th-century England. That might explain the strange dreams I was having early this morning, none of which I can remember now. Should have written them down!

Want to help make Long Hidden an even better book than it’s already looking to be? Chip in, why don’t you? I did.

Your random pic for the day. Did you know Parse was a place? I didn’t. It’s the Persian name for Persepolis. (Photo credit: m.khajoo)