More from Facebook

More from the facebook discussion of writing. I love sercon, serious conversation, and I managed to get a pretty good discussion going on facebook. This makes me happy.

I have my own arguments with science fiction, though the field has changed so much that many of my arguments are with a previous generation. Anyway, the vision of SF as a field of working writers -- pound it out, send it out, get paid and to hell with art -- can be offensive. But the focus on gritty reality can also be helpful. Learn the rules of the game and keep up on them, because they change, and don't whine. Or rather, whine with your friends in a corner. Everyone needs to whine sometimes. But don't publish your whining.

And as David Gerrold wrote in a comment earlier -- remember that you write because you love writing. The action itself. The making of stories. I tend to forget how passionate my love of fiction can be. How good I feel when I read something I love, and how happy I can feel when the writing is going well.