Well, here’s my done/to-do list in terms of creative writing:
Done:
- checked the feedback from Lime on “Wonjjang and the Madman of Pyonyang”: some good feedback, plus some basic disagreement on politics. From a Korean point-of-view, this story seems to have a very right-wing bent, though to me, it’s not so much aligned with either “right” or “left.” If the so-called Korean left gets more of a drubbing, well, it’s on their watch and under their policies that North Korea developed the nukes that inspired this tale. Anyway, I made some changes lessening the likelihood for misinterpretation of things that don’t seem offensive to foreign readers, but Koreans might take the wrong way. (Offhand things like the age of the protesters at the airport, and a couple of comments Jang Won’s mother makes.) The story is now essentially ready to mail out. I’m considering a specific market for it, but I need to wait to hear back on what I’ve already sent there, so it will be a few weeks.
To do:
- “Dhuluma No More, Brothers, and the Rains Will Come Again” needs a good tidying-up. It’s the Nth draft of this story, but much-compressed and with more believable science and tech (even if there is some bad science in it, it’s recognized by at least one character as such), a rather different setup, and a far more hopeful ending. After some tidying, this baby’s going to the Mundane SF call for Interzone.
- McWar is a story that I have been considering for the Mundane SF call for Interzone as well. Because it was so long, I hadn’t looked into whether or not multiple submissions from one author are allowed — there’s nothing on the call site saying either way. But in review (and thanks to incisive criticisms) I’ve realized that enough of the story is extraneous that it could actually be less than 5,000 words in the end. So I guess I should look into it!
- “The Broken Path” needs some cutting and editing. This one’s for Fantasistent’s call for Asian fantasy submissions. The deadline’s in December, which means I have some time, but since I’m also planning on doing another story — something set in the Taiping era in China, I think — I would like to get revisions done. Again, lots of extraneous stuff that could be cut, especially from the beginning.
That’s my to-do list for now. I also have an installment of my column that is overdue at the moment. But first, I have to go do some editing of someone else’s writing. Off to do that.