My new agent gave me a "tell, don't show" note.

My head exploded in indignation. And then I realized she was right about some things. I get bored with a story and rush to the end. It's why essays are my thing. My attention span can't last for anything longer than four thousand words.

It's a lousy trait for a writer.

I think there are places for telling, where the story style/voice or the pacing of the story would be best served by actual telling.

And certainly it's possible to write a really good or popular story without a lot of detail (I'm thinking of that SGA story everyone was raving about a few weeks ago, Freedom's Just Another Word...). But I think that it's harder to tell well and keep the reader's attention. Trickier, anyway, and certainly it's something I'm only just figuring out.

My new agent gave me a "tell, don't show" note.

Non-fiction, m'dear. WHOLE 'nother ballgame. Night and day.

This conversation made me have an epiphany last night, and I'm running out the door to deal with the Sec'y of State right now, but I've always thought that never apologizing for my brains was more of a negative in my friendships with women than with men.

Um...Do you want the stupid raising the next generation?

Can't tell you how many people have told me I was too young/inexperienced to do my job, but that I was getting too old to have kids. TOTALLY backwards priorities, folks.

And certainly it's possible to write a really good or popular story without a lot of detail (I'm thinking of that SGA story everyone was raving about a few weeks ago, Freedom's Just Another Word...).

Yup. Even though that story was what, 90% telling? I still felt like I was getting deep into the character's head. Some of that may have been that it was fanfic, so a lot of the initial character building had been done for the reader ahead of time. But for the most part, I think what carried me through was the general sense of mood, and the authorial voice.

I'll tell you, you don't have to be a Star Gate Atlantis fan to like "Freedom". I have seen maybe two episodes, plus a few of the original Stargate. The only character I'm familiar with from it is Sam Carter, and she only exists by letter in the story. So my only background knowledge is the general idea of the Star Gate universe, which the story more than delivers sufficient info about it. The story stands on its own fine.

I will add that I have not seen espisode even SG that is one tenth as well written as that short story.

I felt slapped in the face many times as an admin/clerical in my office. Assumptions of ignorance or ineptitude, etc., until people got to know me, and realize I had chosen a non-executive role deliberately.

But I don't think I'd ever felt as chilled as when a peer from our sister office and the boss of both our offices were visiting one day. I'd finished the instruction I'd been asked to do, and we wandered off onto other subjects: social commentary, astronomy, weather patterns. (Oh! I remember, it was the spring equinox, and those two or three days when the sunlight's angle changes. I remarked on how beautiful the light was, and that it was due to axial tilt) C was nodding along, and she suddenly turned to Big Boss and asked, "Do you know what she's talking about, most of the time?" BB said, "I just smile and nod."

Which could have been harmless and affectionate, but was delivered with such a sneer not adequately covered with a rictus-social smile. So I stuck to the business at hand after that, and let the rest of them prattle on about whatever. And smiled and nodded.

... but was delivered with such a sneer ...

Ah, for a time machine and an icepick. Or maybe just a spork.

People will tell you that I'm a lover, not a fighter, but nobody treats my Beverly like that without getting a sporking.

Evil, dumb bastards, Bev. I'm with Karl on the ice pick - but if we had a time machine, I'd be asking for a slightly different destination, and maybe drop me off when we're done with the dumb bastards?

Would anyone like to help me write a letter to JK Rowling? Because this is going to be (hopefully) sent through her US agent, Christopher Little, and it's going to have to make him decide she'd be interested.

Tricky.

Dear JK,

From one Brit author to another, please read the enclosed and write a fantastic blurb for it.

Love, Deb

PS Please send Daniel Radcliffe to my friend, Aimee.