tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post6260639625108702915..comments2024-03-28T01:11:53.559-07:00Comments on Electric Spec Editor Blog: Slamming F & SFlesleylsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14872977902924014581noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post-83559927841986016652008-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:002008-09-11T15:10:00.000-07:00I think editing has definitely expanded my tastes....I think editing has definitely expanded my tastes. I mean, I even rooted for a love story for the last issue. Maybe <I>I'm</I> getting soft in my old age...ssashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527483283426518167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post-81765443938324685472008-09-11T15:04:00.000-07:002008-09-11T15:04:00.000-07:00Really good questions, tburger. I don't think bein...Really good questions, tburger. I don't think being a writer or an editor affects how I read my "for pleasure" stories. I'm better at identifying why a story isn't working for me or how it how it could be improved, but I think I still end up liking the same kinds of stories as I did before I was a writer or editor.David E. Hugheshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15562347731539228314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post-53405420380578166312008-09-11T13:26:00.000-07:002008-09-11T13:26:00.000-07:00I can't NOT read critically. Unfortunately, it's a...I can't NOT read critically. Unfortunately, it's a side effect of spending 90% of my day doing just that. Not all bad. I love it anyway.<BR/><BR/>When I was "in the throws" of learning to write (not that we're not always learning, but you know, it slows down as we get older) I read even more critically than I do now. I was piiiiiiicky. I think that had more to do with my trying to determine my own style, where I wanted my own writing to lead me, than it did with what I was reading.<BR/><BR/>I sense two things among the established mags: complacency and fear. Complacency in that, well, they're still kicking, ain't they? So they're satisfied with just getting on. And that leads to fear; they fear to reach out and embrace new things, new styles, because it's risky. <BR/><BR/>I don't make a secret that I like dark fiction. I like the depths of evil souls and the discomfort and violence it takes to reach them. But I rarely read stuff that pushes it far enough for me out on the marketplace, or even in my own slush.<BR/><BR/>So, maybe it's the writers' faults. Who knows?<BR/><BR/>Ok, the day seems made for rambling...ssashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527483283426518167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post-64426474793979096182008-09-11T13:23:00.000-07:002008-09-11T13:23:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.ssashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15527483283426518167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33599441.post-85892414539255461312008-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:002008-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00I think about that kind of stuff a lot. How there...I think about that kind of stuff a lot. How there seem to be so many stories in certain pubs that - in my opinion only - stink. <BR/><BR/>But it's gotten way worse now that I've made a dedicated effort to write stories myself. Kind of like I decided to put up or shut up. Since that decision I've (a) discovered how hard it is to write decent fiction and (b) learned a lot about what I like and don't like.<BR/><BR/>What's my point? I wonder if as writers - and especially you guys as editors AND writers - the bar is substantially higher for us than most, and maybe that's why I've gotten so critical of certain writers/magazines? Does becoming a writer and/or editor change the way in which I/you read? Just rambling here, sorry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com