The keyboard is mightier than the MOAB (or something like that)

[deckardcanine]

I finally got the nerve to follow my mom's suggestion and submit my lengthy fairy tale for publication. But I'm not holding my breath. The literary magazine I emailed is Black Gate. From what they say in their guidelines, they'll probably reject my story as having underdeveloped characters, too much focus on romance (even cleanly), too little innovation, or even too little adventure. I resisted the self-defeating urge to mention that I did not write it with publication in mind. Me and my insecurities.

Speaking of insecurities, I reflected today on how a Christian fellow reacted to me saying that I participate in a lot of online forums. He wondered if he'd have the courage to post to hundreds of strangers. It struck me because I've always thought of myself as the most introverted person I know. I guess the sociality of forums is a matter of perspective. To me, it's easier than many a live interaction. You can't see or hear them, they can't see or hear you, you can edit your words, and it's unlikely that you'll face any RL consequences for a mistake.

In other news, I've caught cyber-wind of a fun contest: combine the names of Triple Crown winners, as if they had a foal together, and submit the humorous result to the Washington Post Style Invitational. The deadline is next Monday. I'd best start while I have free time.

Comments

In cyberspace, no one can see you scratch

[greyscribe.livejournal.com]

The ability to carefully choose and edit one's words before sending them out into cyberspace is certainly one of the primary attractions of online forums for me. I admire people who can open their mouths and, in real time, hold forth on a subject in a thoughtful and coherant manner. I don't have that ability, which is why I've made a career dealing with the written word.

And it's easier to maintain a constant image in cyberspace. No one has any idea whether I actually groomed this morning; my picture remains the same whether I'm happy-go-lucky and hopped up on caffeine or moping around with matted fur under my own personal rain cloud.

(Of course, my personal favorite is caffeine and rain clouds, which explains why I live where I do.)

--GS

Weather outside at the moment: bright sun. Drat.

Re: In cyberspace, no one can see you scratch

[deckardcanine.livejournal.com]

Heh, your message title has another meaning with your feline icon.

One disadvantage, I notice, is that you can make embarrassing typos. Your use of "coherant" was particularly unfortunate. :)

Typo? What typo? I don't see no typo

[greyscribe.livejournal.com]

Aw, fang--and I had intended to look up that word before posting 'cause I know it's a easy one to misspell.

At least one can often fix one's errors in cyberspace--assuming that they haven't already been archived or captured by someone else. I used to work in broadcast radio; when I made a mistake on the air, everyone in the area knew about it immediately. Radio-station mixing boards do not include backspace keys!

B'sides, coherency isn't all it's cracked up to be...

--GS

No, you may not quote me on that.