Zoom pic. I’m grading, reasonably diligently. The waves are lovely to listen to, but so tempting. Willpower required: high. Question to ponder — if you have masses of tedious work to wade through, is it better to do so in a beautiful location? Or is it better to be in a quiet place without distractions, […]
Miami Beach or a dark closet? Read More »
Plan for the day is mostly academic — I’m grading papers for the next few hours, teaching a few Zoom classes, and then probably grading papers some more, as I promised to get them back by midnight tonight. I basically HAVE to make such promises to my students, because if I don’t, I will procrastinate
Taken entirely out of context Read More »
We had a free day in my Advanced Fiction workshop yesterday, where we’d finished the first round of critiques and hadn’t started the second set yet; usually I’d do writing exercises on a day like that, but I ended up doing something new — taking a class to talk about creative nonfiction. So many of
The wanderlust has kicked in Read More »
A colleague complimented me on my outfit at work today, so you get a pic. I was particularly pleased with the J. Jill cardigan; it had a boxy cut, and this morning I took it in at the sides to give it a more fitted look; you can’t see it in the photo, but trust
I was particularly pleased with the cardigan. Read More »
All the things are due today, so it’s a very computer-focused day for me. I applied for a new fellowship at UIC, which would give me a teaching release if I received it, so I’d have more time to work on a book. Two books, actually — finishing one and starting a related other one.
Just in the last year Read More »
George R.R. Martin visits my classes at UIC. He was so kind to do so, and there were some major fans in the group; the students seemed to really enjoy it. I think I’ve got a little more teacher cred now. Maybe they’ll all do the reading for Monday. 
George R.R. Martin visits my classes at UIC Read More »
Waiting to meet George and take him to my UIC classes. My hair was due for a change, so I dyed it ‘dragon fuchsia’ in his honor. (That was the actual name on the box.)
Thought some of you might want to see the next several weeks of the 200-level speculative literature (fantasy) course I’m teaching. (Previously posted the first four weeks.) This section continues to draw from Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer’s _The Big Book of Classic Fantasy_, which ends with Tolkien. In the last third of the course,
Reading selections for my 200-level speculative literature (fantasy) course Read More »
Question — one of my writing students has an adult romantic fantasy (romantasy?) that she’s finished and is ready to start pitching. She did some research, but so far, the kinds of conferences she’s found for pitching seem pretty scammy to me — not just a registration charge, but a $30 / pitch fee, too.
Question – meeting agents and pitching to them Read More »
George is going to be in Chicago briefly and contacted me and another SF writer friend about getting together for dinner. I, greatly daring, asked whether he might also be willing to stop by UIC and chat with my students. He said yes, which is awfully sweet of him to squeeze into his tight schedule.
I think their heads might actually explode. Read More »
