Where ideas come from, vol 17, ch 3
Feb. 14th, 2008 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desperanceI just received a PDF proof of the story I sold to Nature magazine. Is very pretty, with apt illo and all. Am just about happy enough to overlook the fact that it's been - shock, horror! - edited. There are commas in there that I do not recognise...
But this reminds me, I had meant to post about how it happened, this story. I knew the market existed; indeed, I'd already been rejected once. So I had it in mind, to see if I couldn't find another short sharp little SF idea, fit for a story under a thousand words.
And I had perhaps been to see Bryan Talbot, or else I'd been talking about him or reading a review of "Alice in Sunderland"; I don't remember which, but his Alice was in my head. And much of his information about the relationships between Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll and Sunderland came from a book called "A Town Like Alice's", so that title was also in my head, though it might have transmuted to the Nevil Shute, which of course lacks the possessive form. And I was walking home from town, and I may or may not have caught myself actually singing "From Boulder to Birmingham", because I often sing as I walk. But anyway, all these names and titles mungled themselves about in my head, and suddenly I was thinking that "From Alice to Everywhere" would make a fine title for a little SF story - but wait a minute, say Alice wasn't the town after all, say she was a person, then it's not a direction, it's a message. So then it's "From Alice to Everywhere, with Love". Which is a fabulous title. Now, then. All it needs is a plot...
And the plot was kind of obvious, actually, once I had the title. That's how they happen, by and large.
But this reminds me, I had meant to post about how it happened, this story. I knew the market existed; indeed, I'd already been rejected once. So I had it in mind, to see if I couldn't find another short sharp little SF idea, fit for a story under a thousand words.
And I had perhaps been to see Bryan Talbot, or else I'd been talking about him or reading a review of "Alice in Sunderland"; I don't remember which, but his Alice was in my head. And much of his information about the relationships between Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll and Sunderland came from a book called "A Town Like Alice's", so that title was also in my head, though it might have transmuted to the Nevil Shute, which of course lacks the possessive form. And I was walking home from town, and I may or may not have caught myself actually singing "From Boulder to Birmingham", because I often sing as I walk. But anyway, all these names and titles mungled themselves about in my head, and suddenly I was thinking that "From Alice to Everywhere" would make a fine title for a little SF story - but wait a minute, say Alice wasn't the town after all, say she was a person, then it's not a direction, it's a message. So then it's "From Alice to Everywhere, with Love". Which is a fabulous title. Now, then. All it needs is a plot...
And the plot was kind of obvious, actually, once I had the title. That's how they happen, by and large.
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Date: 2008-02-15 12:29 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-15 09:10 am (UTC)It's an interesting point, though, because that's just a feeling, I can't point and say "the word 'felicitatious' is missing from that line," but I am very sure about the commas. I have my own rhythm and my own style of punctuation, which are universal whatever the words.