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Checkout the December issue of LIGHTSPEED

No Comments » Written on December 1st, 2010 by
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It’s the first of the month and I’ve just been notified that the electronic version of the December issue of Lightspeed Magazine has hit the virtual stands. And now the tale can be told…

Back around October 10th, Lightspeed Magazine nonfiction editor Andrea Kail contacted me to inquire if I might be interested in writing a piece about language for an upcoming issue. I was delighted at the idea, and told her “sure, but not until November at the earliest, I’m swamped. So, when do you need it?”

Andrea replied that she needed the piece within ten days, and that looked to be the end of things. I had a novel to finish. No way I could stop working on that for a short nonfiction article. Except… Andrea went on to explain that they liked to have a nonfiction piece to pair with a fiction piece. In this case, the fiction piece would be a reprint by Ursula K. Le Guin.

Yikes! Le Guin? Le Guin! That changed everything! Le Guin’s writing helped to shape and define my own writing. Le Guin’s language-centered fiction contributed significantly to my hanging out with Elvish speakers when I was a teen. Other reactions to Le Guin’s influence include my own fascination with languages, pursuing a PhD in psycholinguistics, and promoting Klingon for the past nineteen years.

How could I possibly pass on the chance to have a piece run alongside her fiction?

So I didn’t. I wrote the article. Then I rewrote it. Then I rewrote again, and it still didn’t work the way I wanted it to. Fortunatley my wife came along and pointed out that I was trying to cram a semester’s worth of content (hey, I used to be a psycholinguistics professor, ya know?) into about a thousand words. Ooops.

The final outcome is now up at Lightspeed Magazine ebook section. And I am a very pleased Lawrence.

Thank you, Lightspeed Magazine. Thank you very much.

Lightspeed Magazine, December 2010

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