F()CUS EDITORIAL Martin McGrath writing ~career" is in the last chance cus Editor saloon... REVEALING UES ~h~vn ~~:~~~~n how lies can sometimes reveal far more Focus is published twice a yor by the British Sciera fiction ='~'~~~~7:~0~~~~T:l~~ion NOTA BENE writing. Contributions, ideM and corr~eare all_kOf'M. Nina Allan reflects on her relationship with the writer's ~ic':-contact the edit(l( 'im if you intend to submit a lengthy essential companion - the notebook. Individual copyrights are the property of the contributors and MASTERCLASS4: DESCRIPTION edit(l(. Views.~ herein are not M(@SWIrilythoseofthe Another article and still we await the definitive advice on BSFA or 8SM committee members. Erron and omissions are the maps in fantasy novels. This time Christopher Priest fobs us responsibility of tl'le editor tSSN: Ol44-S60X 0 BSFA 2008 off with some guff about making "de5Crlption~ work. 8SFAInformlltion BEWARE OF THE INFO DUMP '3 President Stephen 8lltte. Gillian Rooke warns of the dangers of infodumping and VK;e~t how they might be avoided Chair Tony Cullen cMlr«Jshl.(o.uk KNEE DEEP IN THE SLUSH ,6 Martin McGrath offers some reflection on what he learned ~rt,nPotu in his first experience of slushpile reading as adminstrator 61 IYyCtottRoad, W¥ton. of the BSfA 50th Annive~ry Short Story Competition NrTamworth,l]9oJJ ~.co... CONVENTIONAL WISDOM ,8 Membt'rshtp~es ~erW;lklmon Jetse de Vries makes the case in favour of writers attending (UK.ooEurope:) 39 Glyn Awnue. Newbmet. HeftS. EN.. ",J scien<:e fiction conferences. bsf~---'co.,* BSFA SHORT STORY COMPETmON WINNER .... No, I'm not going to tell you who it is here - turn to the UK_ U6 PII or (Unw~-(11 PII)· back page and find out for yourself. Go on, lazy sods... life mernbenhip Ten tlmtI atVlUal r.te (h60) Ouu'dtUK (l2 POETRY 5,7. '3 & '7 Jointff.milyrnem~ip Addhlotheabolotprices This issue we have six very fine poems from the pen of Adrienne J Odasso for your consideration. Cheques (Stltriing only) ~Id be midi P'Yabie to "8SfA Ltd" and sent to ~er Wilkins.on at the addrft'S aboYe or P'Y ..... Paypal on the 8SfA _bslteal_.bsfa.(O.uk. SubKribets from outside the UIC are invited 10 P'Y via the websrte. British so.nce ActIon AHodatlon Ltd. Registered in England and Wales. ComPllny No. 921SOO Registered addrft'S: 6, Ivy<rofl Road, Warton. Tamworth, Statlordshire, 8]9oJl 8SFAWetKile _.bsfuo.uk BSFA Award< OonM Scott ~..(O.'* Orbiter Writing Groups: Terry JacluTOIIn tetrri«kmanetllUli.net OTHER BSfA PlI8UCATlONS; .....-n.aidaIl)gurMII....WA FHIl.nl.ediloriIlaletteR:NIalIHoItnson n SundtriandAvenue, OJJford.OX2IOT Production Anna~OaIDan --KariSptfring --19 Uphill RNd Cambridge (I, ]HX _.veetor·fnI9oIllne.co.uk -­_.veetoredItOts.wortdpress.com ldItor I4nWl'latli finiangeaot.com w.Mltt http://mlltrlll--onli.....net AilQrlOORSlnlhisissuttoul1esyol'IIWIII.nullngnro.ne!unlessolllenris!aedited WHAT DO YOU CALL A WRITER THAT DOESN'T WRITE? Martin McGrath has had enough of his own procrastination ... n the jn5! five months I've I've betn puuing off for so long but rnafUged to write one A4 page which has incrasingly httn bauering I offierion - and ~n that W1lS at the from of my head demanding rubbish. and exit. h isn't that I'm suffering from Plus all the mon stories I currently -writer's block" - at leut nOI in the have nOtes for. sense thai I don't have idc.u ,h,lt The question is, can I do it? could form SlOries. And it isn't thaI And the answer I've come up with J don', have time -I seem to have is that, if I an', then it's time 10 lake found plenty of (ime to play Football a serious look at whethcr this pretcnce IHlIlIll'gtrand to mess around on ofbeing a writer is worth keeping up. the Wii and to slob in front of the "Writers arc ~ple who writc" television wau:hing rubbish - hell - people who talk about writing are I watched the whole series of!km, somcthing else altogether and should KicltfTJ. It isn't ~n a.s ifI'm nOI /lnd somelhing dse to do wilh their writing OIhcr stuff- in the s;amc time tarher than kidding Ihemsdvcs. period I've written a pik of ~i~. Too often I've been one of Ihose an essay on John Scalzi (ch«k out Ihis proplc who jusl Ia1ked about wriling. issue of \fnor) and a 1000d ofother So, it's lime to gird Ihe loins stuff. (whatever mat means) and face up to But I can'! Sttffi 10 make mysdfput Ihe f.l,a Ihat if I W<lItt 10 be a wriler the swries in my had on the page. it's rime 10 pUt my money where my And. fn.nkly, I've had enough of it ­ moulhis. I'm sick of my own procrastination. It isn't about time. So I've SCI myself:;l challenge, I've It isn't about ability. decided to s(':{ 2009 as a make or break lr isn't about opponuniry. moment when I either do something lr's about desire. signi/lant or I go away and do I can find a million reasons not to $Omelhingelse. write. I am find a million ofother, I don'l normally make New Year more pleasant, things 10 do Ihan resoJulions, bur Ihis ~r I'm going to bashing my brains OUI in front of the make an n:eeplion. I'm committing empry page on a word processor. myself to a new wriling regime - based But the nories still roll around in on Ihe maxim a lillIe and often. my head and demand release. Firsll'mseningmyselfarea.listie And I know thai when I pur the and low target ofwords for every day stories down on paper and prople - JUSt 500 words or so. On a good day respond positively to them, I gc' I can do thai in lWenl)' minules, on kind ofbun ,hat no olher experience the stickier days it might take an hour. provides. The difference will be that I intend, So I eithcr want to do this or I religiously, ro devote the necessary don',. No more excuses and no morc ,ime every day jusllO writing /lelion pretending. and jusl 10 those 500 words. There will 500 words a day. Every day. be no other distractions. Or I'm not a writer. If I an do Ihat, I reckon that And then I'll have to find by the end of the ~r and allowing something else to not do while siuing for holitbys and olher disruptions I in from of the television W;ttching should be able to turn out thai nOYd Bone Kidun season two... WINTER 1008 F@CUS 3 THE LIES WE TELL TO SEE THE TRUTH Dev Agarwal refiects on the fascinating military career of Sargeant Steve Weddle and things that make characters really interesting magine this scene:: !l's 1993. You're a {WCnty one year old man, a I hothead. You've arguro. with yOUT family, ended your first relationship. You're angry 2nd confused. So you join the US Marine: Corps. You find what you wanted: order, discipline. routine. Your h:ard work is rewarded 2nd you make corpor.l! after DnAgarwal lWO years. Now you begin to play ,he has published army like a sysu"m. Wh:n once appealed short fiction is now tedious. You yearn for days off, Ina number for the discipline 10 case up. of magazines. One morning, your men are our in "Toys",_ (wo squ:.Ids. You've gol one; your friend storyfeatur' ingRebecca, Steve: Weddle is in charge of the other. one 01 the You're droppW al the base of a hill and main point 0' given a mission. Hike 10 (he lOp. set vllwdluac­ up a pcrimeu:r and defend il. Bur me lersofDeY's feeling (hal you're prnending 2nd it's novel.wiUbe pointless is rdcntless. forthcoming Congr.uularions, this is your first from Aeon exiSTential crisis at the age of twenty magazine. Is that Sgt Steve Weddl. playing ftIotbatl three. wlthhlsmarine",b",'d",di".,lN",'::..' -'- .... _ At the top of th~ hill, you g~t OUt a football and invit~ your 5<Juad to start pl<iying. They follow orders and you and what they've done. Your guys arc No one will ev n know wh...n you JUSt gav~ them on~. Steve's squad is busy in the lnckground playing with th... come down off Ih hill. So if no on... srning up <I. perimeter and marching fool ball, laughing, yt:lling, goofing off. knows, WM.t is the poim in doing it? around it with th~ir ~mpty machine as innructed. The whole squad can do this ex...rcisr in guns. To you, ii's glaringly obvious that lh... ~neral, you reflect, is a v..-ry their slttp, whal docs one less repelition they'r~ pr~t~nding. s..-nior rank. Unless you're on parade, COUnt? Meanwhile, th~ earth hasn't opened you never even s« a colonel. Now h...re The general nods again and looks up, th~ world didn't ~nd beeaus~ you you arc about to have a conversation at Stev.... "Thank you, sc:rgeanr." He's l~t your m~n blow off steam inn~ad of with a general. He is basically, as Steve readying to leave. To you he says, marching in circles. poims out, a general-in·the·field. "Thank you, private." BUI herccomC5somcon~.And it mUSI Th... general is looking al you.