Scoot to Kill

September 30

So on Thursday I went to this Advanced Writer's Group I heard about. They've been meeting continually for the past two years, once a week; sometimes it's only Wes, the leader and I assume founder, but there's a shifting group of other writers who come with varying degrees of regularity. They're all published to some extent, and they seem really serious. They don't look at poetry, and they have some of the usual li-fi bias against genre writing, which is annoying. But I talked with them about it some, and they're aware that there's a big gulf between Star Trek fanfic and, say, Ted Sturgeon. They seem willing, even eager, to read my novel chapters from The Genius of Deceit (which is mostly what I wanted feedback on)... I gave them a brief verbal synopsis, and they were intrigued.

I don't know if they're good writers, or good critics, or what. I'm going to take them a story next week, and see what they think of it, see if their comments are helpful... then I'll decide if I want to take part in the group or not, if they can be helpful to me. I miss my old writing group, from college... they weren't genre writers either, and they also began with that somewhat uninformed, "if it's good it isn't genre" bias against sf... but they came around, and helped me a lot. Aubrey, Sarah, Dawn, Scott and Diya, Anna, Ross, Queitha... they were good folks. And we always ate lots of cheese and drank lots of wine at our gatherings.

I miss having a network of writers I can talk to. In Boone I had such contacts, though I didn't always utilize them to the fullest... and certainly there are people I can mail and email stuff to and get feedback, but it's not the same as being there, face to face.

I already have great respect for Wes, leader of this writer's group, though. While we were sitting in the coffee shop, a gentleman sat down and introduced himself. He explained that he was a beginning writer, looking for someone to look over the query letter he planned to send to agents regarding his novel. He went on to explain that certain government agencies and both major political parties are monitoring his writing via a transmitter they've hidden in his laptop-- and, moreover, that they're changing his words. He told us about the 900 page journal he's written this year. He told us how the Patent Office is conspiring against inventors, killing off the top 1% of the human race. He was surprised we hadn't heard of him-- because millions of people know of him, he said. People on the street talk about him, and watch him.

The guy was frankly scary-- absolute paranoia. He was very polite, at least. Wes dealt with him really well, and got him to go away with no hurt feelings or histrionics. I could not have dealt with it so gracefully. That alone is something of a recommendation for the group...

Ah, I just got email from David Cox at Darkling Plain… he's holding my story "Haruspex" and my poem "Muse Trap" for consideration, says he'll let me know whether he wants them or not in November… he wrote "Whether "Haruspex" is accepted or not, you're to be congratulated-it's the first fantasy that's really worked for me since I began reading for DP." That's the kinda thing that warms a young writer's heart…

Last night me and Scott and Lynne went to Toys R Us.... and on a spending spree. We acquired a dartboard and a stuffed dog and, best of all, 2 collapsible scooters.

Have you seen these things? All the hippest 12 year olds in Santa Cruz ride them. They're metal, very simple and unadorned, with polyurethane wheels. They fold into a compact unit about 2 feet long by 10 inches wide, and they weigh less than 10 pounds. Each scooter comes with a tiny little backpack. They rule.

They didn't have shit this cool when I was 12. So me and Scott bought them (they're expensive, but why else do we work, if not to acquire great stuff like this?), and last night we scooted all over town (including to the Saturn Cafe, where we flirted unabashedly with that most lovely of all waitresses, Ariel, the sweet spirit of the air). We scoot down the street, and people point. People laugh. We're 23-- there are some people who think we shouldn't be riding scooters at our age. But those people are fools, with shriveled souls and no spirit and too much image-awareness for their own good.

Scooting is way faster than walking. And you can zip in and out of crowds. And you don't need to lock them up. And they're awesome.

If somewhat dangerous. People fall off them a lot, apparently-- these lovely scooters are the cause of many an injury amongst 12 year olds, it seems. But I'm willing to take that risk.

Because I ride a scooter. I scoot.