(no subject)

Vatican clarifies remarks on abortion: "The Catholic church accepts abortion when the death of the foetus is not intentional, but is the result of care provided to the mother". Which means if she needs an abortion because the pregnancy will wreck her health or kill her - for example, if she's only nine years old - she's fucked.

How many abortions have resulted because of opposition to contraception and sex education on religious grounds?

Seriously, that's not a rhetorical question - I wonder if anyone's tried to do the maths.

Writing Advice

Bruce Robinson's advice to Richard E. Grant on how to begin the screenplay of Wah Wah: "... the tried and tested precept of thinking about what happened on the day before it begins that had never happened before."

"Plot", by Damon Knight

"It Came From the Slush ...and Survived!", by Douglas Cohen

Lunacon 2007 "Ask The Editors" panel

Who on my flist is actively writing right now (that I don't already know about :)? What're y'all working on?

(no subject)

Yesterday and today: working through a giant pile of notes on Strange Flesh, including feedback from Jon (top flight as usual) and numerous cryptic scribbles of my own. Only a few hundred new words, but lots of fixes. Next week I have to get back to Yet Another Other Writing Project.

How my brain works, part 2374538450

We were re-watching Sontaran Strategem, and I couldn't think what the heck Sylvia Noble holding the axe reminded me of, until I found this again in Cave in the Snow:

"'Of course, Prajnaparamita is female,' she added, referring to the Mother of All Buddhas. 'She's the Perfection of Wisdom which cuts away all our concepts and desires to make something very stable and settled. We build up our ideas. We try to make them concrete. She cuts away, cutting, cutting, cutting. She cuts things back to the bare essentials." (p 133)

The Doctor tries to solve the problem with cleverness - plus he's focussed on the big picture, instead of the danger in front of him. Sylvia cuts right through all of that and saves the day. :)