Friday, September 4, 2015

Ask Unca Mike

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Science fiction and fantasy writers are a group are extraordinarily generous with advice to new writers. A moment's thought, however, reveals that this is just encouraging talented young people to occupy the publishing niches and win the awards that would otherwise go to to us Old Hands. Ask Unca Mike is an attempt to rectify this deplorable situation.


Fourteen Tabs and Waddaya Get...?

 Sam writes: I dropped 14 tabs of acid the other day and somewhere between crying about the filthy kitchen and trying to remember how to use the toilet while sitting on one I wrote fifteen pages of fresh material. 

Please Uncle Mike, help me stop this before it becomes a career and I end up resenting my drug hobbies.

First of all, let me applaud you for having your priorities straight. Yes, becoming a writer will take all the charm out of drug abuse. But the solution here is blindingly simple: take those fifteen pages of "fresh material" and set them aside for a week. Then, swhen you are completely straight and absolutely clear-headed (not at all the same thing, I assure you), read them through at one sitting.

The results will cure you of mixing mind-altering substances with prose-alyering techniques forever.


If you have a question for Unca Mike you can post it below. Or write to AskUncaMike ("at" sign) gmail.com. I'll respond tho those I have the best answers for.

Ask Unca Mike appears here on Fridays.



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