This is the transcript of the Other Worlds Cafe conference held in the OMNI Commons on September 21, 1993, from 11 PM ET until very near 1 AM. The featured guest was Pat Cadigan. (NOTE: The Other Worlds Cafe is not affiliated in any way with OMNI Magazine or OMNI Magazine Online. We at OMNI Online have allowed the Other Worlds Cafe to use our online facilities for this discussion with Pat Cadigan, and are glad to offer this log of the conference for downloading.) Science-Fiction/Fantasy writer Pat Cadigan's novels include SYNNERS, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and FOOLS. Pat's short stories are frequently published in OMNI, among them "Patterns" (August 1987) and "Johnny Come Home" (June 1991). Her story "Angel" was a finalist for the Hugo, Nebula, and World Fantasy Awards. - Bruce M. Bowden Technical Supervisor, OMNI Magazine Online ------------------------------------------------------------- OnlineHost OnlineHost You are now in room "Omni Commons." OnlineHost JaniceMars They're being fashionable. :0 Jaycie Hi Source Patterner Hi Bruce! DreamMindr hi Bruce PeggyN7262 Me too! Or they could be like me durng the last session -- wrong time conversion. Cadigan Be right back... JaniceMars Hi Source :) OMNI Angel Source!!! {{{{{{}}}}}} OMNISource Hi everyone! Cadigan (HI, Bruce. Up to no good again?) OMNISource ::hugging Angel:: PeggyN7262 Hi Bruce! OMNISource Always, Pat! ::wicked smile:: OMNISource Hi Peggy! PeggyN7262 What do you do if there aren't enough people? Jaycie be wery, wery quiet. Patterner We've never not had enough people. But we've never met at this time before Cadigan Peggy>We'll have to call it on account of rain. Patterner We've had lots of requests for a latenight meeting, though, and OMNI Patterner has been promoing it for a while OMNI Angel Hello Ussah! :D WASISCO I resent not being enough people. I'm plenty of people for all of us. Patterner H USSAH! USSAH hi Jaycie Hi Ussah OMNI Angel Wasisco! LOL! :) JaniceMars Wasisco :) Cadigan Wasisco> One would think, wouldn't one. USSAH i hope we have a structured session with the use of protocols Jaycie yes, Ussah. JaniceMars We do :) DreamMindr yes, we will Patterner Well, folks, shall we go ahead and start and see what happens? USSAH so that we don't waste valuable time in confusion DreamMindr example: JaniceMars Ready :) PeggyN7262 Great by me, Patt. DreamMindr Please observe protocol. If you don't know protocol IM DreamMindr(Or JaniceMars). OMNISource ::finding the popcorn vendor:: WASISCO I'm new to this ... what's a structured session with use of protocols? Patterner Okay, this is a special meeting of the Other*Worlds*Cafe Jaycie that's your cue, Mark Patterner Our guest tonight is Pat Cadigan, the author of Synners, Mindplayers, and Fools. OMNISource ::applauding:: Patterner She has recently released a collection of stories called Dirty Work OMNISource ::wolf whistle: Oops! Patterner and was interviewed in October's Mademoiselle Magazine -- the Patterner picture alone is worth the $2. We're in protocol tonight. Patterner If you have a question, type "?", and for a comment, type "1" USSAH isn't it an !!!! markd Patterner Your name will be added to the queue and you will be called upon in turn. When you finish speaking Patterner please "/ga". The queue is open now. Cadigan You can type 1. As a perpetual typo queen, I'll know what you mean. Patterner Any questions? USSAH roger Retzbach ? Patterner Okay, Retzbach, ga Retzbach Pat, I want to know if Patterns is ever gonna come out in paperback Cadigan Retzbach> Yes, it is. Actually, technically it already has... Cadigan But only in a British edition... Cadigan Tor is going to reprint the collection in paperback... Jimmysd Ah Ha! USSAH ? Cadigan But not until they've published the two novels they've contracted for, and I'm just about to.... Cadigan turn in the first of those. Cadigan ga. Patterner FOllowup Retzbach? Jimmysd ? Retzbach so it's cool my jets here or take the jumbo across the big pond?? Cadigan Retzbach> If you know a good specialty bookseller, like Mark Ziesing... Cadigan Or Dreamhaven... Cadigan You can order it from them... Cadigan But it will probably cost you seven bucks or so. Retzbach Dreamhaven can get it?? never thought of that ... thanks Cadigan Yeah, Dreamhaven can get it for you. Patterner Queue: Ussah, Jimmysd Cadigan ga. Patterner Ussah, ga USSAH when ga USSAH anthology published ga USSAH from tor ga Cadigan Can you clarify your question? Either I've already had too much cabernet... Cadigan or there are some words missing. ga Cadigan Patterner Ussah, please ga only at the end of the question USSAH gotcha Patterner Please restate your question USSAH my question is when will tor publish the novel ga Cadigan Ah. The first novel is scheduled for next summer. .. Retzbach ? Cadigan And there's no date set for the second, but it will probably be sometime the following calendar year. Cadigan ga Patterner Queue: Jimmysd, Retzbach Patterner GA Jimmy Jimmysd How much 'science' research do you do for your fiction? Cadigan Tons, Jimmy--just tons. Actually, it depends on what I'm working on... Cadigan I estimate that I spent a total of six to eight months just doing research for SYNNERS... Cadigan I used research that I'd already done for MINDPLAYERS on FOOLS... Cadigan But generally when I work with real science, I take it very seriously... Cadigan Because I know that there are lots of scientists in my audience... Cadigan And I don't want to blow it with some kind of stupid error that could have been easily fixed. ga Patterner Followup, Jimmy? PeggyN7262 ? Jimmysd How do you decide what research is necessary and what can be 'made up'? Cadigan Jimmy> Good question. I wish I knew. Seriously... Cadigan You can 'make up' lots of things... Patterner Queue: Retzbach, PeggyN Cadigan as long as you're extrapolating from something solid...e.g., the information aboout the brain... Cadigan in SYNNERS... DreamMindr ? Cadigan Quite honestly, no one can, at this time, prove that I'm right OR wrong... Cadigan So it still stands as solid extrapolation from what we already know about the brain. Cadigan ga Patterner Retzbach, ga Jaycie ? Retzbach I was wondering whether you are comfortable wearing the cyberpunk mantle. Cadigan Honey, if there's money in it, I'm comfortable. All kidding aside... Cadigan Cyberpunk does seem to be fairly controversial a word, doesn't it?... Cadigan And I have maintained elsewhere that labels beyond anything except the most general... Cadigan like 'genre writer" for example, aren't really my call to make... Cadigan These days, I take pains to specify that I have written ABOUT themes that have to do with 'cyberpunk' Cadigan concerns... Cadigan But I am not myself a hacker, a synthesizer artist, or a computer scientist... Cadigan The objections that I have heard to 'cyberpunk'... Cadigan Are the same objections I hear from mainstream readers re science fiction in general... Cadigan And I think that's fairly revealing... Cadigan But I suppose if I had to call myself anything, I wouldn't really mind calling myself a writer.... Cadigan concerned with cyberpunk. I'm still interested in those things... Cadigan And there's enough material in all of that stuff to fuel stories for decades. Cadigan Does that answer your question more than you ever wanted? Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, Retzbach? Patterner Queue: PeggyN, DreamMindr, Jaycie Retzbach yes ... just curious because some authors take great pains to describe how the movement ... Retzbach is dead yet it seems to me it's the only thing out there selling besides faeries and dragons Retzbach and Mars books. Retzbach ga Cadigan *chuckle* I have a guest editorial coming up in ASIMOV'S magazine on just that very subject... Cadigan I.e., people declaring cyberpunk dead... Cadigan Frankly, given the technology that is just beginning to flourish in everyday life... Cadigan I would say that 'cyberpunk' may just be starting to live for real. Cadigan ga Patterner Peggy, ga PeggyN7262 Considering how seriously you take the science in your work, I'd like to know whether you use rigid, PeggyN7262 detailed plans and outlines or follow the flow and patch later? ga Cadigan A little of both, Peggy... Cadigan Which is to say, when writing novels, I do work from an outline... Cadigan So that I'll always know what I had in mind, and what my objective is supposed to be... Cadigan But I leave myself room to play within the outline... Cadigan Places where I can surprise myself, add characters who show up unexpectedly... Cadigan All of that. Retzbach ? Patterner Followup, Peggy? Cadigan ga Patterner ? PeggyN7262 No, thanks. Good answer. Patterner Queue: DreamMindr, Jaycie, Retzbach, Patterner Cadigan Patterner ga, Dream DreamMindr Pat, do you have any plans to collaborate in the near future, and whether you do or not DreamMindr what authors would you most like to collaborate with? DreamMindr if any DreamMindr ga Cadigan Well, it so happens that Mike Resnick and I have been planning a collaboration for... Cadigan about two years now... Cadigan And sometime, I just know our individual schedules will be in synch... Cadigan But right now, Storm Constantine and I have just finished outlining a novel... Cadigan And she's writing the prologue and I'm writing the first chapter... Cadigan And we may write a little more before we put it up for sale. Cadigan Storm is a fabulous writer... Cadigan Her books have not been generally available here--she lives in the U.K.... Cadigan And I admire her tremendously. Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, DreamMindr? Patterner Queue: Jaycie, Retzbach, Patterner DreamMindr yes, Mike Resnick is rather popular with other authors I notice DreamMindr what kind of work were you planning to collaborate with him on? DreamMindr ga Cadigan Mike's a good guy. He and I are talking about a novel set in the future... Cadigan Sort of a future crime story. Further than that, my lips are sealed. ga Patterner Jaycie, ga Jaycie Which of your published works are you most proud of or gave you the most satisfaction doing? Jaycie ga. Rosharn ? Cadigan *Chuckle* That's like asking a mother of nine which child is her favorite. ... Jaycie LOL Cadigan However, my favorite work is usually whatever I have in progress... Cadigan But in terms of the work that gave me a lot of satisfaction... Cadigan And believe me, when you get through with a novel, or even a piece of short fiction... Cadigan The satisfaction is all but palpable... Cadigan Harlan Ellison described it as being better than sex... Cadigan And I'd say that, in some cases, he's right...... Cadigan But let me answer the question this way: Cadigan The piece of work which I felt advanced me as a writer in terms of skills learned... Cadigan and in terms of sweat... Cadigan Was SYNNERS. Cadigan Writing that book was a far bigger job than I'd ever done before... Cadigan And I knew it would be when I took it on... Cadigan But I knew that I would have to come up several levels in my devleopment to make it work. Cadigan Or at least to get it the way I wanted. Cadigan And while it's not *quite* as perfect as I'd like... Cadigan I really, really like it a lot. ga Patterner Followup, Jaycie? Patterner Queue: Retzbach, Patterner, Rosharn Jaycie But are you ever REALLY finished with a work? don't you just always have the urge to tweak Jaycie it "just a little" here and there? (rhetorical questions) My REAL question is, Ever hit a Jaycie spot where you are totally stumped and just don't know where you're going? What do you do Cadigan Honestly, no. At some point, I know it's not going to get any better, just chronic. Jaycie then? Switch over to an ongoing short story or sumpin? Cadigan Well, I'm glad you asked that question... Jaycie sorry, ga. Cadigan Because I found out why that happens, and what you should do about... Cadigan No, I'm sorry, Jaycie, I kind of stepped on your question... excuse me. Cadigan Anyway, I think it was Gene Wolfe who said... Cadigan when you get to a point in a novel or a story where you're stumped... Cadigan And you can't go any further... Cadigan it's because you made the wrong decision at your most recent turning point... Cadigan And you have to go back to that turning point and choose something different... Cadigan some different outcome, whatever... Cadigan And in my own case, I discovered that this is exactly right 100% of the time. Cadigan Whenever I'm stalled, I know I did the wrong thing... Cadigan And I go back to the most recent pivotal moment and rewrite. PeggyN7262 ? Cadigan Sometimes I find out my wrong decision occurred further back than that... Cadigan So I keep going back until I find out where I blew it... Cadigan And then I fix it. Cadigan Sounds simple, but it's hell. ga Patterner Retzbach, ga Patterner Queue: Patterner, Rosharn, PeggyN Retzbach three favorite authors/novels, please (YOU don't count) ... ga Cadigan *Chuckle* Cadigan Okay... Cadigan Favorite novels: Cadigan 'Salem's Lot by Stephen King... Cadigan Tunnel In The Sky by Robert A. Heinlein... Cadigan Neuromancer by William Gibson... Cadigan FAvorite authors: Cadigan Aside from King, Gibson, and Heinlein-- Cadigan Paul McAuley, Iain Banks, Storm Constantine, Kim Newman... Cadigan In fact, I feel like I should slip in Storm's Wraeththu trilogy... Cadigan Because reading those books was truly a mind altering experience! That woman can write! Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, Retzbach? Retzbach two best pieces you've read in past year (short story, novel, magazine article, whatever) ga Cadigan Okay, let's see... Cadigan I loved Rob Killheffer's article on the mind in the October OMNI... Cadigan I read THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt last year and loved it to pieces... Cadigan And RED DUST by Paul McAuley and ANNO DRACULA by Kim Newman are dynamite. Cadigan Also, BURYING THE SHADOW by (who else) Storm C. Cadigan sorry, I can't get away with just two. Cadigan ga Patterner My turn. Pat, I reread "Dispatches from the Revolution" every few months because it has a strong Retzbach more than two, but I'll take it ... thanks Patterner personal meaning for me-- what does it mean to YOU? Patterner GA Cadigan Well, you got a few hours? Patterner Try to condense... Patterner Queue: Rosharn, PeggyN Cadigan I was 15 in 1968, so I didn't go through any of that at the time... Cadigan But in 1971, I went down to D.C. from UMass-Amherst where I was going to school... Cadigan for an antiwar demonstration... Cadigan Those of you who are closer to my age may remember those as the Mayday riots... Cadigan In which so many people were arrested in one day they had to be quartered in RFK stadium.. Cadigan During my time there... Cadigan I got tear-gassed... Cadigan And the police split my head open with a billyclub... Cadigan And this is the sort of thing that tends to stay with you... Cadigan So to speak... Cadigan The whole country seemed to be in a state of chaos... Cadigan On both sides of the Vietnam issue... Cadigan and sometimes the madness seemed to be so overwhelming that anything could happen... Cadigan years later, I met a woman who had been teaching at Kent State when the students were shot... Cadigan And she told me that her own students would come to her and ask her... Cadigan "Is this the end of the world? Is the government going to topple?" Cadigan And they were serious... Cadigan And when you think of some of the craziness... Cadigan The Weather Underground balanced against that infamous statement by that man who told his son that... Cadigan if he were shot by the Nat'l Guard while demonstrating against his country... Cadigan He'd buy the guardsman who did it a dinner... Cadigan It was like, as a country, we were having a psychotic break with reality. Cadigan I know this isn't really a very clear answer... Cadigan But all of that went into the black box... Cadigan And came out when Mike Resnick offered me an election year for ALTERNATE PRESIDENTS. Cadigan ga Patterner I was 13 in '68, but now that I'm 38, I find that I still have those beliefs, but I act on them more Patterner rarely (no more marching on the Pentagon). How have you changed? Cadigan Got a few hours? Patterner Queue: Rosharn, PeggyN Patterner ga Rosharn Greatly admire your work, Pat, esp. Beggars in Spain. My question: haven't you written ur art Cadigan How have I changed... Cadigan Patterner Sorry -- Rosharn-- my followup Rosharn Sorry. I misfired. Cadigan Rosharn, thanks for the good words, but Nancy Kress wrote BEGGARS IN SPAIN. Cadigan (I'll pass your good words onto her.) Ga, whoever. Patterner How have you changed... Cadigan I'm more willing to listen than I used to be... Cadigan And I'm more willing to listen to viewpoints that seem to be alien, or opposed to my own... Cadigan But at the same time, my nonsense threshold is a bit lower, too... Cadigan I'm a little less willing to waste my time. Cadigan After all, when you're 40, there's less of it than there used to be. Cadigan ga Patterner Thanks, Pat. Rosharn, ga Rosharn J'adoube. My Question: have you written something about how to write fiction? GA Cadigan No, not really... Cadigan Many years ago, I wrote an article for a fanzine whose name I can't even remember any more... Cadigan on how to juggle a full time job and get a writing career off the ground... Cadigan But for the most part, I write next to no non-fiction of any kind. Cadigan ga Rosharn Thanks for the info. out. Patterner Followup, Rosharn? Rosharn Nope. Patterner Okay, Peggy ga PeggyN7262 You mentioned going back to the last wrong turn and rewriting; how much rewriting do you do? ga Cadigan (However, Nancy Kress writes a column for Writers Digest. Check it out.) Cadigan ga Cadigan I do lots of rewriting... Cadigan But it's probably not rewriting in the technical sense... Cadigan Since I work on a computer... Cadigan Writing is physically much easier than it ever was... Cadigan So what I do is probably a weird bastardized rewriting/line-editing. Cadigan Making changes in the wp program is easier than retyping a page. Cadigan ga Rosharn Bye. Patterner Followup, Peggy? PeggyN7262 Computers indeed make revisions much, much easier (and allow different errors) but do you have an idea PeggyN7262 how much of the writing time goes for rewrites vs newwrites? PeggyN7262 ga USSAH ? Cadigan Honestly, Peggy, I don't know. I've never figured it out. But I will tell you that my time... Cadigan is in now way unlimited... Cadigan So I don't spend a lot of time rewriting unless I really feel I have... Cadigan or unless the editor I'm working for has specifically asked me to rewrite something. Cadigan I don't have a lot of time to fiddle with stuff. I have a family, and I also like to save time to do.. ASterling ? Cadigan things that make me happy. Cadigan ga Patterner Queue: USSAH. Last call for questions. USSAH wHAT IS THE "BEST" word processing program for a writer, or what do you use? ga Cadigan Boy, wp programs are like brain organization... Cadigan what's right for one person is a disaster for another... Cadigan I started out with the Leading Edge computer... Cadigan and I learned on the Leading Edge wp, which was bundled free with the system... Patterner Queue: ASterling Cadigan I was crazy about it... Jimmysd ? Cadigan but when I got a better computer... JaniceMars ? Cadigan I discovered that LEWP was too antiquated to run on it... Cadigan And the Leading Edge people wanted me to call a 900 number at two bucks a minute... Cadigan to learn how to install it... Cadigan Well, honey, if I want to get robbed, I'll go over to the bad part of town... Cadigan and give it up to someone who needs it...... Cadigan I tried Word for Windows and discovered I *hate* Windows... Cadigan Then I tried PC-Write, and discovered it couldn't handle novels very well... Cadigan Now I'm living happily ever after with WordPerfect for DOS 5.1, and it's... Cadigan probalby the last wp I'll ever, ever use. Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, Ussah? USSAH Thank You! Patterner Queue: ASterling, Jimmysd, JaniceMars Patterner ga Amy Cadigan Amy Sterling? ASterling Well, Pat, I use WP51 too - aren't you going to get your upgrade? Cadigan I've thought about it... ASterling That's not my question - my ? is serious. I was in the car on the way home today & I Cadigan But to be brutally honest, I can't really spare the $$ right now. Cadigan Oh, sorry. ga. ASterling thought about how 95% of the "great" writers or those who are thought of as great are ASterling men. Kind of threw me for a loop. I had never thought in those terms before. Response Cadigan They are? ASterling No I don't think so, but " ASterling "In school, as they say," Cadigan Do you mean, since writing was invented, or what? Cadigan I mean, what time period are we talking about? ASterling MN. Well, no the kinds of courses we take, such as English Literature, etc... ASterling Also up to the last 25 yrs. or so in literature written in English Cadigan Well, if you're talking about college reading lists... ASterling Yes, I guess I am. Cadigan I don't know what's on those lists these days, since it's been close to 20 years since I've been... Cadigan on campus. ASterling Lucky you, Pat - for me it's 10 yrs. Cadigan So if you want to know why they're so man heavy, you should ask your professors. ... Cadigan I would guess, though... ASterling Well I'm hoping at least SOME of them have retired by now though Cadigan that this is why there's been an uproar lately on campus... Cadigan in favor of diversity... ASterling Well THAT's good news! Cadigan More different kinds of things by more different kinds of writers... Cadigan I've read about this, anyway... Cadigan And there's been a lot of resistance to it... ASterling Keep it up, you are making me feel better... Cadigan And probably will be for some time... Cadigan However, I tried grad school... ASterling Did it drive ya nuts? Cadigan And discovered that I did not have the love for things academic to make it in the Master's program... Cadigan So I dropped out... Cadigan And discovered that the best way to become well-read... Cadigan is to graduate from college and leave the nest... Patterner Queue: Jimmysd, JaniceMars Cadigan college should help you learn how to think and develop discrimination... Cadigan but it should not tell you WHAT to think. Cadigan ga Patterner Jimmy, ga Jimmysd How much does music influence your writing? And visual art? Movies? You get the idea... Cadigan yeah, I do, Jimmy-- Cadigan I'd say, quite a lot... Cadigan and probably in ways that I can't even specify, because it's so subversive...... Cadigan or below my level of consciousness, anyway... Cadigan But I always write to music... Cadigan Can't do without it... Cadigan And everything I see and hear is grist for the mill. Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, Jimmy? Patterner Queue: JaniceMars Jimmysd Yeah, what is the most influential music, visual art and movie you can think of? Jimmysd Yourself Jimmysd ga Cadigan Whew. Visual art and movie, jeez, hard to say... Cadigan I listen to a lot of rock music of all kinds. Cadigan I remember being deeply moved by TAXI DRIVER when it came out... Cadigan And when I first encountered the work of Thomas Hart Benton, I had a sort of shock of recognition... Cadigan But what you're asking me about now... Cadigan is more of a 'black box' operation than anything conscious. ga Patterner Janice, ga JaniceMars Dumb question, in Synners you had several brain connections via several wires. Any reason you .... JaniceMars Didn't opt for a single external jack? Or did someone ask this already? GA Cadigan No, no one asked it already... Cadigan I studied up on the areas of the brain... Cadigan And all the connections are located where they are for a reason... Cadigan As in they draw from and/or stimulate certain areas of the brain for a reason... Cadigan and it's a matter of organization... Cadigan I did it for the same reason we have subdirectories on our hard disks, rather than one big directory. Cadigan Cadigan ga Patterner Followup, Jan? JaniceMars Yes, so you feel running lines through the JaniceMars brain fluid from those areas JaniceMars to a single input output is a bad idea? ga Cadigan WEll, I'm not dealing with brain fluid in SYNNERS. ASterling ? Cadigan And frankly, I don't know if it's a bad idea or not... Cadigan But I had already done that, more or less in MINDPLAYERS... JaniceMars Thanks :) Patterner Well, Pat, on behalf of the O*W*C and the kind OMNIfolks who lent us the room, let me say Patterner THANK YOU! We are now in a free-for-all. Cadigan when I made the external access through the eyes. Jaycie {S applause Cadigan Free for all, eh? JaniceMars Thanks Cadigan :) OMNI Angel Thank you, Pat!! :D Jaycie Thanks Pat Cadigan Thanks, everyone, for coming. DreamMindr thank you Pat Patterner Yep -- can't keep them from throwing squid, you know! Patterner Inhibits them terribly JaniceMars LOL USSAH Thank you Pat Enjoyed. And to Patterner you \'ve done an exccellent jog and hope you monitor the futur Cadigan And Patterner, thanks for doing the real work. ASterling Thanks Pat! I'll ask you my ? later! (no squid, flowers instead) Patterner Thanks, Ussah, and Pat USSAH future guests log EXCELLENT!!!! DreamMindr yes Patterner, you did great tonight Patterner ::bowing:: Cadigan Amy> Whenever you like. DreamMindr and Jaycie did an acceptable job at the door PeggyN7262 It went very smoothly, didn't it. Jimmysd Free for who? JaniceMars Marvelous Concierge :) Patterner Better than I thought JaniceMars For you Jimmy! Jimmysd Thanks Pat. Jaycie goobers and raisinettes all around, EXCEPT for Dreamy. PeggyN7262 What a great host name THAT would be! Concierge! DreamMindr that concludes our OWC authors tripleheader Jimmysd Not me, yet! But I am willing to take donations to defer the cost! PeggyN7262 Aw, more...more! Patterner And now we return to our regular chats! Cadigan when's the next regular chat? USSAH Goodnight everyone! ASterling Pat -Are you familiar with "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards? PeggyN7262 'Night USSAH. Cadigan Nite, USSAH. Thanks for coming. Jaycie bye Ussah Patterner Good night, USSAH! JaniceMars Full of the regular wisdom and sillyness JaniceMars By Ussah! DreamMindr the next regular chat is next Monday at 9 pm eastern Patterner Pat, Monday with Dream Cadigan Amy> I took a look at it a long time ago, but I can't say I'm intimately acquainted with it. Patterner Amy> I took the class from her and still draw worse than a preschooler Jaycie Pat>Do you like doing short stories or novels better? DreamMindr topic will be sci fi fantasy series ASterling Pattt!!!! That's funny. I read the book after I'd already learned to draw the hard way PeggyN7262 Amy: If you know that one, did you also read Tony Buzan's similar book on brain use? Jimmysd Jimmy> What the hell are you doing talking to yourself? DreamMindr eg, Asimov's Foundation, Niven's known Space, etc Cadigan Jaycie> It depends. When I'm sick of the novel I'm working on, I like short stories better. Jaycie LOL Pat. ASterling No but I have been told to. These things are SO interesting & true Jaycie Jimmy>watch out! There's a gator behind you! Jimmysd Yikes! JaniceMars Is it? Is it? PeggyN7262 (Sheesh, without highlighting this would be total chaos! -- "would"??? JaniceMars No!!! It's WallySan! ASterling When I write (or draw or paint) & it is going well, I lose all track of time & "right shift" Jaycie Highlighting? what dat? JaniceMars LOL Jaycie PeggyN7262 Amy: You too? I can be totally gone when it's in the flow. Cadigan Well, both sides of my brain are all messed up. I was a lefty forced to become right handed in school. Jaycie <---is on waol. one of it's "features" is no highlighting. Cadigan So I don't know what part of the brain I'm drawing on. ASterling Isn't it great? Why would anyone go on drugs? ASterling Pat - the good, happy part, I'm sure Khadaji666 To connect the two halves? Jimmysd Amy> If you can find a female postmodern author, let me know, I haven't found one yet! PeggyN7262 Jaycie -- argh, what a gyp. Glad I didn't succumb to windowitis on AOL after all ;( ASterling Tough one, Jimmy . . . ('cept Pat, of course) Jimmysd Down Wally, Elvis is over there! Jaycie LOL. But I can get on at 9600, Peggy. One advantage. PeggyN7262 Amy: Sure is -- if they could inject/inhale/ingest it, somebody would be making a fortune! Jimmysd I have $AOL Jimmysd Some months $$$AOL. ASterling I keep trying to teach others & it's amazing how resistant people are to losing their logic Jaycie LOL Amy Jaycie <---never had any logic to lose. PeggyN7262 Amy: Does 9600 correct for these delays and slow screens I have on 2400? Cadigan Amy> Oh, well, that's no problem for me. I flunked logic, so I'm free. Khadaji666 Very Zen, Pat. Jaycie Peggy>beats the heck out of 2400 for downloading and uploading. ASterling LOL Pat! You should get that book - I have a copy I can send you one Cadigan Khadaji> I embraced Zen about twelve years ago, actually. PeggyN7262 Speaking of $$AOL, this is my first month and I haven't seen the bill yet -- what kind of costs are we PeggyN7262 looking at here? ga Cadigan Amy> Thanks, but I'm pretty sure we still have it here. ASterling Even if it didn't work for Patt, who is obviously LEFT Brained Khadaji666 Pat - Really? I thought Zen more less kicked one in the teeth . . . PeggyN7262 Jayce: Funny thing, the up/downloads go much faster than mail or anything else for me. Maybe there's Jaycie Peggy>you can use keyword: billing to check your current bill. but be prepared for a shock. PeggyN7262 a gremlin in my system. Jimmysd I left my brain too, but forgot where. Cadigan Khadaji> It does. ASterling You can check that Peggy - by going to the member area - eeewwwwww! PeggyN7262 Egad, Jaycie, maybe I shouldn't peek? Jimmysd Oh. Wallys got it. Jaycie LOL Khadaji666 Ah. The post -was- tired . . . Jaycie Toss a pelican at wally, Jim. Jaycie he'll be satiated and leave you alone. PeggyN7262 You know it really helps to have multiple personalites when you're doing this... you're already used PeggyN7262 to the many varied voices Cadigan A pelican? I thought you AOLers had this kinky squid fetish. ASterling Are you all on drugs or what? (picture a very old gal with a very big purse, swingin' it) Jimmysd He's writing the second half to my short story right now, so I don't want to interupt. PeggyN7262 Yeah, what IS it with this squid thing/ Jaycie ROFL Peggy. I have enough prollem keepi9ng my one and only personality under control Cadigan Peggy> I've been conferencing for years and years. I'm used to this. Khadaji666 Yeah, the gives you away. Jaycie Peggy>you had to be there. Jaycie :) PeggyN7262 Pat: That could be a symptom, you know ;D Cadigan Khad> It does, doesn't it. Jimmysd Squid have escape slavery from my home planet, only to end up as calamari here on Earth. Khadaji666 Jimmy - Fry baby, fry. Jaycie Jimmy is our resident champion of squids rights. Jimmysd Serves them right, they didn't serve us right at all. ASterling MMMMMMMMMM!!!!! Cala-mari Cadigan Jimmy> Were you the one who threw me a squid at the OMNI Online party when we were at the worldcon? Keith was at the keyboard and he was trying to explain why you were doing that. Jimmysd I once set up a Cyber Bi Squid room, and got a lot of sailors. JaniceMars BRB Jaycie LOL!!! I'll bet you were even more confused after the esplanation, Pat! Jimmysd What did he say? PeggyN7262 Yeah, what COULD he say? Jaycie ROFL Jimmy. Cadigan Jimmy> I don't remember. After about the third sentence, I offered to get him drunk. Jaycie LOL Jimmysd Anyway, the government got my list and gave it to Clinton. PeggyN7262 Sounds like a plan to me. Jimmysd And now they are all safely stowed in the closets of ships in every ocean. Jaycie what are? squids? Jaycie the invasion fleet? PeggyN7262 Water closets? Khadaji666 Lists? ASterling Well, Children of Squid, I've got to go. Pls. don't let Stephen King know about the squid. Jaycie byeeee Amy Khadaji666 Night, Amy. Cadigan Amy> I think it's too late. Jimmysd Protecting the USA from visious threats, like boat people with too much laundry. PeggyN7262 Bye Amy! Patterner Bye, Amy! Jimmysd Bye Amy, hope you feel better. ASterling I love you all! (Squid on cross, squid in bed, squid in head, good night sweet prince) Jimmysd I will have a sex change before I publish, I promise. Patterner LOL! Khadaji666 From what to what? JImbo? Jaycie OH? what are you going to change it to, Jim? PeggyN7262 Again? Jaycie LOL Jimmysd From Asexual to Bisexual! PeggyN7262 How about OMNIsexual? Khadaji666 Ah, then you can go and -- oops, not online. OMNI Angel Cadigan Well, you double your chances of a date on Saturday night. Jimmysd How bout it Omni, what you doing tonight. Patterner So he can be a famous writer, of course Jaycie now I know why you were in the closets on those ships, Jimmy OMNI Angel LOL!! PeggyN7262 Is this an OUTING? Khadaji666 Now there's a straight line. PeggyN7262 Perfect for the Gay 90s Jaycie LOL Peg DreamMindr I've got to run now folx, its been fun PeggyN7262 :D Jaycie byeeee Dreamy Khadaji666 Adios, Dream. PeggyN7262 Bye Mark... Patterner Night, {{{{Mark}}}}}}} Jimmysd Buy DreamM. PeggyN7262 (or Trade...) OMNI Angel Bye Dream :) Cadigan Nite, DreamM. PeggyN7262 Patt...Love that {{{...}}} -- echo? Jaycie a hug, Peggy. PeggyN7262 Must be a biggun! :D Jaycie online shorthand. Patterner We're fond of Mark Jimmysd Well, I must admit, Pat, I've only read a couple of short stories of yours. The local book store does Jaycie or shortkeyboard. Cadigan What's it short fr? Jimmysd not carry you here. JaniceMars Well guys -- I'm off to take care of some biz :) See you all soon :) Cadigan Jimmy> Gee. that's great news. Patterner short for hugs Khadaji666 Ouch, Jimmy! Jimmysd In West Haven CT. PeggyN7262 Long as its not short shrift. Patterner Night jan! Jaycie {} is short for a hug, Pat. Khadaji666 Night, Jan PeggyN7262 Night Jan. Jaycie byeeee Jan. Jimmysd If you want to yell at someone. PeggyN7262 Jayce: So {{{{{ }}}}} is a really BIG hug? Cadigan ah, I see I'm going to have to learn a whole new symbolism vocabulary here. Jaycie Peggy>yeppers. Khadaji666 :D Jimmysd Bye Janice (late) PeggyN7262 Well, Pat, at least Freud isn't here to check your slips. PeggyN7262 If any. Cadigan Jimmy> Believe me, if you yell at them, they'll take it more seriously. You're a paying customer. PeggyN7262 Or other lingerie, for that matter. Jimmysd Pat, from what I read, I plan to ask for more. Who publishes you? Cadigan Peggy> Good. Because Freud had just better not mess with me. I think Jung. PeggyN7262 ROFL!!! Khadaji666 Ooh. Pat. Please. Cadigan Jimmy> all of my books now in print are from Bantam-Spectra... Jaycie you're only as Jung as you feel. Cadigan Jimmy> But my next book will be out from Tor. PeggyN7262 ROFL!! Jaycie Jimmy>check the best of year anthologies by Dozios (sic) for some of Pat's short stuff. Jimmysd That is where I read her. Jimmysd When she was Naming names. Cadigan Jaycie> Actually, it's Dozois. Pronounced "Doze-wah." For the furious. Jaycie Cadigan Jimmy> I'm fond of that story. I wrote it for a British anthology about superstitions. Cadigan Jaycie> No need to blush, really! Jimmysd Oh, I pronounced it Waffleiron! Cadigan And that should have been for the CURIOUS! Terrible typo! Jaycie Pat>yep I loved Naming Names. really good. specially the scene on the ferry. Khadaji666 Nah, I like for the furious. PeggyN7262 No, it's really prounounced "Fred," just like Wytherstonefaugh. Jaycie LOL Peggy Jimmysd Oh no, do I hear singing Vikings? Cadigan Jaycie> Thanks. I love the ferries in Seattle nayway. Cadigan Ahem. Anyway. Cadigan I must be getting tired. Cadigan PeggyN7262 See, I told you it was the Gay 90s. Khadaji666 Spelling correct on ferries, Pat? Cadigan I should probably sign out, sober up, and go back to work. PeggyN7262 Valhalla or Valkyries? Cadigan Khad> Yeah, well, I love them, too. Patterner ferrys Jimmysd Spam, spam spam spam, wonderful spam, glorious spam! OMNISource Spam? Jaycie oh no. not the spam. anything but the spam Jimmysd Spam spam spam spam. PeggyN7262 Spam? I'll talk, I'll talk! Khadaji666 chipped beef on toast. Aka SOAS. Jaycie Spam. the only food-like substance that everyone knows about and no one eats. OMNISource Okay, I'm back... has anything happened yet? :D Jimmysd Spam and squid, no deadlier combination! OMNI Angel Ack!!! :::pointing to the "No Spam Allowed" sign::: ;) Cadigan You AOL people sure have some weird fetishes. Cadigan Bruce> Gosh, thanks. No, go back to sleep. OMNISource You don't have an inkling, Pat. :D Jimmysd You haven't met my gator! Jaycie Pat>yep. I don't understand the spam either. OMNI Angel Bruce! =:0 PeggyN7262 No, that's "Ick," not Ack! Jimmysd Wally! OMNISource Hmmm.. I'll have to read over muy log... Patterner (Sorry, Pat, I woke him up) OMNISource (muy?) Cadigan *chuckle* OMNISource LOL! Cadigan Bruce> Yes, it's quite much as a log. PeggyN7262 Spam=Special permission allowed Mondays... Jimmysd Muy mejor! Jimmysd Yo tengo una llama. PeggyN7262 Yo llama Una Tengo. OMNISource Well, good! Actually, Pat, I apologise for not paying attention- have some preparations PeggyN7262 Hola, Jimmy, habla Ingles? Jimmysd Ella se llama Llamasita. Cadigan Bruce>That's okay, you're excused. OMNISource to do before we negotiate with AOL again later this week. :) Khadaji666 Hmm. Adios, folks. Time to vamos a casa. Jaycie byeeee Khad PeggyN7262 Hasta luego,Khad... Patterner Night Khad! OMNISource I DO have the log, however, hope to post it, and will read it soon! Jimmysd Ella es muy suave. Cadigan NIte, Khad... PeggyN7262 Buen Suerte... PeggyN7262 Quien ella es esso? Jimmysd Ella es muy bonita. Cadigan Bruce> What are you negotiating? Or should I ask? PeggyN7262 Su llamasita? Jimmysd Mi llama. Jaycie It's past my beddy bye time too. night everyone. and thanks Pat. PeggyN7262 llama mama? Jaycie and Patt. Cadigan Nite, Jaycie. Thanks for coming. Patterner Nite, Jaycie! PeggyN7262 Night Jaycie! OMNISource It's just more of the same concerning the best service on AOL. :D PeggyN7262 Been fun@ Jimmysd Buenas noches Jaycie. OMNI Angel :) :) OMNISource We have only JUST begun! ;) Cadigan Bruce> Well, I like it a lot. PeggyN7262 (Echoes of Karen Carpenter, Bruce) Jimmysd Y todos los otros que van a sus mamis. OMNISource ::smiling at Pat:: OMNISource My keyboard is dysfunctional! Patterner YOU are dysfunctional! Patterner Stop blaming the kb Jimmysd Shh, mi llama esta en casa. Cadigan I like to think my keyboard and I team up for the typos. PeggyN7262 Silencio es....de oro? OMNISource Yes, there;s a certain style to making typos... PeggyN7262 Yeah, but what if you make typos when you're writing by hand? Jimmysd Esta bien! No me habla mas. Cadigan Peggy> Those are write-os. PeggyN7262 (some people still do.) PeggyN7262 Or Cheerios Cadigan Or writos. PeggyN7262 or RIght-Ohs! Jimmysd :::::::being veeerrrrrryyyyyyy quiet::::::::::: Patterner Oh dear PeggyN7262 Porque no, Jimmy? Jimmysd ::::::::::and typing veeeeeerrrrrrryyyyyyy well::::::: PeggyN7262 The Silly Season is upon us. Cadigan Or mistakes. PeggyN7262 Mis steaks are the ones you make from cows, right? Cadigan Somebody wake up Jimmy's llama and give him something to do. Jimmysd :::::::and exagerating veeeeerrrrrryyyyyyy little::::::: PeggyN7262 Good grief... Patterner Ms steaks come from feminist cows Jimmysd Ouch! Jimmysd That one hurt. Cadigan Not just any steak--a Kansas City steak! OMNISource Angel? PeggyN7262 Is that the kind Dracula prefers? PeggyN7262 Steak tartare, direct from the Magyars to Vlad? Cadigan *chuckle* Peggy Jimmysd No, he prefers a missed stake. PeggyN7262 ROFL!!! Cadigan Bad Jimmy. No biscuit. Jimmysd Woof? Jimmysd ::::pant pant:::::: PeggyN7262 No drooling on the carpet! Cadigan (And get down off the furniture.) PeggyN7262 You'll get your paws all over the squid again. Jimmysd Too late, get the love my carpet. Jimmysd I better let myself outside, I'm getting too excited here. Jimmysd Jamie, won't you please sing us a song? PeggyN7262 Or when shall we three (plus some) meet again... Bubble bubble Patterner Well, folks, it's getting slow here -- I think maybe it's time to close down Jimmysd Well, I will be back, no matter where they try to hide the meeting. Patterner Thank Pat again -- and the OMNIfolks for the room Cadigan Yes, thanks everyone-- OMNI Angel :) Cadigan Thank you, Patterner, for doing the real work.... PeggyN7262 Yes indeed, thanks for everything! Jimmysd Thanks again Pat. PeggyN7262 It's been a great time. Cadigan And thanks, OMNI folks, for the use of the facilities. Patterner Oh, no, I just kept track of the queue -- Jan & Mark and Jaycie Patterner did the work Cadigan Nice place you got here. Jimmysd Thanks Omni. PeggyN7262 Jimmysd Goodnight Jonboy. PeggyN7262 Buenos noches, todos... Jimmysd Goodnight Lassie. Cadigan WEll, my thanks to everyone who didn't go out this evening. PeggyN7262 Goodnight Timmy Jimmysd Buenos Nachos. PeggyN7262 You mean this WASNT going out? PeggyN7262 Buenos tacos. PeggyN7262 Or Sukiyaki. PeggyN7262 Goodnight all... Patterner Well, at least *I'm* going -- See you all Monday! Jimmysd Bye Peggy, nic OMNI Angel Bye Patt! :D Jimmysd Bye Patterner. Patterner Night, Angel! Cadigan NIte, Patterner Jimmysd Bye all. Patterner Night, Pat Patterner Bye, all Cadigan I probably ought to bug out, too, so I can work half the night. Cadigan Later, gang-- Jimmysd Tossing final squid at Pat. OMNI Angel Bye Pat! Thank you!! :) Cadigan Ew, tentacles! Jamie 1990 Nite all! Thank you!! Incredibly fun session! :D OMNISource G'night Pat! ::wink:: Jimmysd HE SPEAKS!!!! Cadigan Nite, Bruce. Wink back atcha. Cadigan Later, gang--