SF Plots Editors Don't Want

Via Magda Kamenev, “10 Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories that Editors are Tired of Seeing” on io9.com.

Zombies, sure. Too many Walking Dead and World War Z wanna-bes out there. Parallel universes, fine. Also a lot of Fringe fans still writing fanfic. Time travel, ditto Doctor Who. Faux Steampunk, yeah, annoying. Fairytale retellings… I’ve read 'em, I wrote one, they’re fun, but I can see how they can tire an editor quickly. Mermaids, though? Tween fans of Ariel writing mermaid stories? But fine. Revenge stories, “edgy” stories, yeah, I’ve waded through too many for my taste. Pregnancy horror? Isn’t the alien baby bursting out of the belly a metaphor for the all-consuming nature of children and, if so, how can we have too many of those?

But what caught my attention was Number Ten on the list, “Pun/twist ending.” You see, as a youngster of around 15, eons ago, I was a subscriber to Asimov’s and, God help me, enjoyed the occasional story, often by Isaac Asimov himself, that was nothing more than a long setup to a groaner of an ending. Naturally, I wrote one and submitted it to the magazine. Equally naturally, the story was rejected. I rather expected that - I have a big ego, but not that big - and I was happy with a hand-written note by the editor, George Scithers, or at least one of his minions. However, I was mildly taken aback by the content of the note, which said the story was being rejected as it was “contrived.” Contrived? ConTRIVED? Come on, George, that’s the nature of the beast. They’re all contrived.

Bay City, Day 4 - Back to Ahern

One day, many years ago (or so it feels), a refugee from the northern land of New Alba landed upon the continent in the land known as Second Life, in the Ahern/Bonifacio/Dore/Morris Welcome Area. Caledon was as yet unknown - that would come later - so she wandered the nearby lands, learning about the arcane ways of this place.

Seeing that Ahern was nearby Nova Albion - itself a cruel reminder of that lost country of her youth - she extended her journey just a little farther, to check against her imperfect memory what has remained the same and what has changed in the intervening years. This is a nostalgia trip...

In Bonifacio, the Venice vegetable stand provided fine-looking produce...but was otherwise in the middle of nothing.


One thing that had not changed were the Orientation Stations done in oriental style...a counterpart to Oxbridge's occidental architecture serving much the same purpose. Except: Oxbridge is always staffed by courteous, helpful faculty, whereas this was empty.


The Ahern Welcome Area was the same as it ever was - and as full as it ever was.

Much of the surrounding area was barren. The Gibson sim remained, though was a shadow of its former self. The Darkwood medieval towers appeared similar to what I recalled; a note said this was an attempt to return the area to what it used to be.

Lusk was still furry-friendly. The enormous tree that I vaguedly recalled was decked out for Christmas, while furries danced below.

Traveling past Lusk and several intervening areas, I last stopped in Jessie, the famed combat area. It is still a damage-enabled area, very oddly terraformed: impassibly high mountains drop off with a 100 meter or more fall. Little seemed to be going on there at the time. Although I was armed, I was a little nervous, so I did not spend much time there. Reaching an air terminal, I purchased passage back to Caledon.

In some regards, this was a good trip, as it reminded me why I spend most of my time in the Steamlands. Though there were points of interest, the area had no unifying theme or architecture, and few people outside the infohubs. I was glad to be home.