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The Alchemist, v. 1, issue 5, February 1941
Page 26
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26 ----- ALCHEMIST ----- In the second anniversary issue of Spaceways, Mort Weisinger, editor of the alleged science fiction magazine THRILLING WONDER STORIES, tell us why we (the dayed-in-the-wool fans) get so many rejection slips. He is very nice about it, and is undoubtedly very right as far as he goes. It's very kind of him to give us the correct dope on how to write and sell stories to the pulps. I betcha the fan field shows exactly no percentage of increase in the number of selling authors recruited from its ranks in times to come. Why? Because fans are fans first, and authors, or something else, second. Mort quotes Margulies: "'The trouble with these amateuers is -- they're too sophisticated! That's why their stories are dull, unconvincing, and unentertaining." Unentertaining to whom? The average reader? Ah yes, gate. That's what I keep telling them down at the office! Fans are sohpisticated as far as stf itself is concerned, and they try to write the type of stuff they would like to read. Reader is reader and fan is fan, and never the foo shall meet, except when a reader undergoes the Great Metamorphosis and becomes a Fan. Mort says: "There are plenty of good scientifiction stories to be written around Earth and its eight neighboring planets. Good entertaining, warm human interest stories.", and: "Don't tell us you guys are space struck....., Stop yearning for new world to conquer.", and: "...Take a tip from the movies. You've seen scientifilms like DR. CYCLOPS, SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, and DR. X. They all begin today, familiarizing their audiences with situations that ring true and dramatic because they are about things and people close to us. Stories that begin
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26 ----- ALCHEMIST ----- In the second anniversary issue of Spaceways, Mort Weisinger, editor of the alleged science fiction magazine THRILLING WONDER STORIES, tell us why we (the dayed-in-the-wool fans) get so many rejection slips. He is very nice about it, and is undoubtedly very right as far as he goes. It's very kind of him to give us the correct dope on how to write and sell stories to the pulps. I betcha the fan field shows exactly no percentage of increase in the number of selling authors recruited from its ranks in times to come. Why? Because fans are fans first, and authors, or something else, second. Mort quotes Margulies: "'The trouble with these amateuers is -- they're too sophisticated! That's why their stories are dull, unconvincing, and unentertaining." Unentertaining to whom? The average reader? Ah yes, gate. That's what I keep telling them down at the office! Fans are sohpisticated as far as stf itself is concerned, and they try to write the type of stuff they would like to read. Reader is reader and fan is fan, and never the foo shall meet, except when a reader undergoes the Great Metamorphosis and becomes a Fan. Mort says: "There are plenty of good scientifiction stories to be written around Earth and its eight neighboring planets. Good entertaining, warm human interest stories.", and: "Don't tell us you guys are space struck....., Stop yearning for new world to conquer.", and: "...Take a tip from the movies. You've seen scientifilms like DR. CYCLOPS, SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME, and DR. X. They all begin today, familiarizing their audiences with situations that ring true and dramatic because they are about things and people close to us. Stories that begin
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