CY: I imagine I’m not the only one relieved to put 2021 in the rear-view mirror. The new year always feels like an opportunity for a fresh start; I’m starting to consider some personal goals that I’d put on hold for the past two years (or more). I have a list of things I want to read this year, both fiction and non-fiction, and things I want to create. I’m so inspired by our authors, and I hope our readers are, too.
AS: When you are just trying to get by, or in a state of crisis, it’s harder to create as well as achieve goals. I feel like the last couple of years have been difficult for many people. But I also feel like fiction has been such a great place to express those difficulties, as well as a great place to get a reprieve from them. Our mag has embraced a range of moods, from fun escapism to thoughtful to emotionally raw, and I love that.
CY: My “resolutions” this year aren’t much different from any other year: read more, write more, create more in general.
AS: I love those! What are some of the things you have in mind for reading, beyond Fantasy?
CY: I have a few books on craft I want to get through: Making Shapely Fiction by Jerome Stern, Narrative Design: Working with Imagination, Craft, and Form by Madison Smartt Bell, and Craft in the Real World by Matthew Salesses; I’ve accumulated a number of poetry collections that I want to read; and my book club will keep me reading novels all year long, starting with Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. As for writing, it’s probably time to start generating some new material; I think I got stuck spinning my wheels revising old stories that maybe just aren’t as interesting to me anymore as they once were. (If anyone else out there is looking for a way to track their word count this year, they can make a copy of my Tools for Writers workbook, which I update annually.)
AS: I’m grateful to be a reviewer for Lightspeed, because it drives me to keep reading beyond just my role at Fantasy, which I think is really important. If you’re just picking up our mag for the first time, or if you’ve been reading us for a while, we’re so glad that you are taking these journeys with us. We hope 2022 treats you very well, and that you find some truly wonderful stories, both in our pages and elsewhere.