InFormation [editor's column] -- January 1997
"A Guardsman's Lot is Not a Happy One"
Words by Mark Eric Stein
Tune from "When a felon's not engaged in his employment," Gilbert
& Sullivan, "The Pirates of Penzance"
When a rider's not engaged in his employment
Or scrubbing down his dragon's hide with sands
His capacity for innocent enjoyment
Is just as great as any landbound man's.
But with paperwork commanders seek to smother
And the soldiers must be drilled out in the sun
Ah, take one consideration with another...
And a guardsman's lot is not a happy one.
Oh, when Constabulary duty's to be done, to be done
Merlinth's rider's lot is not a happy one.
When a rider's done his work on wing formations
And kept his bondmate's talons clean and sharp
He loves to sit in quiet rumination
And listen to the plucking of the harp.
No carousing at the Hold with his clutch-brother
For his duties will deny him any fun.
Ah, take one consideration with another...
And a guardsman's lot is not a happy one.
Oh, when Constabulary duty's to be done, to be done
Merlinth's rider's lot is not a happy one.
Two years ago, when I was lured into writing for Haven Weyr with the prospect of creating a guardsman character (in contrast to the rogues I usually write), I was informed that a space was open for a bronze rider if I wanted Ensign Reinaldo to Impress. This seemed like an interesting enough idea. I had already intended to produce the two stories a year expected of bronze writers, I appreciated the work of the late, dearly missed Warren Luftig in Fort-9 in creating a distinctly Pernese cop, and it would give me a chance to soapbox a bit about the often-ignored difficulties of juggling the demands of Weyr and Craft.
Little did I realize that eighteen months later, even before dear kindly Ensign Weyrling ever saw print, Shanti Fader would entice and cajole me into the editorship of Haven Only Knows.
Here I sit, the good Constable of the Guard looming over my shoulder tapping his foot at me. His reports to South-East Command are undelivered to Black Rock River, he chafes at Merlinth's eagerness to fly the next queen to rise though he's still in his weyrling Turn, and garrison morale sinks every day he fails to inspect the troops personally. And what am I doing?
I'm editing two- and three-year-old stories.
Crazy? Of course I am. I've come to know many of the central characters in our scenic little double-caldera, and enjoy the company of quite a few. (One in particular? "Merlinth, hush.") Once you get to know this group, who wouldn't want to devote some time to cultivating the talents of the people who created it? Who but someone as joyously crazy as, well...the lot of us?
As chief story editor, I'll be receiving your submissions and editing for language mechanics, sometimes length, and occasionally style. As I set about the task, I'm working with sometimes conflicting awarenesses: This is a fiction magazine, with young writers working together to improve their writing. It's also a fan magazine, with people who love Pern coming together to relax, swap fanciful stories and have fun.
No editor ever makes a change or demands a rewrite to be spiteful or for obstruction's own sake. It does happen, however, that writers and editors don't agree on what they're trying to achieve. When you fill out the questionnaire included in this issue of Haven Only Knows, I hope you'll let me know what you want me to expect from you, as well as what you expect from us. If you want to be edited like an aspiring professional, I'll do my best to accommodate you. (Says R'naldo, reaching for his practice sabres, "Sure, I'll hit you as hard as you want...") If you're here to relax, have fun and tell stories without obsessing about technique, that's fine too and I'll welcome you just as warmly -- and try not to annoy you too much. Meantime, maybe I can get Kris to edit my own writing...
On a technical note: You can make my job much easier, and help get HOK back on a quarterly schedule, by sending me your stories on computer disk. WordPerfect 5.x or 6.x, any version of MS Word prior to 7.0, or even straight ASCII text is acceptable; if you're working in some other system on a PC-compatible platform, let me know. If you're running low on computer disks, let me know that too; we have loaners to spare. Mail all submissions to:
Haven Weyr
c/o Mark Eric Stein
1028 Boulevard, Suite 240
West Hartford, CT 06119-1801
or e-mail to Weyrleaders@haven.org with the word SUBMISSION in the subject line.
So now I'm juggling, just like R'naldo. The Ensign's further adventures will wait a little, while we get this issue to press. Lots of people have been waiting a long time.
For information concerning art, write to:
Shanti Fader 340 11th Street Apt. 3D Brooklyn, NY 11215 Or email to weyr@haven.org
For information regarding Fact Pack, Mis-B-Haven, and miscellaneous
Haven publications, write to:
Kris Burger PO Box 87 Dunellen, NJ 08812 Or email to gleep@haven.org