DRAM and Dialog are hard.

I've been tinkering with some projects for a technical book proposal (oh, don't get me started, I'll foam at the mouth) and I've discovered something the old-school geeks all knew: interfacing DRAM is hard. Precision timing isn't quite in my grasp yet. Looks like I'll be saving that project for another book, or something.

Anyway, all is well. I've not abandoned my fiction career, just put it on hold for a while. In doing so, I've had the chance to sit back and really think about my work and what bugs me about the recent stuff. Dialog, in particular, has been a problem. People just *whoosh* spill their guts. So what's left to talk about? While indirect communication frequently annoys me in real life, it's fundamental to fiction, as Connie Willis pointed out in her recent panel at Mile High Con. I need to revisit Brass and Steel and see if I can't tighten the dialog (especially the narration) with that in mind. Season's greetings to all three of you. :)

-JRS