Professionals have a tendency to talk about weather in these sweeping, biblical terms. I had every reason to believe that I was walking into a situation like that in The Thing, a mostly inescapable ice hell, minus the super gross spider head thing. I guess I don't wanna jinx it or whatever, but jeez. There are piles of snow, old snow but it's melting. That's creating its own problems, particularly if you have an old roof, but I was expecting some Fortress of Solitude type shit and it ain't that.

Hey! Now it's Friday, so The Judging Wood can get underway. The way its presented here is as a Daughters of the Eyrewood storyline, but there's another story about the Lookout here - a fairly evil story - that we can tell later if you want. I just got hooked on the girl in his sketchbook and I wanted to know what her deal was. That's when it occurred to me that there are only, like, two people on Earth who could possibly know what her deal was, and I was one of them.

Back to the Lookout, though. I had to learn this when I was doing On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, and it goes even farther in The Lookouts: how to hurt the characters you make. I really don't like doing it. They aren't "real" I guess, but it's still very hard. The book is only the most recent thing I have tried to write, and eventually I had to figure out that - independent of what you might require in a story - the characters won't know what they need to know later unless I tell them. They'll be at a disadvantage if I don't give them every benefit. I have to give them experience. And not every experience is good.

It is Friday, March 6th, which means that PAX East is about to get underway. I am the easiest person in the world to talk to, so if you see me there and if you need something from me, let me know. There are many asymmetries in our relationship, to be sure, but in a few non-trivial ways you are essentially my employer. So you can expect cowed deference from me, in keeping with your exalted station.

(CW)TB out.