DargonZine
Volume 14, Number 1 |
Distributed: 2/4/2001
Circulation: 771 |
 |
DargonZine is the publication vehicle of the
Dargon Project, a collaborative group of aspiring fantasy writers on the
Internet. We welcome new readers and writers interested in joining the
project. Please address all correspondence to
<dargon@shore.net>
or visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.dargonzine.org/. Back
issues are available from
ftp.shore.net
in members/dargon/. Issues and public discussion are posted to newsgroup
rec.mag.dargon.
DargonZine 14-1, ISSN 1080-9910, (C) Copyright February, 2001
by the Dargon Project. Editor: Ornoth D.A. Liscomb
<ornoth@shore.net>,
Assistant Editor: Jon Evans
<godling@mnsinc.com>.
All rights reserved. All rights are reassigned to the individual
contributors. Stories and artwork appearing herein may not be reproduced
or redistributed without the explicit permission of their creators, except
in the case of freely reproducing entire issues for further distribution.
Reproduction of issues or any portions thereof for profit is forbidden.
|
Editorial
n my previous Editorial, I described some of our major
accomplishments and events in 2000, our sixteenth year on the Internet.
We put out a record number of issues containing more fiction than ever
before, improved our feedback loop by giving you the ability to rate
each story you read, and more. In this Editorial we'll look forward, and
I'll give you an idea what we're planning for 2001, our seventeenth
year.
So what can you look forward to in coming months? We plan on giving
our Web site, which was introduced back in 1995, a substantial overhaul
in the latter half of the year, and prior to that point we'll be
soliciting lots of input from you, our audience. That will be a major
focus this year, and you can expect to hear more regarding that in
forthcoming Editorials.
We're also working on several enhancements that will make
DargonZine's huge body of fiction more accessible to everyone, and
especially to new readers. Toward that end, we're developing a summary
of Dargon's history in the form of a timeline, to help you more easily
understand the background of our stories. We're also just finishing up
adding lots of context to the "references" section of our Online
Glossary, which will make it easier for you to follow the threads of
connection between stories. And this year we will be publishing the
results of our immense effort at mapping the city of Dargon, and that
should give you a much more detailed image of the town we write about.
In recent years we haven't spent much time helping our readers get up to
speed on the extensive setting we've built, and in 2001 we hope to
reverse that trend.
In addition to those efforts, we'll continue doing a lot of
additional work behind the scenes to better serve our contributing
writers. Our push toward incorporation will continue, and we'll once
again gather for our annual Dargon Writers' Summit, this year in San
Jose, California. We're building up a reference library of lessons
learned and revising our FAQs for writers, as well as enhancing the
systems that allow us to keep cranking out fiction for you. And although
DargonZine itself is strictly noncommercial in nature, some of our
authors aspire to commercial success, and they've initiated a
"publishing challenge" amongst the group to see who can be the first to
get paid publishing credits.
This is going to be a pivotal year for us. As you can see, we've
identified a number of very ambitious goals, and are more focused than
ever on improving what we do, both for you, our readers, as well as for
the aspiring authors who are at the heart of this magazine's mission. I
hope you continue to stay with us and enjoy the work we put forth for
you.
This issue is a great snapshot of three representative Dargon
writers, and three different types of stories, all at different points
in their evolution.
Our first story is a standalone tale from a brand-new writer, R. F.
Niro. He joined the group last May, and I hope you'll enjoy his first
effort for DargonZine. It's not uncommon for stories to take nine to
twelve months to go from concept to publication, and "The Target that
Eludes Me" is typical. Although the first draft was essentially done in
July, the story went through five major revisions before it was ready to
print. During that time it was commented on and critiqued dozens of
times, and I'm sure the author would agree that although the process was
lengthy and sometimes frustrating, it has improved both this particular
story and his skills as a writer. Mr. Niro's experience is typical of a
writer who has recently joined the group.
Our second story is the first chapter in a short series. It comes
from a writer who has been with us over a year now: P. Atchley. After
having her first story printed last year, she began working with another
Dargon writer on a joint collaboration. In addition to writing, she has
volunteered for projects that help us better serve our readers and
writers. Ms. Atchley will be using her co-authoring experience as the
basis for assembling a document full of lessons learned that could be
shared with other writers who might be embarking on a collaborative
effort. Like most writers who have been with the project a year or two,
Ms. Atchley isn't just benefiting from the project, but is also
thinking about how she can give back to the group and make it work
better for everyone. DargonZine couldn't work without this kind of
"above and beyond" contribution from our participating writers.
The issue is rounded out with another installment of Dafydd's
"Talisman" series. In contrast to Mr. Niro's standalone tale and Ms.
Atchley's short series, "Talisman" is more like a serialized novel, with
this chapter being the 26th installment. Dafydd also represents our
veterans. He's approaching his fifteenth anniversary with us and has
printed an astonishing 45 stories. His role on the project has changed
over time, including running the show for several years. His knowledge
of the world of Dargon is unsurpassed, and his opinions respected. When
you've been with the project for five or ten years, DargonZine seems
like an integral part of your life, and its community of writers will
include lifelong friendships.
So that's both an introduction to this issue, an overview of some
different types of stories, and a look at the different phases that
Dargon writers go through over time. I hope you enjoy the results of
these writers' hard work, and as always, thanks for your continuing
interest in DargonZine!
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