Filed under 1-15 minutes , 20th Century AD , 25-50 cents , Fantasy , Fiction , Gerencer, Tom , Humor , SF Short Story , Science Fiction , Short Story , Speculative , Tom Gerencer

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Also by Gerencer:
Demo Mode by Tom Gerencer
Primordial Chili by Tom Gerencer
A Taste of Damsel by Tom Gerencer

Other SF:
A Green Thumb by Tobias S. Buckell
A Song Before Sunset by David Rowland Grigg
The Magic Shop by H.G. Wells
Other Voices, Other Worlds by Bruce Boston
Amaryllis Radio, Episode 1: Lovers Argue

It's true that you have to write a million words of crap before you write one good one. Tom Gerencer started writing when he was ten and didn't write his first good word until somewhere around 1997. It was "cucumber," he remembers, and he was exceedingly proud of it. He sent it off to Gordon Van Gelder at F&SF, who said he liked the word, but thought it needed more work before it could see print. Encouraged, Tom redoubled his efforts, but it was some time before he would write another good word, and for the next three years he just kept writing "ostrich." Tom lives in Maine, but doesn't feel comfortable writing anywhere other than Parmus, New Jersey. You can buy reprinted versions of his stories at Fictionwise or visit him on the web at his website [new windows]