To Plan Or Not To Plan Or Somewhere In Between (Editorial – June 2026).
Hello everyone,
Being able to plan is part of life. You have to anticipate problems, select solutions and apply them. Planning permeates almost every aspect of our lives. It improves organisational skills, even if you did not have many to begin with. If you are already organised, it simply becomes another useful tool.
Solutions tend to fall into two categories: short-term and long-term. They might not always be the best solutions, but long-term decisions can always be reviewed and adjusted once you see the consequences. That flexibility is important. It would be rare to go through life without some form of planning, even if you do not consciously recognise it as such. After all, we learn as much from bad solutions as we do from good ones.
Everyone has some organisational ability or they would never manage to put a meal on the table. It might not be a particularly good meal, but even then you learn what you do not like. From there, the idea broadens out into taste and choice, and perhaps explains why some people enjoy science fiction while others do not. The real geniuses are the people who can balance multiple choices across every aspect of their lives. Even so, the art lies in finding better solutions to old problems.
I am less convinced that people lack planning ability than I am that they simply believe they do. One thing I learned while working in laboratories was that by organising my time more effectively, I actually gained more free time. Efficiency can be surprisingly rewarding. Applying such methods is largely experimental. If one approach does not work, try another. Occasionally review your methods in case there is a better way.
Oddly enough, you do not become overloaded with tasks when your aim is simply to complete a sensible number of jobs properly each day. That demonstrates a degree of organisational skill. As I have mentioned before, I once believed everyone was creative. I later realised creativity is a distinct skill that not everyone possesses to the same degree. You do not need creativity to be organised, but when organisation and creativity are combined, they provide an advantage because they allow you to see a wider range of possibilities. In many ways, that is what managing your time is really about.
Every good decision strengthens your ability to make future good decisions. That does not mean you will never make mistakes, only that you learn to make fewer of them. It is something anyone can improve.
I catalogue my various collections, largely to avoid duplication. It still happens occasionally, but nowhere near as often as it would otherwise. The same applies to reviews. When there are over 11,000 reviews in the database and around 3,000 of them are mine, organisation becomes essential. It does not mean I remember every title, but a brief reminder is usually enough to trigger my memory. Building a useful catalogue can take a lot of effort initially, but afterwards it is mostly a matter of maintenance. If it is a collection you genuinely love, the effort hardly feels like work.
That does not mean I cannot be flexible. There are levels of obsession that I see no need to reach. You cannot catalogue your entire life. Trying to record every event would be impossible, and you would still miss things. Do you really need to know how many times your heart has beaten or how many meals you have eaten? If you think you are that obsessive, try calculating an average day and then see how quickly the figures become meaningless when you are ill or on holiday. Eventually, everything becomes an approximation.
There are practical benefits as well. Organisational skills look good on a CV and provide useful material for interviews, provided you do not come across as confrontational or superior. It is better to present such skills as a willingness to explore possibilities and improve processes. Think about your own job. How many of you were shown what to do on your first day and then copied that method for years before eventually finding a more efficient approach?
People generally like routine. It is only disrupted by major events such as changing jobs or going on holiday, and even then many people prefer holidays that follow familiar patterns. There is nothing wrong with routine, especially if you can improve it in ways that work for you.
Take today, for example. I was waiting until the last minute to see whether the world was still going to be here and wondering what to fill this editorial with. The world is still here… just. So I thought I would give you something to think about instead. Deep thoughts do not always require a lot of words. Sometimes they simply require a little reflection. Organisation is often nothing more than writing down a few ideas and seeing where they lead. Consider this a small insight into how my own mind works.
Thank you, take care, good night, and a little organisation.
Geoff Willmetts
Editor: http://www.SFcrowsnest.info.
Submissions:-
If having free books to review is not enough, how about reading them months before everyone else? Real months. It beats a time machine, and the world is still here.
I once thought that providing a lengthy explanation about submitting material to SFcrowsnest would attract the sort of people who enjoy reading and understanding things in the true geek tradition. The problem with the Internet is that it often encourages people to read less, so perhaps it is time for a different approach. The original notes remain in the July 2009 editorial, although many of the links are unlikely to work now.
When you send a cover email, tell me something about yourself so I am not working in a vacuum. The boss in the tower, also known as Stephen Hunt, describes me as a “Dutch Uncle”. In other words, I am happy to offer advice and point out problems when I see them. Leave your ego at the door. I am only interested in your talent and helping you improve it.
Reviews:-
I am always on the lookout for new reviewers. If you are willing to learn, you will soon pick up the ropes, even if you have never reviewed before. However, I do need to see a sample of your work, particularly if you can follow our guidelines.
We can usually obtain paper books for reviewers in the UK. If you live abroad, you may need to stick to ebooks. If you choose a book we have not already reviewed, it stands a much better chance of being assigned, so use the SFcrowsnest search engine first. Most importantly, I need to see how you would write for us.
The main qualification is a desire to read regularly and tell other people about what you have read without giving away too many spoilers. The reward is access to free books in exchange for a review.
I want to give you every opportunity to get things right, so please read the Review Guidelines:
Fiction:-
Although we cannot pay for submissions, we can offer exposure. Only the Sci-Fi Channel receives more hits than SFcrowsnest, so publication here is worthwhile for any writer’s CV.
Please do not send extracts from novels you are currently writing or material that has already been published elsewhere. I do check. Original, unpublished work is always preferred.
Whether I accept or reject your submission, I will explain any problems I find so that your work can improve. I also provide a level of grammar checking comparable to the professional publishing world. Even the boss finds me alarmingly accurate.
Flash Fiction Or One-Page Stories:-
The title largely explains itself. The shortest fiction is often the hardest to write because every word must earn its place.
Details can be found here:
Short Stories:-
For our purposes, a short story is anything up to about 30 pages. Beyond that, it begins to edge into novella territory.
Remember that people will be reading your work online. Somewhere between five and twenty pages is usually ideal. At least in the digital world you do not need double spacing, as HTML handles the formatting automatically. The important thing is to be concise.
If you wish to send an attachment, please ask first. If approved, send it as a TXT file, which avoids many of the problems associated with more complex file formats.
For further information, see:
https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/so-you-really-want-to-write-an-sf-story-an-update-by-gf-willmetts/
Finally:-
The most common problem I encounter in submissions is poor grammar. I am not looking for perfection, but the less time I spend correcting grammar, the more time I can spend helping with other aspects of your writing.
Good grammar will also serve you well if you ever submit work to traditional publishers. Many editors simply reject poorly presented manuscripts because they do not have the time to fix them.
Grammar is one of the essential tools of any writer. Do not rely solely on what you learned at school. There are plenty of excellent grammar books available, and it is worth refreshing your knowledge. If the rules seem overwhelming, focus on mastering the most important ones first. Eventually they become second nature.
This guide covers many of the most common problems:
https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/the-guide-to-better-grammar-from-the-harrowed-hand-of-gf-willmetts/
To submit material, use our email address by removing the spaces shown here:
letters @ SFcrowsnest.info
Please make sure the subject line clearly states what you are submitting.
If you have a pastime, hobby or interest that could make an interesting article, let me know and we will see whether it can be developed for publication.
Comments on reviews should continue to work as before.
Good luck,
Geoff
