On 2nd thought I don't think an omniscient narrator is necessary. I just got rid of the words readers didn't get.

About the title. What I meant by it was that humans are singular beings, having only one self, and also that Newmia is a singular being since the Imray, at least the ones she knows about, place a high value on conformity, and she is different.

So why was I thinking of changing it?

Octopus pictures

Paul pix & video

They keyword is UNDERWATER INVERTEBRATE. Has no bones, doesn't hold its shape.

Next up: "A Singular Being" to the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, though I'm still considering changing the title.

2 things are helping me think about this story:

1. I'm reading Unbelievable by Stacy Horn, which is about the parapsychology lab at Duke University, and the attempt to scientifically prove or disprove the existence of ESP. My sci-fi story is about alien beings among whom 2 abilities considered "paranormal" here on Earth are universal: ESP & the ability to appear without one's body, both during life and after death.

2. Paul the psychic octopus. Not because of his ability to pick World Cup soccer winners, but because he is an octopus. My aliens are sentient octopuses. The ubiquitous pictures and videos of Paul over the last few days have given me an image of what they actually look like & how they move that all my research never did. I can't remember why I chose octopuses, but my research into the life, death, & habits of octopuses has driven the plot in some odd directions. I wanted to tell a story in which a young alien from a species that doesn't know the sort of permanent loss humans experience at every turn observes a bereaved human & is upset by the sadness.

What's funny is that to tell a story about beings who don't know loss I chose a creature that doesn't live very long. But that's kind of the point, they experience death a lot but not permanent loss because on their world the dead & the living have no trouble communicating. That brings me right back to #1, because what the Duke scientists were really trying to prove or disprove was that something of us survives death.

3. My experience with Critters Writers Workshop, both from the "reviewer" and the "reviewee" side has taught me that the reader's ability to read your mind depends solely on your ability to put it into words. Should I explicity say they're octopuses? Should I introduce an omniscient narrator?

After submitting "The Daily Grind" to THE NEW YORKER, I also submitted 3 poems to MOONDANCE: CELEBRATING CREATIVE WOMEN. I really only wanted to submit the one about Nina, now titled "What Is It About Nina?" but they want 3-5. I picked the 2 in my poetry folder I thought were the best, titled "The Pre-Med" (which I wrote while at Pomona College) and one I just retitled "At the Library" because I know I initially wrote it at the library at UCSB, and I think that title will add to the reader's appreciation of the poem. I don't really understand the poetry market, don't read it, only write it once in awhile. When I was very young, high school and college, it's mostly what I wrote, and if I'd pursued that path my whole life might have been different.

I don't think MOONDANCE is very organized about submissions, or rejections, anyway. I had one acceptance from them, and no reply ever to my next submission.

My submission might stand a better chance if I had submitted 3 poems about special women in my life instead of 1 about a special woman, 1 about some guy, and one about some weird moment freshman year. But the poem about my cousin Hillary that I wrote for her 50th birthday struck me as incomplete, and the one about a woman that was special to me in my teens made me cringe. So i picked the 2 that i thought were best.

There's also a poem I wrote about my husband years ago that I couldn't find to evaluate whether I thought it was any good or not. That drives me crazy. I suppose it will turn up. It's not on the computer.

I did it! I submitted "The Daily Grind" to THE NEW YORKER!