11/3 - Writing a #pandemicstory @medium on the occasion of the WHO declaring the novel coronavirus outbreak a pandemic:

"On 31 December 2019, WHO was informed of cases of #pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan City, #China. A total of 44 cases have been reported: 11 patients are severely ill, while the remaining 33 are in stable condition." - WHO on Twitter

@standback

Apart from "It'll never be over" message, the story's conclusion spoke to my own preoccupation with how our addiction to social meda and living through our screens can begin to erase the real people in our physical environment or even, by colonising our minds with a million crowd-spawned thoughts, erase our own selves.

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@standback
It really does work as a pandemic story. There's a warning in it: that things may appear back to normal, but they aren't and never will be. DId it surprise me? Only in a good way: the writer cleverly dropping clues about what's happening, but I could only put it together at the end.

#sffshortsclub #bookclub #TenStepsForEffectiveMoldRemoval #PandemicStory

As the story progresses, we learn that the mold makes things (and people) invisible to others.

What did you think of as a conclusion? What is being said here? Is this, too, keyed to our real-life pandemic, or is it speaking about something more universal?

#sffshortsclub #bookclub #TenStepsForEffectiveMoldRemoval #PandemicStory

Elephant in the room: this very much feels like a pandemic story, referencing a lot of experiences with COVID-19.

What do you look for in new fiction that addresses the pandemic? Have you read other pandemic fiction you've enjoyed? Did this piece work for you, as a pandemic story? Did it surprise you? /+

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Second week of #sffshortsclub!
Today's story is "Ten Steps for Effective Mold Removal," by #DerrickBoden, published in #ApexMagazine.

>If you’re looking for a cheap way to kill all this mold—and who isn’t, right now—look no further than Inkicide Disinfectant Concentrate 64oz (4 bottles).<

Story here: https://apex-magazine.com/short-fiction/ten-steps-for-effective-mold-removal/

Some convo openers downthread.
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