I'm Dense When It Comes To Discouragement.

A Good Short-story Writer Has An Instinct For Sketching In Just Enough Background To Ground The Specific Story.

During The Many Centuries That Magic, Here On This Planet, Was Presumed To Have Worked, There Were At Least As Many Theories As To How Magic Worked As There Were Cultures And Religions.

That Bedrock Faith That I Could Write Was What Blinded Me To Attempts To Discourage Me.

Ideas Aren't Magical; The Only Tricky Part Is Holding On To One Long Enough To Get It Written Down.

The Money Can Be Decent, But I Really Don't Recommend The Work-for-hire Route As An Entry Into Publishing. Too Many Things Can Go Wrong.