Lyn Worthen's home page

(a work in progress)
by Lyn Worthen
Will abduct for food.
Tara Clark took a second glance at the crude, hand-lettered placard hanging around the alien's neck as she waited for the streetlight to change. Times were hard all over. But the alien, pale and shivering in his shabby coat in the early evening twilight of rush hour, seemed like an enterprising sort. He'd make out all right.
On a sudden impulse, she grabbed the combo meal bag off the seat beside her, dug out the burger and tossed it out the window to the alien. Then the light changed, and Tara drove away, a last glance in the rear-view showing the alien busily devouring the hamburger.
Tara drove away, munching on her fries, and never gave the alien another thought.

To be continued...

# # #
On Writing Science Fiction & Fantasy...
In college, I majored in Psychology and Communications; since college, I've worked in the computer industry. With that kind of background, it stands to reason that I would just naturally become a science fiction writer, right?
Okay, so the science fiction I write is less technical and touches more of the social issues involved when people ("the things are also people") interact. I like to think of it as the justification of my college degree.
My approach to fantasy is much the same--whether it's high fantasy or contemporary, I'm generally looking more at the people than at the process: How do the individuals involved deal with their magical talents, how do they cope with the magic another is wielding, whether for good or ill? Just what is the "price of power"?
At the moment, I believe the only piece of mine that is currently in print is the very first SF story I sold. "Rumors of My Death," is a very short, humorous story published in Washed by a Wave of Wind: Science Fiction from the Corridor, an anthology of SF stories written by authors from the "corridor" running from Idaho southward to Arizona. The anthology was edited by M. Shayne Bell, and was published by Signature Books of Salt Lake City, Utah, 1993. (ISBN 1-56085-038-8, in case you were wondering.)
"Having a real job" (more on that below) and the transition to being a single parent (more on that wa-a-y below) have taken their toll on my fiction writing, but I'm back in production, and if the muses stay with me, hope to add to my "shameless self-promotion" list of published fiction. To accomplish this goal, I have designated 2001 as the year I fabricate time, since I've been less than successful at previous attempts at either stealing it or finding it lying around, unused. (I'm hopeful that my attempts at temporal alchemy will be more successful in the new millenium!)

On being a Technical Writer...
To support my fiction-writing hobby, I have a "day job" as a technical writer/editor, primarily in the computer industry. I find this amusing, as in college I not only actively avoided computer classes, but was one of those rotten people who would gleefully "bump into" my friends while they were carrying their carefully sorted punch cards to the mainframe room....
Only goes to show that the gods do have a sense of humor!
Over the past fourteen years I've personally written training materials and end user documentation for a wide range of products. I've participated in CBT development (and provided voice-over for many hours of CBT training). I've overseen the creation of online help files and other documentation projects. I've edited thousands of pages written by other writers on our teams, and often held project management/team management responsibilities. It's a good field to be in, and I've been fortunate to work with great people.
I also continue to take on independent contract projects myself as a way of whittling away at the student loan without damaging the monthly budget. If you have writing, editing, course development, CBT design and scripting, or voice-over work that needs to be done, drop me a line. After all, what was it they said in Ghostbusters:
"No job is too big,
No fee is too big..."
All kidding aside, I'd be happy to discuss any needs, small or large, onetime or ongoing. Hey, every little bit counts!

Why I write Single Parenting Articles
As you may (or may not) know, in late 1997, I signed a contract with The Single Parent Resource to provide a series of what I hope are at least somewhat humorous articles dealing with issues facing single parents. Why did I do this? Basically, it's this way:

I frequently see articles about parenting--from a traditional, two-parent point of view. Likewise, I often see articles about singles issues--but again, from the point of view of 'never marrieds.' While interesting and often informative, neither group effectively addressed the issues of single parents--or at least not very many of my issues. So I decided to address them myself.

Brook Noel, the publisher, had some very nice things to say about me in her introduction to my column:
I am pleased to welcome Lyn Worthen to the site. I "met" Lyn through the hard copy newsletter a couple years ago. I have always enjoyed her work and columns and have found them to be humorous, down-to-earth and inspirational. This month (February 1998) we are launching Lyn's column on our site. Each edition we will upload a new piece of her work. To start, there are two great articles. "Musing On Privacy," which is a must read for any parent who has long abandoned the idea that privacy exists. Also there is "So We're Single Again," my all-time favorite piece about the single parent and the quest (or non-quest) for a relationship."

In addition to the articles Brook mentioned in her introduction, there are now two other articles in my collection. "Observations of an Apprentice" talks about some of the adjustments I had to make to my new life as a single parent. While I now have more single-parenting experience under my belt than I did when the article was first written, I have to say that many of the observations I made as an "apprentice" still sound a lot like my life!
In my last article, "You Do What You Gotta Do" I take a look at the cycle I went through as I adjusted to the loss of child-support payments. It's a topic that seldom inspires humor, yet I think I managed to find a few bright spots in my chronicle. If you haven't read it, or the others in the collection yet, please feel free to drop on by! (I've provided individual links to each of my articles over in my "Favorite Links" list). If you enjoy the articles, tell the editor...tell me...and most of all, tell your friends!
(FYI: Brook Noel's book, "The Single Parent Resource," is a great collection of tips and insights (including a reprint of my article "Musings on Privacy") that offers both support and encouragement to single parents. If you're a single parent, or know of one, check it out!)

New Year's Resolutions
Go to the Xenobia Home Page
(Xenobia is the Science Fiction writing group I've belonged to since early 1988!)

Lyn Worthen
lynw@sff.net

This page last modified: Sunday, April 29, 2001

Have a nice* day!....
(*"Nice day" subject to fluctuations in the economy, changes in the weather, and acts of God...)

This page copyright (c) 2001, by Lyn Worthen.
All illustrations used on this page are linked back to their source,
and referenced in the source document for this page.

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...randomly organized, but no preference or endorsement implied! Note: I haven't checked these links in a while. If you run across any that are broken, let me know.