This editorial originally appeared in www.AstoundingTales.com.

It was Ray Bradbury who once described witnessing a horrific car crash and how it inspired one of his short stories. (My good friend Keith tells me that the story was titled, "The Crowd" and appeared in "Weird Tales" May 1943.) Anyway, it happened on an empty street in the middle of the day and by the time he got over to the car, and saw the injured passengers, the street was filled with silent, watching, pedestrians. That got him to thinking as to where all these people came from and why they were there.

Over the past two years I have read hundreds of submissions. And unfortunately, a huge number of them fall into the "Car Crash" school of writing. Essentially, they describe a car crash. Now, you may think I'm bashing Ray but the truth is, I'm not. Ray is a master storyteller and he took his idea to a higher level. The difference between him and many of the people who I've read is that he asked a very important question - why.

You can't imagine how frustrating it is to read a story that is filled with beautiful prose, or snappy dialogue, and discover that it is pointless. That it offers no answers, insights, reasons, observations, critique, advice, or meaning. That, in fact, it says NOTHING.

Now I know that some people like this kind of fiction. Life is meaningless so therefore stories should reflect the pointlessness of it all. "I got up. I brushed my teeth. I found my wife dead in the kitchen. I went to work." End of story. There are entire schools of literature that follow this philosophy. That's CRAP!

Ok, I've said it and I'm not taking it back. CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!

The stories that touch people are about something. Think about your favorite novel, short story, movie, etc., etc., etc. (Don't include TV comedy's cause they specialize in pointless stories.) Why do you love them? Cause they told you something that you want to remember. Even if what they told you is that life is meaningless, I'll bet hard cash that you were moved by the character's struggle to find meaning in his life - even if he failed. And isn't that the point? That people search for meaning even when there is no meaning?

I take it as a sign of an immature writer if he has nothing to say. Look at it this way, why would anyone want to read your story? No, seriously. Having written a story is not enough. Being a nice guy is not enough. People work hard and have limited free time. Why should they invest minutes of their life reading a story that gives them nothing but pretty words? Why would an editor publish such a story?

And yet, time and time again I get beautiful passages describing how "the crimson drops of blood speckled the snow like so many rose petals cast aside by the hand of a careless lover" yet the author gives me no reason to care. You would think that the author would like me to understand why this blood was spilt, or how that affected the characters, but so often he stops at the fact that it has been spilt. Recounting the facts, even if it is fiction, is journalism and not literature. Give me some meaning.

Now before everyone jumps up to write me a nasty email, consider this: that you disagree with me doesn't matter. (Oh, my ... Did I just write that your opinion doesn't matter?)

Relax. Take a breath. Let it out slowly. I don't mean that your opinion doesn't really matter. Of course it does. But in the context of this editorial you need to remember some very important things. I'm the Editor. I'm the guy who picks the stories. I'm the one you need to win over. There's no point in arguing with me that my opinions are all wrong. They're my opinions. And like it or not, they will color my decisions. So if you are trying to write for this e-zine, you would do well to realize what it is you're dealing with. If I said I hate chicken. Would you offer to buy me lunch at K.F.C? Not if you were serious about getting me to have lunch with you.

Selling a story is exactly the same. Learn the editor's tastes. Listen when he tells you what he likes or dislikes. If your style meshes with his - great! Get to work. If it doesn't, move on. There are plenty of magazines that specialize in "depressing, pointless, heartless, literature" - write for one of them.

But if I ask you to find the "heart" in your story and you're wondering what that means, it's this -- Give me a reason to care. I read to find meaning in the story. Leave the depressing "life sucks and nobody cares" stuff to the high school kids. They'll grow out of it. You should too.