Some good observations from Sweden

I found this entry on the blog of A.R. Yngve, a sharp young Swedish s-f author, posted March 9:

"American writer Lou Antonelli's short story "A Rocket for the Republic" is one of the nominees for this year's Nebula Award. (Note: I may have been nominated for the Nebula but I certainly didn't make the ballot.)
The story was published in ASIMOV's Science Fiction Magazine last year, but the author has now kindly made "A Rocket for the Republic" available for free reading on his website, here.
It's a fun story, and a prime example of the most natural format (or style) of fiction: the first-person account. This is how the art of storytelling began: someone says "You should have seen what happened when I..."
Maybe this is how everyone who wants to be a writer should begin: don't bother with the fancy stuff -- start with what makes it fun! As an exercise, tell a story first-person. Even if the character in a story isn't YOU, you can open your mouth and speak it: "One day I was walking through the forest, on my way to see a sick relative, when I saw an animal caught in a bear trap..."
If you're the parent of a small child, you may already be this kind of storyteller: if you improvise a bedtime story for your kid. The next step is to write your tale down. (Don't laugh: J.K. Rowling started out by making up stories to entertain her kids.)

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Well, basically, he got it.