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Aug 20

11 Comments

Gack, ack and crap

Between a laptop that died last week, ongoing issues with my internet carrier and the fact I’m heading out to the orthopedic surgeon’s office in short order, life’s not been fun lately. It also means I haven’t had a chance to figure out a post for today. So I’m leaving it up to you guys until the kilted one posts this afternoon.

Here’s your chance to suggest topics, ask questions, etc. I’ll check in later and try to respond. Until then, I need coffee and good wishes that the doc decides my shoulder doesn’t need surgery.

Later!

Aug 19

15 Comments

The Rising Tide

I had one of those interesting days today, at least, in the ancient Chinese curse sense. In part, anyway. It’s the start of national book week here in Oz, and, I may be trifle biased but a love of reading is greatest gift we can give to children, to the future.

Now, for me, crowds are a hardship. I am very sound and movement sensitive, maybe because I am kind of proof of this whole evolution thing, as in I’m a little primitive. Both little and primitive, that is. Being an urban-dweller requires coping well with a sea of noise and movement, ignoring most of it, and shutting out peripheral stimulus. Your little hunter-gatherer who does this ends up either very hungry, or very dead, or, mostly, both. I was raised in hunter-gatherer tradition, and there’s a lot of it my family history, in my genes, I suspect. I guess I am one of yesterday’s people, to the modern world. But I still have to live in it, a little. Read more

Aug 18

9 Comments

Writing at Speed: Good, Bad, or Painful?

I tend to write faster than some, slower than some. This isn’t really good or bad, except that in the indie market, quantity helps increase (sales) quality. I wrote 93K words on a novel between July 4 and August 8, with a few days off due to Life. As well as writing most of four short stories, plus blogging.

That’s not a brag, just a statement. My schedule gives me three months (mostly) off, and so I made the best of my time. Most people don’t have that luxury. Plus, as I said above, I can write very quickly when the story moves me.

This isn’t always good. Read more

Aug 17

26 Comments

Maslow and Conan

When I started thinking about writing this post I was torn between two topics: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and Conan the Barbarian not-the-story-but-the-movie. I’m not going to try and analyze the latter based off the former, as tempting as the ridiculousness of that is. I’m not, because I haven’t finished the movie. I was watching it as homework for a short I should be writing. I actually bought a DVD player (we had never needed one before as we don’t really consume film type media), and my dear First Reader and I cuddled on the couch (also a first, we tend to abandon the living room to the teens who take up every available square inch of flat space) and we turned on the flick. We expected cheesy, corny, all the tropes of B movies. What we didn’t expect was that about half-way through (Conan and his sidekick are about to find the temple of the two-headed snake) we’d get bored, really bored, and wander off to do something else. We’ll come back to it. It’s homework for me, after all. It’s just that, on that hierarchy of needs, it’s not even on the scale. Read more

Aug 16

9 Comments

Weaving a Series

[This is going to be short, as I’m on vacation, escaping the Texas heat]

What do you do when you are avoiding writing by looking at all the horrible half written stories that never got finished . . . And you realize you’ve got your hands on exactly what your series needs.

“Yes!” The Muse clutches it in delight. “It’s perfect! Get writing!” Read more

Aug 15

12 Comments

Apropos of Covers…

The group writing blog, Writers in the Storm, Melinda VanLone recently had a different take on covers. Some of the points underline what Sarah, Cedar, and others have said – covers are not first and foremost works of art. They are tools for selling.

The second point… I’m not entirely sure about, although based on the problem on the ‘Zon with “Just what is Urban Fantasy anyway?”

Read more

Aug 15

27 Comments

Forever Krasnovia

In the ongoing war between our beloved Krasnovia and the evil Pineland, many waffle makers have been harmed. Moose and squirrel have issued a call to arms.

The floor is now yours to describe the ongoing battle for the best waffle and freedom from mediocre sandwiches.

 

Featured image credited to Emily M. via FB.

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