Sep
30
Deathmatches & Quakes: Literature Goes Gladiatorial
September 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Let’s wonder for a moment what it means when a society goes all ancient Rome on itself, turning to voyeurism and even violence and booze slugging hedonism (*some exaggeration needed to make my point) to enliven old forms of art and entertainment so that they will appeal to the increasingly jaded brains of its youth. [...]
Sep
23
How to Break The Rules of NaNoWriMo
September 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Ok guys, this year I am posting about NaNoWriMo and then I am actually going to take part in it. Yes dears, I will be partaking, and maybe you should too? Here’s why: I am breaking the rules, and by doing so I am creating an environment where it’s completely fine for me to fail. [...]
Sep
16
Emoticons: Clunky Cheats?
September 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment
There are two schools of thought on the subject of emoticons. They are clunky cheats used by inelegant writers who are incapable of delivering emotional cues in text. They are a form of punctuation – a symbol that denotes tone and voice – and they have been in good use for hundreds of years. There [...]
Sep
9
Tools of The Trade
September 9, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Let’s talk about the objects that make writing and reading fun. My fantasy writing desk looks like this: …but in reality, the way I like to work is with my laptop in bed (yes, the covers pulled up to my waist as I am propped up in a quasi-half-sitting-half-reclining position by several squishy pillows, in [...]
Sep
2
Secret Places
September 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment
If you’re unable to just pack it up and go on a roadtrip, one option is to just get totally weird in your own backyard. Pretty much every somewhere has something secret, something eccentric, something unspeakable – and for people who like fiction or like to write it, those sorts of attractions are invaluable brain [...]