I want one

Though, honestly, wouldn't this draw a few odd looks at the office?

http://www.metronaps.com/

I predict that you'd have one person camped out there at all hours, refusing to acknowledge any else's time slots, another person whose lack of hygiene would require the pod to be sanitized before anyone else will get near it, another person who booby-traps it for giggles, and another who slaps the dome every time they walk by. Come on...office politics can ruin any good idea.

It does raise a question though--yes, one I can apply to writing, so it counts for this blog.

What helps you be more productive? Is there some ritual, habit or otherwise that you use to keep your mind fresh and working? Is it a midday nap? A particular snack? Working out? Sealing yourself in a padded room?

For me, simply getting up every so often and walking around keeps me alert. If I sit in a chair, staring straight ahead for too long, the eyes start blurring and words start coming slower. Moving around gets the blood flowing. I tend to mull over stuff as I pace, and a few distracting activities, like getting a drink or checking the mail, gets done during these periodic breaks so they don't interfere with the writing sessions that follow.

But would a pod like this actually help at work? Why not let people bring in yoga mats, and then hand hand out graham crackers and milk before turning out the lights for half an hour? We now need an $8,000 chair to nap? Something that kindergartners do without even trying?

What's your refreshing writing tip? Share your secret.


I see that smile.

Is science fiction dying?

Can a genre become obsolete?

Bruno Maddox, over in Discover magazine makes a startling statement as he observes participants of the Nebula Award weekend--

"Science fiction, the genre that lit the way for a nervous mankind as it crept through the shadows of the 20th century, has suddenly and entirely ceased to matter."

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/aug/blinded-by-science

Now why would he make this claim? He draws attention to the various ways science fiction has shaped our modern society, both for good or bad--such as using the term "Frankenstein" in conjunction with today's genetic research and tampering, or the shrinking of privacy and growth of government surveillance as "Orwellian."

Maddox says it's because science fiction has lost its connection to the actual sciences which are its underpinning, and such technologies or physics simply become a plot point for a spiffy story. He also lists another factor in that works of fiction (in all genres) have lost their place in society as a vehicle for significant ideas and philosophies. This is due to things like shortened attention spans, the Internet, etc. People go to books for pure entertainment, rather than anything that might change their mindset and the way they view the world. This is arguable, in my opinion. I do accede that a lot of people read for the escapist aspect, but that lowering of mental defenses in order to be entertained makes it all the easier for an author to subtly insert their worldview, faith and philosophy of life throughout the actions of their characters and the entire setup for their story in the first place.

Lastly, science fiction is endangered by the way in which the world is speeding up. Technology and science in the real world is bounding forward at such astounding speeds that our natural sense of curiosity and amazement is being fulfilled without having to pick up a book. Why shell out for fictional technology when what we have is pretty amazing in itself? iPods and iPhones are two obvious examples, along with wireless Internet and the slowly growing practice of private space flight.

David Louis Edelman also touched on this.

The end of science fiction

He asks whether anyone can name a science fiction story in which the characters themselves tell futuristic science fiction stories? Will there come a point where we are no longer writing about potential futures, but living them? Will there be a time where we will understand our universe so well that nothing is speculative anymore?

Or will there always be another frontier to explore? Another level of science that can be drawn out into the wild unknowns and open the way for a whole new kind of story?

Debate at will.


I see that smile.

Here she is

Her name is China. She's 5 months old, 35 pounds, and fortunately, does not have rabies.



This is us beginning the "obey us" training where she learns all sorts of neat tricks like sitting and responding to her name.

She started out rather frightened of the stairs, for some reason, but seems to have gotten over that. Then we tuckered her out with a romp in the nearby park. A little house-breaking seems to be in order, but she seems to be a quick learner. Good thing we have all wood floors.

Oh, and she likes to chase pigeons. Thus we have now become that "couple-with-a-pet-in-lieu-of-kids." Anyone out there want to debate over which is easier to raise? Children or puppies?

I see that smile.

Adding to the family

The wife and I are off to Jersey today to pick up our new puppy from the adoption agency. China, who is a 5 month old Shar Pei-Lab mix, will be coming back with us, hopefully to stay.

Pictures will be forthcoming. In the meantime, in honor of yesterday's fascinating post, here is:

17 Things You Didn't Know About Your Brain.


I see that smile.

Man with a tiny brain

No, I'm not insulting anyone. This has really shown up in a medical study. This guy has a tiny brain. In fact, doctors estimate he's had a 50-75% reduction in brain volume, which has been replaced with fluid.

How did this happen?

Apparently he had a shunt inserted when he was 14 to reduce a condition known as hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain." Once that shunt was removed, for whatever reason, the tiny chambers that hold cerebrospinal fluid (which cushions the brain) underwent massive expansion over the many years until it reached his condition today.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12301-man-with-tiny-brain-shocks-doctors.html

He has lived an entirely normal life and is now 44 years old. There were no outward signs of this condition, and it was only discovered during an examination that started because of mild weakness in one of his legs.

On the left is the scan of this man's brain, while on the right is what a normal brain looks like.

Astounding, no? Doctors are saying this is a prime example of brain plasticity, where the brain adapts to damage by adjusting different parts of itself to handle various functions that it wasn't originally intended to do.

I think this is way cool. To see something most people would have considered entirely impossible be a reality...I don't know why it grabs me as it does, but it shows how flexible our bodies can be and how much there is to them that we may never have discovered.


I see that smile.

Fantasist Enterprises

Here's another anthology that's looking for submissions. They want:

...stories of fantasy in East Asian-based settings. We want tales that are heavily influenced by Chinese, Korean, or Japanese folklore and history. We are not looking for stories set in the modern day. The mid-to-late 1800’s is as late as you should venture. Submissions need not be set in our world, but can be set in created worlds that are influenced by the cultures listed above.

http://www.fantasistent.com/

If you don't have a specific story that has this setup, consider the qualifications as more of a challenge than a deterrent.

A few other notes to keep in mind--

No electronic submissions.
Please include a SASE for reply.
Multiple Submissions will be accepted, but please limit them to two.
Submission Period: May 15, 2007 to December 15, 2007
Reading Period: December 15, 2007 to January 15, 2008
Responses will be mailed by January 31, 2008

Or, if you want to submit stories of any theme or subgenre, they have a contest page that runs for entries into their Fantastical Visions anthology. That contest isn't open right yet, but it should be up in late 2007 or 2008.

I hope some of you all take advantage of this. And just for reference, I'm finding most of these anthologies and submission opportunities on Duotrope.com still. Research pays off.


I see that smile.

This is your brain on video games

• Puzzle-solving skills.


• Mental exercise.


• Social dexterity.


• Developing focus, patience, prioritizing...

All this from playing video games?

So says James Gee, a professor of learning sciences at the University of Wisconsin.

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/brain/video-games

"He found that even escapist fantasy games are embedded with one of the core principles of learning—students prosper when the subject matter challenges them right at the edge of their abilities."

And later on, it's said...

"The notion that video games can develop abilities that apply to real-world situations has been expressed by many and is increasingly being put to the test. In October 2006 the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) endorsed video games as a potential means for teaching “higher-order thinking skills, such as strategic thinking, interpretive analysis, problem solving, plan formulation and execution, and adaptation to rapid change.”"

Am I posting this just to rationalize my own game-playing habits? Sure, why not? But it's nice to know that it's not a complete waste of time. A melding of entertainment and learning? Sounds good to me. It's that same blend of exercise and entertainment that the Wii seems to be providing to this generation of couch potatoes. I look forward to sending my children off to school, knowing they'll be blowing up the world and fighting dragons, all while gaining a comprehension of calculus and biospheres.

That day will come. Disagree? Let me know.


I see that smile.

What writers are reading

I've got a loverly stack of books waiting for me to chew down on. Ever since I started my job at the publishing house, I've had an almost unending supply of titles to read, besides my own favorite series and authors that I shell out for. It's funny being in New York City, because I actually know a number of other people who work in other publishing houses, and every so often we have an author-showdown, where we list off the famous and not-so-famous names that

The showdown usually sounds like--

Hey, we just published so-and-so's bestseller last month.

Big whoop. We've got blah-blah-blah, and they've been on the New York Time's bestseller for months now.

But we just picked up this lady in a furious auction. Bwahahaha!

Yeah, well we publish [Insert Famous Author].

Ooh. You think you could get me a copy of his latest?

Sure!

If you are having any trouble deciding what to read this summer and want some recommendations, here is a list of what various authors are reading.

What writers are reading

For instance, Margarat Drabble admits a continued love of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea while Martha Southgate picks up the Stephen King classic, Carrie. Karen Russell picks out one of my favorite classics, The Day of the Triffids.

Aside from that, I've usually got a list going on my homepage that shows the last three or four books I've finished, and there's a few lines of some of my recent favorites on the Links page. Have at it.

I see that smile.

Two blood-sucking monsters

I watched a movie the other night with my wife--Underworld. A B-rated vampire/werewolf action flick that I saw when it first came out. Why I suggested we watch it, I can't rationalize. She and I somehow got through the whole thing, but I could tell she wasn't enjoying it, and I squirmed at every dull line of dialogue and overblown fight scene.

Afterwards, I was asked--Why did I enjoy this kind of movie? It wasn't witty or clever. Most of the action scenes were Matrix ripoffs. There was no redeeming message in the entire thing. Why watch it?

Good question. I could use the excuse that I just enjoy the fantasy tropes of vampires and werewolves, and therefore am drawn to any book or video that involves them. Untrue, however. I avoid a lot of the recent spawn of vampire/werewolf paranormal romance that is sweeping the genre and making many a soul swoon over true love and the perils of immortality.

I could also use the excuse that enough time had passed that I had forgotten how much of a clunker this movie really was. A good thing, too, that I never saw the sequel.

So what drew me to it? I'll admit that part of it is my sometimes morbid humor, though I hope that never gets to a disturbing level. Part of it is the appeal of powerful creatures from the imagination brought to life. Special effects. Nifty storylines and a gothic ambiance.

But should these things appeal to me? What does that say about myself? Would I want to live in the kind of world that is shown on that movie screen? Violent, bloodthirsty, ruthless, and with a total lack of humanity? I'd be crazy to, no matter what power came with type of life. Yes, it was a bad movie in the first place, but the underlying values it shows are disturbing when you actually peel back the layers and expose them. Needless to say, we won't be pulling this out for another movie night.

The question keeps tumbling around my head. How often have I let myself be seduced by the "coolness" factor of an otherwise bad, dumpy story? Sure, a movie can be mindless fun, and sometimes that's fine. But when we're being entertained, so many of our mental defenses are down and a lot of crap can slip through.

Have you ever experienced this? When you watch or read something by yourself, and then later experience it with someone else, and their presence acts as a foil to how awful the piece really is and what it says about your tastes?

I see that smile.

Tales of Beauty and Strangeness

A writing alert. In less than two weeks, Clockwork Phoenix will open up submissions for its new annual anthology--

http://www.clockworkphoenix.com/

Here's what they're looking for:

Clockwork Phoenix is a home for stories that sidestep expectations in beautiful and unsettling ways, that surprise with their settings and startle with the ways they cross genre boundaries, that aren't afraid to experiment with storytelling techniques. The stories in the anthology must be more than gimmicks, and should appeal to genuine emotions, suspense, fear, sorrow, delight, wonder. I will value a story that makes me laugh in its quirky way more than a story that tries to dazzle me with a hollow exercise in wordplay.

The stories should contain elements of the fantastic, be it science fiction, fantasy, horror or some combination thereof. A straight psychological horror story is unlikely to make the cut unless it's truly scary and truly bizarre. The same applies to a straight adventure fantasy or unremarkable space opera -- bring something new and genuine to the equation, whether it's a touch of literary erudition, playful whimsy, extravagant style, or mind-blowing philosophical speculation and insight. Though stories can be set in this world, settings at least a hair or more askew are preferred. I hope to see prose that is poetic but not opaque. I hope to see stories that will lead the reader into unfamiliar territory, there to find shock and delight.

Start submitting stories after August 1st, and get them in by February 2008. Plenty of time to start crafting a tale, or revising one you are working over. Hope to see you in there.

I see that smile.

Klockwerks

Having these clocks on your desk or mantelpiece would be both incredibly cool and distracting.

http://www.klockwerks.com/

It takes a lot of imagination to piece together these odds and ends into artistic timepieces. His website shows views of the workshop, which is intriguing in itself. Though considering these clocks start on the low end of a 400$ budget, I'm doubting I'll be able to distract myself anytime soon.

Here are my favorites.

I see that smile.

I'm doing this now

Editing and revising. It's that part of the writing process where you scoop up the pile of words that you've splattered across the page and try to make something neat and shiny out of them. Something you wouldn't be embarrassed to show in public. There's the idiom that when writing a first draft, you must accept that it is going to stink. I would make the claim that not a single writer can produce a manuscript that goes to the printer without a single change. Therefore, revision must take place.

This is Paperback Writer's take and technique for this essential phase.

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2007/07/vw2-editing-and-revising-that-wont.html

As she puts it (language warning!):

If you find you're reluctant to change even a single word in your story, you're either 1) the best damn writer in the world or 2) you've fallen in love with your manuscript.

You must be willing to....what's the phrase? Murder your darlings! Chop off those witty comments and snippets of dialogue and let them writhe on the floor. Yes, those clever bits that don't really add to the plot, but do a dandy job of showing what a funny person you are. Surgically remove those, with all the weeping and bloodshed that it requires, and then move on. Take another suggestion from Paperback Writer on this.

If you are so hung up on your original work and just can't bear to cut out that oh-so-funny scene that is bloating the wordcount-- save a copy of the complete first draft, put it in a pretty box under your bed, and then get back to work.

I've actually done something like that in my revision process. I have backup files saved of every previous draft that a manuscript has gone through. When I get the mental scissors out and start 'a snippin', I just save the manuscript as a whole new file and go to town, secure that the previous incarnation is intact in case I ever decide to go back and reinsert what I've taken out or altered. Can you guess how many times I've done that? That's right. Nevah! Of course, for some of my older stories, which I have since laid by the wayside, it means I have six separate draft files sitting there. Though it is sometimes fun to open them up and see what I wrote five years back and chuckle at the stodgy attempts.

I tend to give a manuscript several scan-throughs, with a different editorial focus each time. When I first finish a draft, I give it a look to fill in any spots I accidentally never finished, do a grammar/spelling check, and an initial trim of wasteful words. Then I let the manuscript sit for at least a couple days to give myself mental and emotional distance from it. When I bring it back out, it's time to prune. I do another run to lessen my tendency to be overly descriptive by removing lots of excess metaphors and similes. Clarity and brevity are my goals here. Text searches for "like" and "as if" generally help. All this time, I'm making notes on plot issues, inconsistencies, characters and subplot threads that need to be resolved. Once I've got my mind wrapped around these, I do a final revision where I tackle all these issues and make the necessary story changes from page one onward.

Then, with the manuscript hopefully looking much less thrown together, it's time to get some initial feedback from various sources. That's where I am now. Hopefully over the next couple of weeks, I'll get some constructive criticism from folks that will point out various strengths and weaknesses of the story, and I will once more give it a solid rework.

Whew. Writing that all out makes it seem a lot more complicated than it feels on my end. Anyone else want to share their editing and revising process? Don't forget to scroll down to the end of that link, as Paperback Writer gives a bunch of helpful links on the topic.

I see that smile.

New words

Every year, the wordsmiths at Merriam-Webster get the unenviable job of deciding what new words and terms must be added to the dictionary.

Some of the latest additions for 2007?

Ginormous

Crunk

Smackdown

Bollywood

Speed dating

Sudoku

I'm serious..see?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/07/11/new.words.ap/index.html

What are words that you use that you think should be included? Or are there any that you don't think should be included as official verbiage? Are there any words that you use on a daily basis that you know aren't real, but people understand what you mean anyways?

Apparently the only criteria for a word entering the dictionary is whether it gets used enough in mainstream writing. So if you want to start a verbal revolution, I suggest you start seeding literary magazines and your novels-in-progress with whatever imaginary words you want to become legitimate vocab entries in the next five or so years.

For now, I'll just enjoy finding creative ways to stick "ginormous!" into my next story.


I see that smile.

Is it Christmas yet?

Holy freaking blood-sucked cow!


http://www.manydeadthings.tk/#


The artistic genius at Many Dead Things has now produced another unbelievably cool collection piece that I so so so want to bid on. A full-blown Vampire Anatomical/Biological Research Case. What's it include?

The partial skull fragment of a Homo wampyrus, housed within a glass display domeoptical aparatus.

multi armed magnifying lense device, with extendable mirror and vice armatuer for examination of blood and bone fragments

Foetal homo wampyrus.

studying the spread of the vampiric strainblood samples taken from 7 newly infected humans

slide comparison of human and vampiric bloodtest tubes

tissue sample

silver nitrate and its properties

tube/glass specimen jars - garlic, various roots/samplesdried plant samples, for supressing vampiric strain

dissecting kit within a metal tina candle holder

pair of candles wrapped in paper and string

the teeth and blood from an ancient aristrocratic vampire, housed within a glass/brass box

extensive notes and anatomical studies

pair of examination tools, scissors/scalpels etc

a small moleskine notebook, containing various notes/diagrams

an envelope holding a collection of daguerreotypes (early photographs)

a bible, and a book of psalms, mere relics of his past belief

a large crucifix is still fixed in the rook of the boxa map, with needles and thread plotting his first journey to find the roots of the species

a picture of Lady Bathory

Is this guy thorough or what? I just wish his items weren't being sold from the UK. If you check the most recent post of his blog, you'll also see another collection kit themed after an expedition set in the Mountains of Madness.

I see that smile.

Flying lawnchairs

This man has now gained my ultimate and unending respect. These are the kind of things you see in Saturday morning cartoons and never expect anyone to actually try.

It seems like a great story idea if you're reaching for one. A man ties a bunch of balloons to his lawnchair. He's got a water ballast system, and a BB gun to shoot the balloons down and descend. Start with that. Now expand.

Where does he end up?

What if he drops the gun and can't land?

What if the water bags burst and he goes too high? Modern-day Icarus?

What if he landed in some Lost World scenario, or hit a wormhole at 5,000 feet and ended up descending into a parallel Earth where balloon travel is the norm?

And people ask where speculative writers get their ideas. (By the way, if anyone reads this, tries it, and gets hurt, I hereby absolve myself of all liability.)


I see that smile.

A combined magazine (and spiders!)

The two halves of the headline have nothing to do with each other. Just so we're clear on that.

A bit of news, first. Dragons, Knights, and Angels magazine is officially joining forces with The Sword Review. The union of these two publications has resulted in MindFlights, a new magazine of speculative fiction. For now, you can read are the latest stories from the previous magazine incarnations, but after this, the issues should be solely from MindFlights. Yes, it remains a magazine with an emphasis on Christian speculative fiction, though as they state:

"Our stargazing, soulskimming vessels here at MindFlights have room for those who do not hold to Christian doctrines. As long as what is submitted to us doesn't offend or mock or contradict Christian principles, we will happily consider your artistic visions. You don't have to mention God or Christ or the Bible. We believe all truth speaks of God silently, and that suffices to light a candle in the dark."

Read their Vision statement for more on what kind of stories they are looking for.


And to start the week off with a vivid image:

Even though I am an admitted arachnophobe, and even though this creation isn't capable of actually moving around, you gotta admit this is a superb work of metal craftsmanship.

Oh, and remember that Cthulhu-in-a-Jar I posted about a bit back? Well the artist who created that amazing work has now come up with something I deem even more spectacular. What is it?

Check back tomorrow to see!

I see that smile.

Book tours

If you enjoy meeting an author and want to know if they'll be anywhere in your area soon, check this site out:

Book Tour- Where Authors and Audiences meet

It also lets you search for events according to zip code, genre, and dates so you can check out any events going on in your area, even by authors you may not have expected. You can also request for an author to come to your area, either as a speaker or for some event. I don't think you'll be able to request Stephen King or Dean Koontz to come to your next book club meeting, but you never know who else might be available.

This site is also great for authors, as you can use it to get the word out about your upcoming tour besides announcing it on your blog and newsletter.

I see that smile.

Sleep bright

I ought to get some of those strong earth magnets from Radio Shack and stuff my pillow with them.

Magnets may make the brain grow stronger

Admittedly, this has only been shown in mice, so far, and they don't really know exactly why or how it works. But I'm willing to be a human guinea pig if it means keeping my brains around longer and stronger.

Though that pillow might get awfully uncomfortable.

Upcoming posts this week: How to fly in a lawn chair, and clockwork arachnids. Stay tuned!

I see that smile.

!?&#$=?!!!

No, the title isn't me cursing like a cartoon sailor. It's just a visual list of some of the punctuation marks that we use every day. But punctuation, like words, have their beginnings. Here's how we got a few of the pieces of typeset that we use nowadays.

The Origin of Everyday Punctuation Marks

I think my favorite is the Ye Olde English explanation of the equal sign.

"I will settle as I doe often in woorke use, a paire of paralleles, or Gmowe [i.e., twin] lines of one length, thus : == , bicause noe 2 thynges, can be more equalle."

Doesn't that look like some teenager's bad spelling that I copied and pasted off of a gaming forum somewhere?


I see that smile.

Self-promotion: Where does it end?

Digging around led me to these discussions on promotion by Tobias Buckell and John Scalzi.

Mad crazy book pimp

Towards a theory of PR

I got thinking about this not for my own writing, but because my mother's book is actually coming out soon. Again, let me raise it to your awareness, should any mothers be reading this blog and wish to check it out. We've been talking lately, as August is her publication date and she's been receiving all sorts of goodies in the mail (like book mock-ups) plus calls from her publicist. My mother has a publicist. To type that is weird enough. Attention must be drawn to this book, as with any title that pops onto the market. And when you are the author, it seems a lot of that attention-getting effort rests on your shoulders. Buckell talks about the importance of meeting the right people by attending cons and just hanging out with other authors and people in the industry. Hey. I can hang out. I can have lunch with folks and have normal conversation. I've done it before. But even those simple efforts can make a big difference in the long run.

So where's the balance? How far do you go to get people to notice the fact that they can now go out and buy your inky pages, while keeping yourself from interjecting the word "book" into any sentence, whether it has to do with a book or not?

"How was the book weather today? I thought it rather bookish myself considering the high chance of book after the afternoon book my lovely precious book rainshower."

I've seen author promotions that have that effect on me, like those pop-up Internet ads. After a while I tend to tune them out, rather than pick it up. I'm not near the place where I have to worry about this for myself, but it's a mental note to slot away for future reference. I want people intrigued (even compelled), not annoyed.

Fortunately, according to Scalzi, all first time authors get a free press to be as shameless as they want in promoting themselves. And I think Buckell states a vital point here:

"It’s a two way street. It’s not ‘buy my book, look at me,’ it’s a relationship."

Thoughts?

I see that smile.

Timepieces from another time

Sure, your arm will weigh ten pounds more than normal, but it'll give you some good definition in those forearm muscles when you wear one of these watches for long enough. (And yeah, I thought some of these looked like torture devices from one of those Saw movies)

But overall I thought these were some nifty watches. See if you can disagree.

http://blog.wired.com/gadgets/2007/07/japanese-steamp.html

It would be worth wearing one of these just to see the expression on people's faces when they asked you for the time and you rolled up a sleeve to reveal one of these suckers. Of course, it might prove difficult getting one through security at the airport, but I'm sure all you'd have to tell them is you're a science fiction/fantasy writer and they'd give you a free pass. It works like that, right?


I see that smile.

Picture a thousand words

Writing is very much about making an emotional connection with the reader. If there is no passion to a story, or perhaps humor...maybe fear, then that leaves little to hook the reader and draw them along to the clashing, smashing end.

They say a picture can express a thousand words. Cliched? Yes. True? Sometimes. If you, as a writer, are able to evoke a vivid, mental picture within the reader's mind when they come across a scene or character, it is much likelier that those words will stick with the reader for a much longer time than a scene disconnected from any visual cues. Try it, sometime. A sterile dialogue between two characters becomes something very different if you paint the scene to be...two men honing their weapons the night before a battle. Or two men serving each other tea in a green, trimmed garden. Two very different settings. The same two men. Two very different mental images that you probably started forming in your minds as you read that.

The trick, of course, is practicing and learning where to insert those picturesque details, and how to keep the story from getting bogged down with lacy adjectives, lushy, gushy adverbs, and all those fritterings that drag on for pages just to describe a sunset. That's not a striking image. That's a descriptive monologue.

So, here's a practice exercise for anyone who's interested. This link below is to a website chock full of colorful, powerful images from all over the world. Aside from spending hours browsing through it and downloading pics for your computer background, I want you to choose one and write a few sentences, maybe a paragraph at most to describe that scene in whole. Don't go on for pages and pages. Try to make this a mental hammerblow that forever stamps the image into someone else's brain so that twenty years from now, they will think back to reading your description because that picture has never left.

Sound daunting? I think so. But isn't this what we try to do often throughout our stories?

Here's an attempt. Read it first, then check out the picture I wrote from, linked below.

Tugging their scarlet belts and robes tight, they shuffled down the wet stairs and into the mist-wreathed forest below. Their heads were bowed, but their shoulders lifted as they left their burden of prayers at the top of the mossy temple mount.

And here's the picture. Does it work? Should it be made more or less? Certainly there are times when lengthier description is required, so the reader has a clearer idea of what's going on. But I think that, often enough, large chunks of visual detail can be chopped up into smaller pieces strewn throughout the story, so the backdrop grows and expands, bit by bit, along with the plot and the characters.

At least, that's my goal.

I see that smile.

The DKA issue

I got my copy of Dragons, Knights, & Angels magazine, Issue 45 a bit back and promised an overview of the other stories in it, aside from my flash fiction, Manikin. If you haven't checked out the DKA website, you can read over these stories for free and comment on them in the forum if you'd like. Or support their publication by ordering the latest issue.

So, let's see what other stories comprised this issue.

Soul's Sphere, by Lindsay Lair
A poem in which the author asks the world to reveal their purpose and place within it. They long for a sense of peace and accomplishment, but is it ever worth letting someone else define that for you?

Even Dragons Dance, by Christopher Kastensmidt
A knight's duty is to be a hero, right? To ride out, slay dragons, defend the princess? What could possibly be more important than those duties? This knight is about to figure that out...

Imported Goods, by Megan Elaine Davis
Short and striking, this poem touches on a world so overridden by taxes and financial burdens that even the cost of seeing a star might be too much.

Treatment Protocol, by Michael Heald
A barber gets a strange customer who only talks about off-world fleets and planet sterilization procedures. But the man is obviously sick and suffering from delusions...isn't he?

and lastly

Stihdjia, by Nick Ozment
Another knight and a dragon, but with a different lesson to be taught. Nothing about duty and love here...but rather seeing creation for what it is. Can a creature be intrinsically evil and worthy of destruction, or do our legends often blind us to the truth?

An entertaining selection, with some powerful messages throughout. Love. Duty. Honor. And a good bit of humor that made me smile as I read as well. Take the time to browse through them for yourself and let me know what you think. Also, Issue 46 is coming out in bits and pieces. Check it out.


I see that smile.

How to Flow

Any writer has experienced two different modes. Grinding and Flowing.

Grinding is where you sit at the computer and just force each word out, one by one until you hit your quota, or finish the scene. It's rarely fun. Sometimes it's painful. Sure, it gets the work done, but you, as the writer, don't enjoy the process.

However, Flowing is where the words slip out almost so fast that you can't catch them. You feel a rush of energy and inspiration. This is when those amazing plot twists often come out and your characters gain depth to their dialogue and emotions. It's one of the most fulfilling parts of writing, this period of flow.

Now, you're always going to shift back and forth between the two of these. I've experienced both, and while I can certainly get the job done by grinding it out, I, and I assume you all as well, would much rather be in the flowing mode most of the time, if not all of it.

So how do we train ourselves to shift into the flow?

It doesn't have to be a surprise or accident. Flow can be something you become skilled at achieving, according to the article above.

Here are some exercises to try:
First, train your ability to concentrate. We writers are a distractable lot, and things like email, conversation, and cell phones can be deadly to our focus. Being able to stay "in the moment" while writing, instead of going on autopilot is key, because this gets you fully engaged with your work and creativity. Then you are more likely to develop new themes, ideas and those clever solutions to plot twists...because you are totally committed to what is going on instead of giving it a half-hearted effort.

Second, engineer your circumstances and environment to allow for flow. This involves nine different components that you can reach for at any time. The more you experience, the closer you are to flow. Check out the article for all of them, but here's a sample--

• Clear goals.
• Distorted sense of time. (it is said it takes 15 uninterrupted minutes to enter a state of flow)
• A sense of personal control over the situation or activity.

With all this in hand, you are better equipped to engaging that part of the actual writing that makes it so much fun and fulfilling. It doesn't have to be a word count grind, day after day. We write because we enjoy it, yeah? While sometimes the brain just doesn't want to kick in, by training a little, we can at least give ourselves a higher chance of experiencing this state.



I see that smile.

A sense of completion

I finished the first, very rough draft of my latest story yesterday. Aside from feeling that I now have a "complete" story in my hands to whittle and mold into something worth reading, I also get two other big emotions that go along with crossing that mental finish line: Relief and Anxiousness.

Relief, because I finished. Whatever metaphor you want to use to describe it. One of the hardest parts of this project is done...actually getting the whole story from inside my head, and onto the page.

Anxiousness for a few others. One, I wonder what I'm going to work on next. I've got ideas building up all this time, and a few seem close to being ripe for the picking. How long before I plunge into my next novel? Also, I now face the task of tearing my most recent rough draft apart in the hopes that I can refine it and revise it. Don't doubt that I enjoy the story I've written, but I believe it can be a lot better, say, if that section made more sense in the overall context, or if this scene was fleshed out with more emotion, or if this character was cut completely. These things must happen. Much of writing is rewriting.

And I feel anxious because I wonder, is this story going to make it? Did I just pour all this time and effort into something that's ever going to see the light of day?

Whatever the case, it's nice to have completed it. Normally at this point I do a quick brush-up of the text to check for glaring errors and fill in any holes I might have missed. Then I'll set it aside for a bit...maybe a few days, maybe a week...and work on something else to gain distance from this story. That way, when I come back to it, I can see the errors and rough spots all the better. It's all part of the writing cycle.

I see that smile.

Well then...

This is the first time I had a blog post all set up the night before, and then got up to post it and discovered it had vanished. Didn't even leave me a goodbye note.

It was a nice, long one too, all about getting into "the zone" of writing, with some exercises people recommended and that sort of stuff. Maybe this is God's way of telling me that people don't want to hear about ways to do work more efficiently on the Friday of such a holiday-filled week.

So, in honor of a more relaxed week, I give you a browser game that you can get properly addicted to over the weekend.

Orbox B

The object? Find out the best way to get your orb to the exit, by bouncing it off straight shots, around corners, through wormholes, and timing your way past explosive blocks. Trust me. It's more fun than it looks at first, and of course, the higher you get, the more challenging it becomes. My last play took me to level 16. Can you beat it (and stay productive in writing at the same time? Ooh...now that's a challenge).


I see that smile.

Other Vampire News

I'm starting a fundraiser to buy Dracula's Castle. Anyone want to donate? We can divvy up the bedroom shares, though I want a majority in the torture chamber and dungeons.

'Dracula's Castle' up for sale in Transylvania

I was researching 'Dracula's Castle' a while back and, as this article states, found it fascinating that the guy who the vampire legend is based on, Vlad the Impaler, never actually lived in this castle. Apparently, he just stayed there for one night in the 1400s. Still, more than 450,000 people visit this place each year. And thus, a tourist attraction is born.

Even without the legitimate bloodsucking lore, it's still a cool castle. Nice and gothic looking. The people selling it have already rejected proposals to turn the place into a museum. They want someone to buy it "who will treat the property and its history with appropriate respect."

I guess that means no theme park, huh? Ah well. I should throw these blueprints out then. But that Impale-You-Dead rollercoaster would've been awesome.

So, the goal is $135 million, or more. Any investors out there have some spare change lying around? I promise it won't go towards paying off student loans.


I see that smile.

Fire and explosions

Any holiday that celebrates with fire and explosions is always a favorite.

Merry Thanks to the Fourth of Julyoween!

I'm in the park, having a picnic, playing some ultimate Frisbee and soccer. What are you up to?

And in other news: Fireworks!



I see that smile.

Smell what you write

At times, I've talked about various things that help me focus on writing, like having the proper mood music in the background and that kind of thing. But here is something I hadn't considered. What if you could help set your mental scene by a sense of smell?

Admittedly, there would be some scenes that you wouldn't want to be able to smell from your writing...but maybe focusing less on specific instances (like when a character soils themselves from fear, or the smell of a city suffering under a plague) and more on the general smells one might associate with a genre.

I discovered this in my wanderings: The smell of steampunk

Interesting, eh? It's supposed to bring the scents of wood, 19th century lacquer, and gunpowder. Other available candle scents from this merchant include...

opium den: a languid, hazy cloud of resin, opiates and tobacco fumes

ex libris: antiquated leather-bound volumes of handmade papers and parchment permeate and seduce the senses

coney island: briny ocean scents with popcorn and machinery

speak easy: gin, pipe tobacco, and discretion

Personally, I could see that ex libris being a nice smell. There is something satisfying about old books. Maybe that would work to burn during a fantasy writing session, and you could imagine yourself in the study of an aged wizard and his many tomes of power. What kind of scent candle would work for science fiction? Something vaguely metallic with the hint of rocket fuel? What about Westerns? Romance? People could start dabbing their favorite perfumes or deodorants over their memoirs and biographies (though, again, there are some people you just don't want to smell).

Give me some ideas on what smells match up to different genres, or even specific books. Does anyone out there actually go this length in setting the mood for your writing?


I see that smile.

So that's where they've been hiding

It all makes sense now. Vampires are real. They've been hiding among us all this time, cleverly disguised. But now the truth is revealed.

The Peacock Vampire

(I swear, someone is going to make a movie about this someday)

But think about it! Those beautiful feathers could be considered mesmeric, what with the colorful eyes, giving rise to the myth of a vampire's hypnotic power. That sharp beak? Not just for pecking at grubs. Oh, no. That vain, strutting show they put on? Of course vampires have often been portrayed as aloof, of unearthly beauty, often gliding through the highest echelons of human culture and society without us having a clue as to the true beast they contain.

I give my commendations to the unknown hero who risked so much to expose this threat for the sake of humanity's survival. And if anyone out there doesn't heed this warning, well it's too late for you. You're obviously under the sway of the vampiric peacock overlords. Sucks to be you.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I've got to round up some garlic and visit the nearest petting zoo.

(all this is yet more proof that no matter how imaginative we may be, there are some things you just can't make up)


I see that smile.

An eventful hike

Mostly while tromping along a trail, you see some nice views, rocks, trees, maybe a lake (in our case, the Hudson) and other hikers.

This one was more active than expected. To note:

1. We ran across two large, black snakes that slithered across our path and into the underbrush. Rat snakes or corn snakes, maybe? None of us could get close enough to identify them, though a few guys made some grabs. (Famous last words: "It didn't look venomous to me") Both were at least three feet long.

2. The chewed-upon head of a baby deer. It took us a minute to figure out what this was, but the tawny hair speckled with white, and one remaining ear and eye finally clued us in. I'm thinking a hungry bear?

3. Lastly, a bee's nest beneath a bridge some of our guys crossed. How did we know it was there? Mainly because one of the guys (Josh--not myself, but the guy who organized this trip) ended up yelling and slapping at his ankles as he ran across the bridge. Stings galore. Fortunately he wasn't allergic, and I admire his ability to censor himself in mid-swear while experiencing a great deal of pain.

The real kicker came when we saw some other hikers coming down the hillside towards the same bridge. We yelled over to them and warned them of the bee's nest. They saw it, and proceeded to continue over to our side. We're not fifty steps down the path and we hear one of their group start screaming. Well...we did warn them. Again, no one seriously injured, but yeesh, wouldn't you listen if someone announced that you were going to walk over a beehive?

Gorgeous views, though, and well-worth the effort.


I see that smile.