Category: censored opinions
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Write the Breakout Novel
Thanks to Ellie for another great rec to write the Breakout Novel. For one, Maass promises no short cut. Hard work pays. For another, he shifts the blame for bad book revenue from the editors, agents, publishers and publicists to where it should be–on the author. If your story does not sell, you have no…
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Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen
Yesterday was a weird day for me. Really weird. Emotional and weird–not like yesterday’s post or anything, just yesterday . Since I feel like writing, but don’t want to mess with any stories or editing or whatever on Saturday, let’s chat about the best film I saw recently. It’s like a digital bowl of comfort…
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What’ll You Think of Next?
Hey gang, Think of this like a love letter from me to you, only less romantic. I save the romance for Kiddo (ask her about the hope chest some time). Every once in awhile,
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Storyssentials: Sentence
Brevity and depth–that’s what you can expect from this post if you reflect. It would seem trivial to call “sentences” essential bits of story. Part of this comes from people who assume that writers toil for words. Photographers use photoshop, but they toil for photos. Graphic designers use illustrator, but they toil for graphics. Writers…
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Open Letter to Adolescents (or Adolescence)
To any adolescent it may concern: When you grow up, your old friends will do different things. One will go to prison. Another will get married and have twelve babies. A third will join a group of anarchists in Seattle only to quit the group later. Another will become a career politician who accepts bribes…
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Automate Second Drafts
If you’ve ever written a paper, story or speech, you’ll want to learn how to do this. Elsewhere I’ve ranted about the benefits of reading your words aloud or having someone read them back to you. Things sound different when spoken into the air, when you hear words exist as they were intended – audible…
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Safari in Words and Pictures
Think of this like the theatre: if you have a cell phone, turn it off. But if you have a pacemaker, KEEP THAT SUCKER ON! Here we go…. Amy and Eric Malone, our friends, had a baby shower down in Arkansas this weekend. Whether the state in question is pronounced Ar-kin-saw or Ar-can-sis, I’ll leave to…
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Funny MPAA Ratings that Ruin the Ending
What if they got so detailed that it ruined the endings? What if, in the description of why it got a PG-13, the entire movie came out?