Category: literature
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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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Sitting at the feet of : a Medievalist
When he asked his Franciscan Father, “When did you become a Franciscan?” Alex Giltner’s Father answered, “When I was born.” Alex feels the same about medievalism—he can’t trace back the source. However, like most young boys, he drew close to stories and films of dragons and swords. Then at fourteen, he read The Lord of…
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Sitting at the feet of : a Ninja Warrior
Matthew Derouen is a name few friends back home knew until now. They know Matt D. Matt D was born on the Fourth of July according to his Facebook profile, a suitable date when you consider the consistent supply of fireworks in his trunk. Matt D grew up with A.D.D. like the rest of us…
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Paradise Lost: Book One
Reading a Harvard Classic, journaling for an MIT open course, watching a Yale lecture. Buckle up, this is about to be the most literated fantastic point of ignorance yet. We’ll have a coffee shop version, an appetizer version and a full course meal for this puppy. Respond and dialog as soon as you want to jump…
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Sitting at the feet of : Oppression and Propaganda
Senya Maximov came into my life through the Fulbright program at Missouri Southern. After I shared the only three Russian words I knew (da, spoceba, vodka), and after he shared perfect British English, shared language led to shared life. Joplin felt like Senya’s new home. Though he wanted to stay, his visa expired. I scheduled…
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Fletching the Sandman’s Arrows
“What’s your name?” “Fletch.” “What’s your full name?” “Fletcher.” “What’s your first name?” “Irwin.” “What?” “Irwin Fletcher. People call me Fletch.” “Irwin Fletcher, I have a proposition to make to you. I will give you a thousand dollars for just listening to it. If you decide to reject the proposition, you take the thousand dollars,…
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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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M.I.T. Free
No, that’s not a typo. Thanks to Logan K. Stewart’s suggestion, I’m now going to take on M.I.T. free at the same time as my Harvard Classics readings. Basically, there’s a list of classes: Courses by Department Aeronautics and Astronautics Anthropology Architecture Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation Biological Engineering Biology Brain and Cognitive Sciences Chemical…
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Breakfast of Champions, The Muad’dib & Hospital Visits
Thursday last I ventured with an older gentleman to some local hospitals. We called on the elderly and infirm in hopes to raise their spirits. This guy’s a pro—he’s been doing this for years, visiting sick people in the hospital, praying for any who request it, listening to them ramble about stories of the old…
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Free Comic Book Day
When I woke up early on Saturday to a barking spaniel, it took me a moment to realize what day it was. Since Mark was on a shoot and Ryan moved to Nome Alaska to watch huskies race across the arctic tundra, that left me and Nate to brave the waters of f…Fr…FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!…
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Gangs and Pickpockets
In my Storyssentials post on Research, I talked about how a storyteller must assign himself homework. Mine involves a decent amount of gilded age reading (and viewing). Some might assume I want to write steampunk. Though this coming series employs some steamy elements, I wouldn’t classify it that way. For one, few use steam. For another,…