NaNoWriMo Break: Writing a Novel in 7 Easy Steps
Part of a month-long series of inspirational or informational posts during NaNoWriMo. Are you writing a science fiction novel? You’re in luck! It only takes seven easy steps.
Writing
Writing
NaNoWriMo Break: Words and Phrases to be Retired
Part of a month-long series of inspirational or informational posts during NaNoWriMo. Not unlike the previous entry regarding snowclones, these are phrases you may want to make sure some characters don’t say — or perhaps you want to get a sense of period and sprinkle them in. Ponder for a minute on how memes and phrases spread across time and space. What should your characters be saying?
Writing
NaNoWriMo Break: SnowClones
Part of a month-long series of inspirational or informational posts during NaNoWriMo. I came across the term ‘snowclone‘ last month and thought it was fun. Perhaps you have characters that use snowclones. Perhaps you want to be sure they aren’t used at all. Now you know.
Various and Sundry
Star Trek Fans: We Might Not Be Doomed
Mondays, by Industrial Age tradition and Garfield, are generally considered the worst. However, this Monday, CBS had an extremely exciting announcement, at least to a certain strain of geeks such as myself: There will be a new Star Trek TV series! So, there’s a new Star Trek TV show, eh? If that’s so, why the tentative title above? Well, we have to wonder what kind of Star Trek is in store. I mean, technically, Space…
Writing
NaNoWriMo Break: Daily Habits of Writers
Part of a month-long series of inspirational or informational posts during NaNoWriMo. To kick off this month-long series, what better way than to look at some of the methods employed by some accomplished writers? Mind you, depending on what dayjob or other tasks you’re fitting into the month, these may not all be feasible, but they may get wheels turning about how you’ll structure your days over the next few weeks.
Writing
Scheduled Breaks for NaNoWriMo
As many of us plunge into NaNoWriMo (in my case, a script-based variant thereof), I came up with a cunning plan: have inspirational and informational posts throughout the month to help me and perhaps others. Perhaps you can consult these when you’re stuck. Perhaps they’ll be natural breaks if you’re writing using something like the Pomodoro Technique. Whatever the case, I’ll try and update these bright and early every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday — because…
Voiceover
Remembering Ed Walker: Saying Goodbye to an Era
A couple weeks ago, I learned that longtime host of The Big Broadcast and even longer-time radio figure, Ed Walker, would be retiring. He was doing so to spend more time with his family and battle the cancer with which he had been diagnosed. His last broadcast would be Sunday, October 25th. Like many other longtime fans, I was determined to tune in at 7pm this past Sunday. This may seem strange in the age of streaming…
Various and Sundry
Recommended Reading: On Millennials
While I’m wary about any attempt to: Place people into neat, cleanly definable generations Ascribe specific, seemingly inviolable characteristics to said generations Such articles are often good jumping off points for discussions about the past and the future… or maybe that’s just the psychohistorian in me. In any case, I found this piece by Fareed Zakaria about Millennials interesting, not in the least because it raises the point that they might actually be a product of…
Various and Sundry
Recommended Reading: A Tale of Cops and Doughnuts
Cara Giaimo has a wonderful feature article all about the ongoing history of cops and doughnuts sprinkled with multiple anecdotes you didn’t realize you really wanted to know. Reading the article made me think of my own anecdote. When I was going to school in Maine, a local radio station (WBLM aka “The Blimp”) had a rambunctious morning show that would often feature the game “Cop or No Cop?” The format was delightfully straightforward. A listener would…
Various and Sundry
The Politics of Gas in DC
After doing a little bit of research in writing my post about American Express, I came across this article about the surprisingly heated battle for Costco to sell gas in Washington, DC. It’s from 2013, so presumably the status quo has adjusted to the discount interloper, but I’ll probably follow-up and see what’s been going on.