Alchemy Ink

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 19-25, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Thoughty Thursday is back with a thick, frosty shake of inspiration-y, research-y bits. Just watch you don’t get a brain freeze 😉

Ten words every girl should learn. Alternet.

Surprise, surprise . . . Men who harass women online are, quite literally, losers. The Washington Post.

Matt McGorry provides a Twitter lecture on why responding to #BlackLivesMatter with #AllLivesMatter is pure dip-shittery. Buzzfeed. Peeps have tried this before with #YesAllWomen/#NotAllMen etc. What’s the best way to promote social injustice? Waste energy denying you’re part of the problem/trying to distract from the real solution. #MethinksTheyProtestTooMuch

No, it’s not your opinion. You’re just wrong. The Houston Press.

Danielle Seewalker invites us to meet the generation of incredible Native American women fighting to preserve their culture. Marie Claire.

If your dream is calling to you, are you willing to answer? Anna Lovind guest posts on Carri-Anne Moss’s Annapurna Living.

Anna, on her own blog, writing about how to address fear in your creative life.

i09’s True Crime beat presents the mystery of Agatha Christie’s disappearance. In response, a friend posted this article from The Guardian (from 2006, no less), which reveals the cause. Either way, Doctor Who got it wrong (OMG!).

NASA shares their “blue marble” gallery via National Geographic.

A brief history of everything with Neil deGrasse Tyson. IFLS.

NASA’s Kepler mission discovers a bigger, older Earth-like planet. Please note: the images you may have seen in media are artists’ concepts. There’s no way Kepler could see that kind of detail 🙂

The science of stress: Our emotions affect our susceptibility to burnout and disease. BrainPickings.

This teen developed a test that can diagnose Alzheimer’s before symptoms are exhibited. IFLS.

I’m not sure why, but i09 ranks the five best and worst demons by which to be possessed.

Weird, but marvelous: a wearable hummingbird feeder. Incredible Things.

Here’s a feel-good puppy story for you. Just because. Good.

See you Saturday for the Ad Astra 2015 wrap post and the next chapter update.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 19-25, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila

As I post this, I am MELTING. Today it was 36 degrees Celsius (with humidex, it was over 40). For my American friends, that’s about 100 Fahrenheit. We have no air conditioning. This is not a complaint, just a statement of fact. We haven’t had weather like this in the Sudz for a number of years.

Now the sun has set, we have all the windows open and all the fans on.

And now, back to your regular programming.

This is just . . . read it and beware of strangers bearing option deals! Tess Gerritsen explains why she dropped her Gravity lawsuit and now advocates for authors in Hollywood. The Mary Sue.

Who should you be writing for, your readers, or yourself? Helping writers become authors. K.M. Weiland.

Katie shares the key to writing good action scenes in her Wednesday vlog.

Writer Unboxed begins a new series on diverse voices in writing and publishing. Their first guest was Grace Wynters: Why diversity in publishing matters.

Steven Pressfield makes the distinction between the craft of writing, and your craft of writing.

How to write with confidence. MythicScribes.

The anatomy of a page turner with Barbara Kyle.

This is incredible fun: Atlas Obscura presents their obsessively detailed map of American literature’s most epic road trips.

Here’s a lovely Tumblr: Where do you write, my lovely? They just featured my friend Kim Fahner and her wonderful writing space 🙂

Buzzfeed offers their list of 51 books for animal lovers.

Heinlein’s Stranger in a Strange Land is one of my favourite classic SF novels. So, of course I was attracted to this post on MentalFloss on 15 things you might not know about the Heinlein classic.

Buzzfeed shares 29 pictures that only booklovers will relate to. Regarding #20: I can do this just fine, thankyouverymuch.

If you’re of the techie persuasion, Bustle presents seven gadgets for booklovers.

Isaac Asimov predicted social media and knowledge bases. Fusion.

Here’s a fun interview with Sam Heughan: My acting teacher once told me I couldn’t act. My Fox LA.

TV After Dark shares their chat with the Outlander cast and crew about season two from San Diego Comic Con.

Just for fun, here’s Kirby Krackle’s “Villain Song.”

See you Thursday!

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 12-18, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Time to get your thoughty on.

Perfectionism is creativity’s wicked stepsister. Kaizen Muse Creativity Coaching.

LifeHack presents their list of 20 things only highly creative people would understand.

Want to know twelve type secrets to the INFP personality? Introvert, Dear.

The ten things you should expect to happen once you embrace being alone. Higher Perspective.

The science behind why we feel emotions in our chests. IFLS.

Trying to remember multiple things at the same time may be the best way to forget them. NPR. Read the post, or listen to the broadcast.

Molybdenum. Too much and you’ll die. Too little and you’ll die. Find out about this important element. i09.

Denmark produces 140% of its energy needs through renewable sources. We so need to do this. The Independent.

The earthquake that will devastate the west coast is coming. The question is, when? Kathryn Schulz for The New Yorker.

The big astronomy news of the week: The New Horizons spacecraft explores Pluto and its moons. i09.

Six things we learned about Pluto last week. IFLS.

Super massive black hole informs current theories of galaxy evolution. IFLS.

Dolphins riding whales off the coast of Hawaii. Just because. IFLS.

Any of this lovely stuff give you ideas? Good. Go write ‘em down.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 12-18, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Wow. Kind of short of writerly goodness this week. I blame it on work 😛 I do that a lot, don’t I?

K.M. Weiland shares the secret to a satisfying character arc. Read the post, listen to the podcast, or both 🙂

Katie’s Wednesday vlog covers why even positive story events should have negative consequences.

What are the five dimensions of character personality? MJ Bush knows. Writingeekery.

The novelist’s dilemma is not really a dilemma at all. Kathryn Magendie.

Porter Anderson revisits the trolling furor on the interwebz and offers a suggestion for a way forward on Writer Unboxed.

Kameron Hurley writes about her struggles as a writer with anxiety. Self care is so important.

The flipside of diversity: What’s wrong with cultural appropriation? Every Day Feminism.

Here are fourteen science fiction short movies from Adobe Inspire.

Outlander news from Comic Con. Hypable.

Well that’s all I gots for you until next week.

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, July 5-11, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Anna Lovind shares the life-changing lessons chronic pain has taught her.

After an incident in which she received unwanted sexual attention, Elyse Anders posted this rant. The response to her rant was insane, so she elaborated further. MofoNation.

Why many rape victims don’t fight or yell. James W. Hopper, PhD, explains what happens when the fight or flight response short circuits. The Washington Post.

Emily Hart(ridge) on depression and anxiety:

Why one black man won’t discuss race with white people. Those People.

Africans tweet pictures of their real lives to combat “poverty porn.” Plaid Zebra. #TheAfricaMediaNeverShowsYou

Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist Paul Watson quit The Toronto Star because they refused to publish his story. The subtlety of censorship in Canada. The Huffington Post.

Our economy grew, but our income did not keep pace. The Huffington Post.

In this article from The Globe and Mail, David Helfand reports that businesses say they want workers with a liberal arts background, with strong communication skills, and who are agile in their willingness to learn and adapt. Industry in general and the government are pushing young people into the trades. In both cases (in my experience, anyway) graduates from both programs are wandering, jobless, for years, with crippling debt-loads. There aren’t enough jobs for everyone and that is our biggest problem. Are we just waking up to this now?

When did we decide kids shouldn’t suffer? Renegade Mothering.

Dear parents: please raise boys who will respect my girls. The Huffington Post.

Empathy is a choice. The New York Times.

Creativity can be learned. Canva. I find that keeping a journal of random and weird associations was what helped me most, pre-interwebz. Now, I get all the thoughty, all the time! In these posts I share the things that set off that random pinball machine in my head. I hope they do that for you, too!

Lifehack offers 11 illustrations of the difference between busy and productive people.

Would you pass this grade eight examination from 1912? Boredom Therapy.

Who owns the moon? Vsauce.

Nikola Tesla predicted the ascendance of women through technology. Brainpickings.

IFLS lists ten things you may not know about Tesla.

Someone assigned email addresses to trees and people started writing to them. The Atlantic.

Fuck that. A guided meditation for today’s world:

Why Japanese bathrooms are awesome. Distractify.

This guy’s wife left him alone with the dog. He got bored. Click through to see what happened. BoredPanda.

And that’s a wrap.

On Saturday, I’ll have more Ad Astra reportage. We’ll be starting day three! Finally!

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, July 5-11, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Okay. Several instances of trolling and cyberbullying against writers have come to the fore in recent weeks. Here are a few posts that seek to address the issue.

Anne R. Allen outlines the issues and offers some strategies you can use to avoid or address them without becoming a target.

Chuck Wendig posted Online is IRL (in response to the #AskELJames fiasco), and then, after a narsty Twitter attack, posted In which I learn to talk less and listen more.

This made Porter Anderson’s radar and he posted this analysis of the fallout.

In other, related news, there were discussions across Facebook and Google+ regarding the above (Delilah S. Dawson was caught in the fracas), and about a libellous review posted for Roz Morris. If it had merely been a poor review, meh. This review, however, accused Roz of plagiarism. How do you respond to these kinds of accusations without chumming the waters? We really have to learn to be kinder to one another online.

Agent Sarah Negovetich offered these thoughts on safely navigating social media.

Unit sales (of print books) inched up in the first half of 2015. Publishers Weekly.

Elending won’t put a big dent in books sales. The Guardian.

Court denies class action in Author Solutions case. Publishers Weekly.

Jane Friedman explains the profit and loss statement and how publishers use it to make purchasing decisions.

What happens if your story stakes aren’t high enough? K.M. Weiland answers in part 42 of her Most Common Writing Mistakes series.

Katie looked at Jurassic Park as an example of how to compound your conflict in your story. Think perfect storm 🙂

E.C. Ambrose offered these nine ways to use point of view to strengthen your characters. Helping Writers Become Authors.

Chris Winkle writes another great post for Mythcreants: Why social justice is intrinsic to storytelling.

Roz Morris writes about the importance of names. I love names, too.

Agent Carly Watters lists seven things that writers should stop wasting their time on.

Sarah Callender explores the practice of success for Writer Unboxed.

Anna Lovind writes about finding true support on your writing journey. Scoutiegirl.

Are we pandering to, or presuming, short attention spans? Publishers Weekly.

Grammarly presents eleven untranslatable words from other cultures and eleven words for the self-proclaimed smarty-pants.

Jane Ann McLachlan wrote this article on ethics and science fiction for SF Signal.

You should know about the Fermi Paradox before you read The Dark Forest. Chris Lough for Tor.com.

Ten things you may not know about Pride and Prejudice. Mental Floss.

BuzzFeed lists 35 Canadian bookstores you need to visit.

Check out the Con Man trailer. Entertainment Weekly.

A first look at the new MTV series, The Shannara Chronicles:

Here’s some news from the Doctor Who panel at Comic Con. i09.

Also at Comic Con, Joss Whedon expounds on the meaning of life and more. i09.

True Detective teaches how NOT to write dialogue. Electric Lit.

Y’all come back on Thoughty Thursday, now, ya hear?

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 28-July 4, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Canada’s creative industries can lead the economic charge. The Globe and Mail.

How seven things that have nothing to do with rape perfectly illustrate the concept of consent. Upworthy.

One woman creates a video documenting the vile comments she receives, both with and without makeup. It’s terrible what we do to each other online.

Delilah S. Dawson asks us to use our voices wisely. There’s this thing happening that getting blown out of all proportion on the interwebz. I’ve shared posts on this before. Please. Use your voice wisely and with discretion.

Believe it or not, this is the best time to be alive. Maclean’s.

Do you have these two things that lead to a happy life? Time.

Is depression a mental or a physical illness? IFLS.

Alzheimer’s may begin 20 years before symptoms begin to show. Time.

What are we doing to our precious little snowflakes? The Globe and Mail.

Amazing photos of New Zealand’s glow worm caves. The Smithsonian.

Just ‘cause it was Canada Day last Wednesday: Canada Day facts for Americans. The Huffington Post.

Also from The Huffington Post, this Canada Day playlist.

This week wasn’t heavy on the thoughty, but some of the issue made up for that.

See you Saturday for more Ad Astra convention reportage.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 28-July 4, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Another bumper crop of Writerly Goodness. I guess you can tell where my head is these days, eh?

Will a newly consolidated Penguin Random House weaken or save Canadian publishing? The Globe and Mail.

Chapters Indigo to carry more lifestyle products. Is this a good thing for our national bookseller? The Province.

Russell Smith writes about how to publish a book in Canada. The Globe and Mail.

Apple loses its appeal and ebook decision is confirmed. Publishers Weekly.

K.M. Weiland shares three ways you can make writing your novel easier.

Level up your fiction with dramatic irony. Katie’s Wedneday post (what, no vlog? Nope, but the post is just as good).

Nina Munteanu writes on the topic of exposition.

How Veronica Sicoe brainstorms her story ideas into working concepts.

What are three signs that your novel has too many characters and what can you do about it? Roz Morris helps you Nail Your Novel.

Donald Maass contributed this piece on openings to Writer Unboxed. Intrigue vs. engagement? As usual, Don argues for a healthy balance of both 🙂

I may have posted this before, but it’s good advice, so here you go: How to know when to stop editing and move on. The Write Practice.

Chris Winkle posts about the differences between writing a short story and writing a novel. Mythcreants.

Steven Pressfield discusses the writer’s skill.

Ruth Harris writes about the care and feeding of your muse on Anne R. Allen’s blog.

Enough is a wretched concept. Delilah S. Dawson.

Are perfectly micromanaged worlds utopian or dystopian? Veronica Sicoe considers the question on her blog.

An interview with Douglas Smith. Fantasy Fiction Focus.

Charlie Gilkey interviews Ali Luke on The Creative Giant podcast.

Which books didn’t change your life? The Guardian.

What Zack Handlen learned from rereading The Stand. i09.

50 years on, how Dune changed the world. The Guardian.

Reading Canada with SFF legends, eh? Beauty in Ruins.

The Wizard of Oz and Age of Ultron mash up you didn’t know you needed. i09.

Advantageous is an insanely good movie that everyone should watch. Katherine Trendacosta for i09.

Check out theses fifteen TV series that reinvented science fiction in the past decade. i09.

Diana Gabaldon shared this two part interview from a few years back on Writer Unboxed. Good stuff 🙂 Here’s part 1 and part 2.

A first look at Outlander season two: Jamie and Claire in Paris. Entertainment Weekly.

Hang in there until Thoughty Thursday, peeps. I’ll be back with more curation for you then.

Tipsday

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, June 21-27, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Sorry this is late, but I had–HAD–to watch the final episode of Sense8. OMIGODSOGOOD!

And now back to our regular programming 🙂

Now let’s get your big squishy grey thing into gear!

The rainbow hued news of the week: The US Supreme Court makes same sex marriage a right, nation-wide. The New York Times. Then, of course, the fall out started and conservatives and religious fundamentalists declared they’d leave the country . . . for Canada. <Facepalm> Um, Dudes. We’ve had the right to same sex marriage for years!

These two grade eight students have been campaigning for consent in the Ontario sex-ed curriculum. Now they’ve created a documentary. And. It. Is. Awesome. Watch Allegedly. The Huffington Post.

Related: The next time someone says women aren’t victims of harassment, show them this. Tickld.

This short video is haunting and beautiful. i09.

Alan Watts on the acceptance of death.

The real boogeyman: serial killer Albert Fish. Creepy. i09’s True Crime.

Can climate be hazardous to your mental health? Psychiatric Times.

Sitting down for too long may increase anxiety. Just another reason to get an adjustable or standing desk. Discovery News.

First Nations lawyer will wear traditional clothing when she’s called to the Ontario bar. The Huffington Post.

At last! Vancouver company creates compostable G-Cups for Keurig Brewers. The Huffington Post.

The best weather photos of the year, collected for you by i09.

Canadians tweet amazing pictures of the Northern Lights. The Huffington Post.

Peter Ray Allison wonders if we will ever build ring worlds. BBC.

Sudbury’s regreening efforts were highlighted at an international conference. Listen to the interview on CBC.

IFLS shares an infographic that describes what happens to your brain when you don’t get enough sleep. See that one at the bottom right? It says BRAIN DAMAGE!

It’s okay to be smart looks into the reasons bees are dying:

A doggy retirement home! Love this idea. I heart dogs.com.

What Disney animals would look like if they were human. These are pretty good! Distractify.

Sophie Tweed-Simmons comes to Sudbury to film her first Canadian film. Seriously. They’re filming this right now. Great time of year to be doing it 😉 The Toronto Star.

A friend shared Johnny Cash’s cover of Trent Reznor’s Hurt and I remembered how much I love this version.

Now go be thoughty, and I’ll see you on Saturday for more Ad Astra reportage, the next chapter, and . . . a pupdate.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, June 21-27, 2015

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

W00t! You wanted moar writerly goodness? Well, here it is!

In local publishing news, Latitude 46 moves into the void left by Your Scrivener Press. The Northern Life.

Listen to K.M. Weiland’s weekly podcast (and subscribe) or read her companion post. Last week’s offering: What every writer ought to know about omniscient point of view (POV).

How to make your secondary characters truly memorable. Katie’s Wednesday vlog.

Will readers find you protagonist worthy? Angela Ackerman on Writers Helping Writers.

The bigger the dream, the greater the resistance. When resistance pays you a compliment. Steven Pressfield.

The four dangers of writing and critique groups. The title says ‘hidden dangers,’ but they’re not really hidden. First-timers and eternal optimists might be blind to them, though. Jennie Nash on Jane Friedman’s blog.

How to write about guns without sounding like a doorknob. Benjamin Sobieck (who was much more polite about it that I was) guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog.

The Listen Inside podcast from Readers in the Know features chapter 2 from Veronica Sicoe’s The Deep Link.

The ten best literary love songs brought to you by Quirk Books.

BuzzFeed compiles their list of the 53 best opening lines in literature.

Not to be outdone, Penguin Random House offered its list of captivating first lines.

In case you weren’t already crushed by the weight of your unread book stack, BuzzFeed compiles this list of ALL 339 books referenced in Gilmour Girls.

i09 lists its essential cyberpunk reads.

ZDNet shares their list of 26 essential science fiction novels that will help you prepare for the future.

Where Japanese science fiction has been and where it’s going. Japanese Times.

The 2015 Sunburst Awards finalists announced on the CBC.

And here’s Quill & Quire’s piece on the awards.

The brilliant ideas that didn’t make it into Pixar’s Inside Out. i09.

I must say that Phil and I are enjoying Sense8 quite a bit. Then again, we love well-developed character and story. The slow burn is just fine with us. Here’s Bram E. Geiben’s take on season 1 for i09.

Moar season 2 fodder for your Droughtlander jonesing. Carter Matt.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Tipsday