Writerly goodness

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 7-13, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila

Load up your plates my friends, I have lots of nommable readables here 🙂

K.M. Weiland shares her insights into being a person with obsessive-compulsive disorder and a writer. She also offers some tips on how to remain healthy even if you live at a desk.

C.S. Lakin explains how writers can benefit from outlining their scenes. Her scene structure series continues with the opening hook.

Janice Hardy shares five common problems with novel beginnings and how to solve them.

Jamie Raintree shows how the power of consistency builds writing careers.

Lisa Cron shared an older post with our Story Genius class: Three misunderstood pieces of writing advice that can derail your novel. Writer Unboxed. And here’s her most recent post for WU: Where real drama comes from.

Anne R. Allen lists five reasons writers need to use Google+ even though the new Google+ is awful. I must admit, I’ve fallen out of love with G+ these days. I still post there, but if I’m in a time crunch, it’s the first SoMe to be sacrificed.

Kameron Hurley admits her fallibility: We all drop the ball. Another excellence post on the importance of self-care and forgiveness in times of stress.

Related: Allie Larkin writes about the myth of balance for Writer Unboxed.

Jim C. Hines explores the pros and cons of antidepressants.

Chris Winkle gleans lessons from the cinematic writing of I Am Number Four. Mythcreants.

Local author and writerly friend, Paulette Dahl, publishes Love Letters. The Northern Life.

Ken Pisani says, finding an agent is the worst this ever. Publishers Weekly.

You should read this chat on diversity in publishing from The Toast.

The Kenyon v. Clare court case has been all over the feeds this week. Here’s where I heard about it first. Courthouse News Service.

J.K. Rowling will be publishing the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Publishers Weekly.

This is cool. Mental Floss lists eight things invented by famous authors.

Mental Floss also lists eleven authors who hated the movie adaptations of their books.

Bitch Media presents, Anya to Zombies, an alphabet of graphic novels by women.

This video is sad and beautiful and all kinds of wonderful: The Life of Death. Great storytelling.

Fantasy Fiction Focus features Tim Reynolds.

 

Historical novelist Tracy Chevalier calls Charlotte Brontë her hero. The Guardian.

William Gibson shares his experience writing Neuromancer. The Guardian.

The secrecy and speculation around the Doctor’s new companion (or not). Radio Times.

A Discovery of Witches series is in development. Deadline Hollywood.

I can hardly wait! Outlander, season two, begins April 9! And here’s the official trailer in case you need a little something something to get excited about 😉

Now, to settle down with some tea and let all this awesome digest!

I’ll be back with some thoughty for you on Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

CanCon 2015 day 2: Blood spatter pattern analysis

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Presenter: Detective Constable Garneau of the Ottawa Police

Note: The Constable introduced himself, explained what his job entails, and the education he needed to do his job. He told us that he hadn’t presented to writers before and that he’s brought along the material that he’d present to an introductory forensics class. Then he told us that he spoke to a writer about what would be important for a writer to know. He was advised to focus on the physical evidence and on the interpretation of that evidence through case studies. We wouldn’t need to know the history of forensic science or much about the physics.

So, he asked us if we would mind terribly if he focused on that material. He also warned us, even though it was in the program, that he would be presenting some graphic material. He was so polite.

BlooSpatterPatternAnalysis

Blood spatter pattern analysis tells the examiner:

  • The direction the blood droplet was travelling;
  • The angle of impact;
  • The mechanism(s) that contributed to the creation of the pattern;
  • The area of origin;
  • The minimum number of impacts for any source of blood;
  • The relative positions of person(s) or object(s) involved;
  • The sequence of event(s); and
  • The identity of the perpetrator.

The most useful evidence is the outliers.

I confirm theories using science. I don’t work for the Crown, or the defence. I work for the court.

Blood behaves according to the principles of physics. It will behave differently, and look differently, on different surfaces.

In lab simulations, I use sheep’s blood, but then I would also have to explain how sheep’s blood behaves similarly to human blood when I present the evidence in court. If I don’t have to use a lot of blood for the simulation, I’ll use my own.

There are three kinds of blood spatter patterns:

  1. Passive;
  2. Spatter; and
  3. Transfers.

Passive blood spatter patterns are affected by gravity and include: drip stain patterns, drip trail patterns, drip patterns, splash patterns, pool patterns, saturation, and flow patterns.

Spatters are caused by a physical action and include: mist patterns, expiration patterns, cast-off patterns, cessation cast-off patterns, projected (e.g. arterial spray) patterns, and impact patterns. Impact patterns are the fun ones. I have to use physics and math to explain them.

Transfers occur when a blood-covered object touches another object, leaving a pattern behind. Transfer patterns include: the transfer stain, the swipe pattern, and the wipe pattern.

Many of us develop morbid senses of humour. It’s a way to protect ourselves from the impact of all the horrible things we see every day.

For impact patterns, we now have software which will map everything out based on our measurements. I could use strings, and in some cases, I have to, but it’s very time-consuming. Dexter does it wrong, by the way. You can be very precise.

I use trigonometry to determine the area of origin/impact.

The rest of the presentation was specific case studies and how the Constable’s blood spatter pattern analysis resulted in a resolution to the crime. In some cases, it was a positive outcome. In some, it was not. Most of the crimes presented were perpetrated by men against women, often their girlfriends, or spouses.

It was gruesome, but fascinating.

Next week: Getting noticed (in a good way) 🙂

Be with the one you love, tomorrow.

Phil and I will be heading to an afternoon movie (Deadpool!) and dinner.

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 31-Feb 6, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

I’ve been sick. Maybe that’s why I’m a little light-headed this week 😛

February 1 was St. Brigid’s Day, or, for the other pagans, Imbolc. Irish Central.

This is a great article on the Granny Women of Appalachia. Hub Pages.

I didn’t share the news last week, but Canada has school shootings, too. Wab Kinew writes about using our grief for good, after LaLoche. The Globe and Mail.

Celebrating 100 years of enfranchised women in Canada. The Toronto Star.

Brian Hiatt reviews David Bowie’s final years. The Rolling Stone.

Photographer Donal Maloney shares his photo essay of Ireland’s abandoned psychiatric hospitals. Irish Central.

BuzzFeed wonders what it would look like if male scientists were written about like female scientists.

I had no idea this was even a thing. Why the outcry (yes, outcry) about Susan Sarandon’s breasts is bullshit. Harriet Hall for Stylist.

Lady Gaga’s new release: Till it happens to you.

 

A BBC film crew captures deadly ‘brinicle’ in action.

This is cool. Bailey Henderson sculpts sea creatures from medieval maps. Hi-Fructose.

Live by these four rules if you want to be happier. Rachael Yahne for The Huffington Post.

Steven Page’s Surprise, surprise.

See you Saturday!

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Jan 31-Feb 6, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

I’m all about the Writerly Goodness.

Most common writing mistakes, part 48: No conflict between characters. K.M. Weiland. Helping writers become authors. Then, she helps us figure out which scenes to include in act one.

Using a scene template to craft perfect scenes. C.S. Lakin. Live, write, thrive. Later in the week, she continues her scene structure series with this post: Scene structure: Beginnings and magic ingredients.

Chuck Wendig gets a little punchy with his headline: The pros and cons of pro cons (for writers).

Emmie Mears guest posts on Terribleminds on the issue of impostor syndrome.

Donald Maass says dialogue should do more than fill the silence. Writer Unboxed.

Juliet Marillier shares her experience as an ‘older writer’ on Writer Unboxed.

Jo Eberhardt ofers up her lessons learned about crafting secondary characters that count. Writer Unboxed.

Tiffany Lawson Inman gust posts on Writers in the Storm about seven fight styles every author should know about.

Chris Winkle offers five signs that your novel is sexist. Mythcreants.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch addresses the issue of writer voice (or the lack, thereof) in her weekly business post.

Joanna Penn interviews Joseph Michael, The Scrivener Coach, for The Creative Penn Podcast.

Andrew Rhomberg shares some important statistics on Digital Book World. Start strong, or lose your readers.

Some hope for the long suffering submitter: Scott Edelman sells to Analog after 44 years of submitting.

A new literary movement: method authors. The Independent.

Mental Floss lists 11 words of the year from around the world.

The book most people lie about having read is not what you think it is. The Telegraph.

Last week was national storytelling week. Bustle lists 15 books that will help you start your storytelling career.

Craft your own origami book marks. Rocket News 24.

A new play, “Pig Girl,” takes on the plight of missing and murdered indigenous women. CBC.

Katy Waldman shares what she learned by joining Emma Watson’s feminist book club. Slate.

Can historical fiction be considered serious literature? Why are we even asking this question? New Republic.

See you Thursday!

Tipsday

The next chapter: January 2016 update

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

First, a note about the non-writing parts of my life

Well, the new year has gotten off to a bit of a shaky start, not with respect to my writing and revision goals, but with respect to other stuff.

In the last week of December, Phil got sick enough he had to go see a doctor. He hadn’t been in a very long time and in the process of diagnosing the illness he went to see the doctor for in the first place, the doctor diagnosed him with two other, fairly serious, illnesses. Three for the price of one. Yay?

I won’t go into the details, because it’s not my story to tell, but he’s on several medications, we’ve had to change our diet (not significantly, but still), and we’ll have to commit to several more lifestyle changes in the coming months. It’s going to be a good thing, ultimately, but I’m a creature of habit. Change is stressful.

Phil’s been told not to tackle everything at once, and so we’re dealing with things one issue, and one day, at a time.

I’ve gotten a cold for the first time in about three years. Since I don’t get them often, I tend to get doozies. I’m also in the process of seeing whether I’m anaemic or not, and my gall bladder is acting up.

I guess this is my reaction to the stress of everything else.

Which includes learning that I’ve been screened out of the consultant process at work. We’ve had a general information session, because many of the over three hundred people who applied were screened out, but I’m still getting an informal discussion of the specific reasons I was screened out. That happens Tuesday.

I’ve really been trying not to get upset. Work is work and I’ve tried to prioritize my creative work over the day job, but having been successful in the last three processes and had four acting assignments in as many years, I can’t help but feel that I’ve been kicked in the teeth. They still have testing and interviews to go, and if the eventual pool ends up being as small at I suspect it will be, there will be another process in the future. I have to question the point of putting myself through the wringer again, though.

My current acting assignment ends next Friday and at that point, so far as I know, I’m heading back to the training and advice & guidance team, but everyone keeps saying that I’m not going back and even managers aren’t including me in the training plan and no one is telling me anything. I’m kind of suffering from mushroom syndrome.

I’m trying to be Zen, but I’m not very good at that, in all honesty. I am a lot more laid back than some people, but I internalize a lot. Hence, the illen.

Now, onto the Writerly Goodness 🙂

I took some time over the holidays to plan out my writing year. Using Jamie Raintree’s amazing new Writing and Revision Tracker, I set writing and revision goals for the year, and for each month.

As I mentioned in my last Next chapter update, 2016 will be the year of revision. As I return to the querying process with Initiate of Stone, I realize I want to have some of my other five finished novels revised and edited and ready to go so that I can keep working toward my dream of a traditional deal.

What I did was to add up the current word totals of all my drafts and divided them up according to what I figure will be my productive months. I also estimated what my blogging totals would be per month and add in my NaNo 2016 writing goals.

What that worked out to was 37,550 words of revision each month (except November and December), between five and seven thousand words of blogging each month (except November), and 50k words drafted in November and December (NaNo this year will be book three of the Ascension series I figure it will take me two months to complete the draft).

So this is what January looked like.

JanuaryProgress

And I even took a few days off (!)

The month started with a couple of days devoted to reading through my draft of Apprentice of Wind, and then I set to. I’ll probably have the first run through done within the next couple of weeks, and then I’m probably going to go through it at least one more time.

So at 9,274 words, I wrote 141% of my writing goal and at 69,774 words, I almost doubled my revision goal (186%).

I also revised and sent out two short stories, and heard that another short story is still under consideration from a submission last year. So that’s awesome.

I also sent out IoS packages to open submission periods for a couple of publishers. As of the end of last year, the three Canadian small publishers I’d pitched last fall had either declined or failed to respond.

We’ll see where all of that gets me.

Other excitement

I’ve attended a few events this past month. The first was Last Stop at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, in which a couple of writer friends had their plays in progress workshopped in front of a live audience (us). It was awesome.

Then, I attended a Skype workshop with Barbara Kyle through the Sudbury Writers’ Guild on adding magic and verve to your first thirty pages. Barbara is an excellent presenter and so knowledgeable about her craft. It’s a pleasure to learn from her.

Finally, I attended a lecture by singer/songwriter Steven Page at Laurentian University on ending the stigma around mental illness. He sang a couple of songs from his new album and discussed his struggles with mental illness.

I’m also currently enrolled in two online courses.

First, I couldn’t resist signing up for Story Genius with Lisa Cron and Jennie Nash. It’s based on Lisa’s new book (of the same name) and is eight weeks long. I’m working on my week four submission this weekend. It’s hard (like, it hurts my poor, tender head hard), especially negotiating the day job and health issues Phil and I are facing right now, but I can see how it’s going to improve my ability to write a novel that will hook readers and keep them reading.

Second, I signed up for Jamie Raintree’s Design a writing career you love workshop. I’m trying to keep one foot in the business side of things. Jamie’s an excellent instructor and I always enjoy her courses.

I’ve booked my hotel for both Ad Astra in April and WorldCon in August and am still waiting for the registration information for The Canadian Writers’ Summit to emerge.

So, I guess it’s no wonder I’m under the weather at the moment.

By and large, though, I love my life. The creative part of it anyway 😉

Next week, the CanCon 2015 reportage continues.

Hope your creative endeavours are moving full steam ahead and that you’re all well on your ways to meeting your goals. Feel free to share your trials and triumphs in the comments below.

The Next Chapter

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 24-30, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Popping your mental corn for . . . a couple of years now, anyway 😉

Walking helps us think. Ferris Jabr for The New Yorker.

Diversity at the Oscars matters. #OscarsSoWhite Cameron Bailey for The Globe and Mail.

I am not black. You are not white.

 

The bitter experience of residential schools translated through ballet: Going Home. CBC.

Steven Page shared his mental health struggles in Sudbury last Thursday night. The Northern Life.

You are not weak by Devin Sarges.

 

New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory. Science Alert.

The memory capacity of the brain is ten times greater than previously thought. New Universe Daily.

Mental Floss lists ten legendary monsters of North America.

Plants communicate using a network of fungi. Uplift.

Trees have social networks. Another article on the same topic. The New York Times.

Traces of a 9000 year old civilization discovered in Lake Huron by University of Michigan researchers. Message to Eagle.

Lupus 4 is a dark cloud in space. Phil Plait examines the mysteries of this tentacular hole for Slate.

Lady Science, a new anthology, is helping to stamp out sexism in the sciences. Slate.

A buried ‘daytime hotel’ is rediscovered in all its Art Nouveau splendour. Messy Nessy Chic.

Roger Boisjoly, the engineer who tried to stop the Challenger launch, dies at the age of 73. The LA Times.

Mimi Matthews explores cat funerals in the Victorian era.

And that was Thoughty Thursday.

And guess what? I lied last Saturday when I said I’d be back with more convention reportage. It’s actually Next Chapter time! So, I’ll be back on Saturday with that.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, 24-30, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

The video frenzy has calmed down, but the space has been filled with all kinds of Writerly Goodness!

Your NaNo novel is a hot mess. K.M. Weiland explains how to approach revision and editing.

Katie posted later in the week about how to write realistic fight scenes and later still with the number one problem with backstory (and how to fix it).

Outlining your scenes will help you write a great novel. C.S. Lakin.

Sue returned with another entry in her scene structure series: understanding the truth about character arcs.

Roz Morris gives us a simple way to understand show, not tell.

Everyone is all about structure, the outline, and planning rather than pantsing. Well, I’m proud to identify as a plantser. Steven James explains to Writer Unboxed readers how abandoning your outline can improve your story.

Bonnie Randall guest posts on Janice Hardy’s Fiction University writing about matching actions and emotions.

Christian Cameron writes about war, violence, and killing characters.

Cara Sue Achterberg shares how she added a touch of fantasy to her novel. Author First.

Don’t worry, it only gets harder. Dan Blank explains why it’s important to keep your focus where it belongs. Writer Unboxed.

Kameron Hurley considers kindness and conventions. Later in the week, she’s committed to the drop and offers a few words of advice on non-compete clauses and rights grabs.

The politics of justice: Identity and empire in Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Trilogy. Liz Bourke for Tor.com.

Renee Baum helps us to see writing as surgery for the soul. The Elephant Journal.

The Book of Kells is now free to read online. It’s a masterwork of medieval illumination. Trinity College Dublin.

Jake Rossen asks, why do books have blank pages? Mental Floss.

There’s a new Beatrix Potter story to be published after 100 years. CBC.

Eight words reveal the sexism at the heart of the English language. The Guardian.

Stephen Fry, Ina McKellen, and Melvyn Bragg share their stories for this new online course, Literature and mental health. The Independent.

Hit Record: a different kind of social media. Check it out. It looks awesome.

Shane Koyczan’s Crush:

 

Outlander casts Brianna for season two. The Hollywood Reporter.

It was a good week. Here’s to another!

See you Thursday 🙂

Tipsday

CanCon 2015 day 2: Magic and magical systems

/ Melanie Marttila

Panellists: Leah Bobet, Kate Heartfield, Jim Davies, Leah Petersen

KH: Why do we choose to systematize magic?

LP: There are so many ways to approach it. I think the goal is to bring something unique to readers. Generally, epic fantasy means systemic magic.

KH: Have reader expectations changed over time?

LP: If you know what you’re aiming for, you have to dig in.

JD: In Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, magic is inexplicable. It’s more wonderful because it’s not explained. Observation yields magic. Understanding saps magic of its wonder. The best solution is to have your magic system generate questions in the reader.

LB: Where do you want to go today? Patricia McKillip is more mystical. Lev Grossman is more systemic. Your story is going to dictate the nature of the magic in it. Magical realism liberated the idea of what magic could be. I could be organic. You need the right tool for the job. People read books for different reasons. Is the reader looking to be challenged or are they looking for the familiar?

JD: I read role-playing game books for pleasure. I had trouble getting through Harry Potter because I felt that there wasn’t anything that couldn’t happen.

LB: Authorial fiat may damage your world building drastically. You might end up with one foot on the cliff and one foot in the air.

KH: The question asked in Grossman’s The Magicians is, who gets to have the magic? Harry Potter never explored that question. How do modern authors address this?

LP: In a book I’ve read recently, every culture within the world had its own magic.

JD: The charm of hidden world stories like Harry Potter is that it could be happening right now. Writers could also be lazy.

LB: Some magic systems play with magic and class. Scarcity implies privilege. What would it be like to be special? Knowledge can be magic. Music can be magic. If magic is important in your story can the average person get it? I am special – magic is internal and only the gifted can access it. This thing is special – the magic is external and anyone can use it. Our systems are a reflection of our enthusiasms as authors.

LP: Increasing diversity means that everyone looks at magic differently.

KH: A great example of that is Aliette de Bodard’s House of Shattered Wings.

LB: In The Shadow Speaker, the pathways to knowledge are difficult.

Q: Can magic and technology work together?

LP: Yes. Look at the Powder Mage trilogy. As technology increases, so does magic.

LB: Elizabeth Bear had one of her characters use divination by MP3 shuffle. That would be cool – an app for magic.

KH: Steampunk conflates technology and magic.

Q: How do you decide that the story you’re writing needs magic?

LB: I had an idea for magic using resonance and chords. It was cool stuff theory. Editors make you justify your bullshit, though.

KH: You have to get into the how of it. Science and technology is to science fiction what magic is to fantasy, generally speaking.

LP: I had to think about how the magic in my story world worked, but do my readers really need to know this?

Q: How quantified does the system have to be?

LB: Theme can be your guide. Like Water for Chocolate used food magic. In [Gabriel Garcia] Marquez, the landscape is magic. In The Cooler, the magic was the character’s ability to dampen luck.

JD: How systematized is systematized? Even if you use spells, unpredictable results may render the magic non-systemic.

LB: Magic cooking would be yummy.

Q: When do you go subtle and when do you sensationalize?

JD: Stage magicians are sensational. People who want you to think they have power work more subtly.

LP: It will depend on the story.

LB: If everything is at a 10, they everything is really at a 1.

Q: Can you talk a little about consequences?

LB: Magic can have social consequences, sour relationships. It can be small, cumulative things. Check out Resurrection Man.

KH: The magic user can get to a point where they’re forever changed by the magic. In The Fisher King legend, the king is linked to the land, so the consequences are not just for him, but for all his people.

LP: The price could be to lose your generative ability. You’re sterilized as an initiation. It’s all up front.

JD: In The Runelords, the cost of magic comes from someone else.

LB: For Ged, in the Earthsea trilogy, the cost is his morality.

And that was time.

Next week: Blood spatter analysis (!) A constable from the OPP explains how it’s really done 😉

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Jan 17-23, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

Oh noes! I’ve rediscovered YouTube and the videos have invaded . . .

Canada is named the second best country in the world. How Canadian 🙂 We’re excited about coming in second. Global News.

Some of our new Syrian friends enjoying tobogganing for the first time:

 

Peter Denton wonders, where have all the readers gone? The Globe and Mail.

Dear parents: Everything you want to know about your son or daughter’s university, but don’t. Michael Enright interviews Ron Srigley for The Sunday Edition on CBC.

Education is performance art. Penn & Teller share their thoughts in The Atlantic.

When Trent Hamm thinks of the times he’s been the happiest, he notices two common threads. The Business Insider.

The powerful benefit of exercise that’s rarely discussed. Guess I’d better get my ass in gear. Quartz.

Dinah Laprarie of NISA champions mental health in Sudbury. CBC.

Cyndi Roberts of The Elephant Journal shares seven steps to easing anxiety without a pill.

Anna Lovind finds her own way to divine guidance 😉

So now a new study says smoking pot doesn’t lower adolescent IQs. IFLS.

Watching a water bubble freeze (in Finland):

 

Space-X attempted another booster landing last Sunday. And then this happened. Phil Plait, Bad Astronomer, for Slate.

That weird star with the Jupiter-sized planet and the suspected . . . something else orbiting it? Well the more they learn about it the stranger things get. Slate.

A constellation has been named for David Bowie (though it’s not officially recognized yet). IFLS.

Check out this planetary alignment through February 20. IFLS.

Phil Plait features this alignment on his Bad Astronomy column too. Slate.

xkcd charts possible undiscovered planets.

Rick Mercer’s rant on anonymous comments:

 

Gypsy Vanner horses:

 

Ms Mr performs “Reckless.”

 

And that was your week’s edutainment.

Hope you enjoyed it.

See you on Saturday for more CanCon 2015 reportage.

Thoughty Thursday

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Jan 17-23, 2016

/ Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

There’s as much for you to watch as there is for you to read 🙂

Roz Morris shares three paradoxes of writing life.

Set up and pay off, the two equally important halves of foreshadowing. K.M. Weiland.

Jan O’Hara explores the ethical implications of the writing life with nods to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and a disturbing psychological experiment. Writer Unboxed.

Janice Hardy explains the difference between setting and world building. Fiction University.

Kim Bullock is desperately seeking darlings (to kill). Writer Unboxed.

Chuck Wendig has some thoughts for mid-career authors. Terribleminds.

Carly Watters explains how you can write for the market (not to trends) and write for yourself.

Joanna Penn discusses publishing trends in 2016 with Jane Friedman.

 

Jannifer Garam shares the secret of writing when no one gives a shit. Brilliant!

Hugh Howey offers his advice on how to become a writer. The Wayfinder.

Chris Winkle details the perils of land travel before engines for Mythcreants.

How authors can employ supernatural elements in a non-fantasy story. Authors First.

Carol Daniels shares her experience writing a strong indigenous heroine in response to the pain of history. Quill & Quire.

Iconic science fiction editor David G. Hartwell (yes, the same man who presented The History of SF at CanCon in October) has died. Patrick Nielsen Hayden, Making Light (with links to other tributes).

Kathryn Cramer, David’s wife, wrote this touching post: till death did us part.

Authors call for a boycott on literary festivals that don’t pay. Nadia Khomami for The Guardian.

Jeannine Hall Gailey is disturbed by the plight of the amazing disappearing woman writer. The Rumpus.

Anne Thériault writes about mental illness and the male gaze in the figure of the sexy, tragic muse. Guerilla Feminism.

Plans are in the works for the 162 Arts Hub, a gathering place for artists, centering on indie cinema, right here in Sudbury! Our Crater.

Lisa Cron presents her Wired for Story TED Talk:

 

The storytelling animal. Jonathan Gottschall’s TED Talk at Furman:

 

Shayne Koyczan. Turn of a light. So love this.

 

Mental Floss lists 25 words that are their own opposites. They’re called contronyms.

The Park of Monsters is featured on Atlas Obscura. There’s a literary connection.

Marco Kalantari made this epic science fiction short film called The Shaman. You need to watch it. A-MA-Zing!

When Nichelle Nichols met Martin Luther King Jr.:

 

Fantasy Fiction Focus interviews Suzy Vadori.

 

I hope something gave you that special little bit of writerly advice you need to take your WiP to the next level.

See you Thursday!

Tipsday