Alchemy Ink

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 25-31, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

I proudly present you informal writerly learnings for the week.

K.M. Weiland answers seven frequently asked questions. Helping Writers Become Authors

Anne Greenwood Brown discusses visual thinking on Writer Unboxed.

Barbara O’Neal shares a few tips on dealing with judgement. Writer Unboxed

John J. Kelley: what mystery propels your novel? Writer Unboxed

Jeff Shear guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog: a brief history of the fantasy genre.

Kristen Lamb warns about the dangers of premature editing.

Jami Gold fills in another blank in her writing craft master list: parallelism.

Chuck Wendig offers an analogy for character agency: history versus destiny. Terribleminds

Chris Winkle lists six types of turning points for climaxes. Mythcreants

Jenna Moreci lists the ten tropes that drive her crazy in fiction.

 

Then, she follows up with the ten tropes she LURVES.

 

N.K. Jemisin interviews Neil Gaiman on writing the comics—and queer characters—we need. Literary Hub

Halimah Marcus and Benjamin Samuel came up with this fun way to build a novel pitch. Think I’ll use a D20 and a D6 🙂 Electric Lit

Geeta Dayal shares Ursula K. Le Guin’s deeply weird and enjoyable electronica album. Because Ursula. The Guardian

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 18-24, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Once again, it’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Mona Eltahawy looks at Black Panther and the anti-black racism of Egyptians. The Washington Post

Here’s a bit of amazing research: Ojibwe plants and medicinal uses. Click through to download the paper. Dibaajimowin

Garden Therapy introduces us to some crazy plant ladies.

Katie Reilly: schools can’t keep up with the record number of students seeking treatment for depression and anxiety. Time

“Holy shite! What am I seeing out here?” Hilary Brueck interviews seven astronauts about what it’s really like to live in space. Business Insider

Phil Plait: the moon shows us what it means to be human. SyFy

SciShow Psych asks, should you stop using filler words?

 

Inverse: your brain on puppies!

 

Tomorrow is Friday and I hope you have a good one (lol—it’s Good Friday, doh!).

And be well until the weekend, when I hope you’ll be spending some quality time with the people you love.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 18-24, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

I give you … your informal writerly learnings for the week. What else?

K.M. Weiland shares five ways to take risks with your writing. Helping Writers Become Authors

Vaughn Roycroft asks, how deep the darkness? Writer Unboxed

Dave King is playing on trust. Writer Unboxed

Margaret Dilloway wonders, should your main character be likeable? Writer Unboxed

Heather Webb considers serendipity, zeitgeist, and the interconnectedness of all things (in writing). Writer Unboxed

Angela Ackerman shares three ways to help quieter protagonists steal the scene. Writers Helping Writers

Jennie Nash: characters in cars, thinking, or, how to deal with the passage of time. Writers Helping Writers

Nathan Bransford offers his take on how to edit your novel.

Gabriela Pereira guest posts on Writer’s Digest: four basic steps to start building your author blog.

Sara Letourneau provides a case study on isolation as a literary theme. DIY MFA

I plumb the depths of the Baba Yaga fairy tale. DIY MFA

Tamar Sloan lists five powerful strategies to build writer’s grit. DIY MFA

Margie Lawson helps you capture “cliché play” power. Writers in the Storm

Jami Gold explains how to create positive themes despite bittersweet endings. Later in the week, she answers the question, what is line editing and what should line editors do?

Nathan Bransford explains how writing changes the world.

Nina Munteanu: the gestalt nature of passion and success.

Oren Ashkenazi lists five common pitfalls of stories with deep ideas. Mythcreants

Farrah Penn tells the tale of Amy Daws, the first writer-in-residence of Tires, Tires, Tires. Buzzfeed

Emily Asher-Perrin looks at Trish Walker’s evolution in the second season of Jessica Jones: I don’t want to be with him; I want to be him. Tor.com

Michael Moreci: Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One is smarter and more insightful than you’ve been told. Tor.com

And that was Tipsday. Be well until Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 11-17, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping.

Kelli Foster shares 24 essential recipes for your St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. So what is St. Patrick’s Day has passed? Enjoy these Irish treats any time of the year. The Kitchn

Patti Neighmond: the heart gets younger with exercise, even if you’re middle aged. NPR

Yes, the headline is click-bait-y (and the writers did have some fun with it, I’m sure), but NASA is, in fact, planning robotic missions to Uranus and Neptune: NASA wants to probe deeper into Uranus than ever before. The Space Academy

I woke up on March 14th, Pi day, the Ides of March, and the first news that greeted me was the passing of Stephen Hawking. Another heartstring broken. Here is Cambridge University’s tribute to Stephen Hawking.

Yonette Joseph shares Stephen Hawking, in his own words. The New York Times

Benjamin Shingler reports on the troubling pattern emerging from the MMIWG in Quebec. CBC

Indigenous students learn to build tiny houses, from start to finish. Jules Knox for Global News.

Caris Cruz writes about Yggdrasil, the Norse world tree. Tales by Trees

And now, a feel-good story: a dream workshop with the New York City Ballet. Upworthy

 

I hope something in this small selection inspired you to create.

Be well until the weekend.

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 11-17, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Just a little informal writerly learning this week.

K.M. Weiland helps you spot and avoid self-indulgent writing. Helping Writers Become Authors

Writing partners Piper Bayard and Jay Holmes explain how to write the good fight. Writers in the Storm

Angel Ackerman says, if you want to push your protagonist over the edge, use emotional amplifiers. Writers in the Storm

Anna Elliott shares three tips to hook your readers’ emotions. Writer Unboxed

David Corbett is yearning to be evil. Writer Unboxed

Juliet Marillier answers the question, what is fantasy, exactly? Writer Unboxed

Tamar Sloan stops by DIY MFA to share five ways to build your success team.

Jami Gold: if you want to deepen your story, you gotta theme it like you mean it! Writers Helping Writers

Kristen Lamb breaks down the real odds of author success.

Eli Landes stops by Jane Friedman’s blog: there are only two types of stories—and why that matters.

Chris Winkle explains when to narrate a villain’s point of view. Mythcreants

Kelly Robson: The future we imagine is the future we get. Tor.com

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until thoughty Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 4-10, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s a very small Thoughty Thursday this week. I blame the travel and the illen. I hope to have a little more brain in coming weeks.

John Pavlovitz: acknowledging our grief anniversaries.

Nikhil Sonnad explains how the “forgetting curve” makes learning difficult. Quartz

Manisha Krishnan: dear white people, please stop pretending reverse racism is real. Vice

Lisa Odjig, hoop dancer. Elle Magazine, the movement.

 

An awesome resource: native-land.ca Ever wanted to know what indigenous land you’re on? Now you can figure it out. Includes North America and Australia.

I hope that something in this curation got your mental corn popping.

Be well until the weekend!

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, March 4-10, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Your informal writerly learnings for the week, gentle reader 🙂

Marisa de los Santos is writing through the rough parts. Writer Unboxed

Donald Maass expounds on high drama and heroism. Writer Unboxed

Kathryn Craft: proving your protagonist has what it takes. Writer Unboxed

Jeanne Kisacky discusses the ups and downs of the supporters in a writer’s life: a well-deserved expression of gratitude. Writer Unboxed

The island of misfit characters. Where intriguing characters go when they’re … not quite right. Kathryn Magendie on Writer Unboxed.

James Scott Bell: garlic breath for writers (AKA bad first pages). Writers Helping Writers

Angela Ackerman explains how to raise the stakes by making is personal. Writers Helping Writers

A.K. Perry begins a new series on signpost scenes with the disturbance. DIY MFA

Elisabeth Kauffman answers a question about character motive in her new series, ask the editor. DIY MFA

Sierra Delarosa lists five grammar mistakes writers should avoid. DIY MFA

Peter Selgin guest posts on Jane Friedman’s blog: how your story’s opening foreshadows (intentionally or not) what’s to come.

L.L. Barkat, who bid farewell to blogging years ago on Jane Friedman’s blog, returns to explain why blogging may no longer be such a bad thing anymore.

Chuck Wendig responds to Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s tweet defining art and entertainment. Terribleminds

Kristen Lamb: how story forges, defines, and refines character.

Julie Glover asks, are you sick and tired of editing your novel? Writers in the Storm

Oren Ashkenazi explains why the term “Mary Sue” should be retired. Mythcreants

Nina Munteanu says, write about what you know.

Sudbury Writers’ Guild member and vice-president Vera Constantineau is interviewed on Morning North about her new fiction collection, Daisy Chained. CBC

Nnedi Okorafor: science fiction that imagines a future Africa. TED Talks

Leah Schnelbach wonders, how could I forget the liberating weirdness of Madeleine L’Engle? Tor.com

Katy Waldman rereads A Wrinkle in Time after a childhood spent enthralled by Madeleine L’Engle. The New Yorker

Alison Flood reports that Shakespeare may have annotated his own source for Hamlet. The Guardian

Be well until Thursday, my friends!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 25-March 3, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

I hope you find something that gets your mental corn popping in this small mixed bag of goodies.

Rachel Giese: why masculinity needs to be the next big conversation in the #metoo movement. Chatelaine

Dr. Brian Goldman interviews women in medicine about their experiences with sexual harassment. CBC’s White Coat, Black Art.

Sarah E. Baires: white settlers buried the truth about the Midwest’s mound cities. The Smithsonian Magazine

Matthew Schuler: why creative people sometimes make no sense. Yeah, it’s from 2013, but it’s interesting, no?

Tom Simonite reports on how an AI is being used to help stroke victims. Time is brain. Wired

Ravens are evolving, but not in the way you’d expect. Mr. Science has always told me that evolution is adaptation, but not necessarily improvement. What may be perceived as a negative, may actually be positive, though. Jason Bittel for National Geographic.

This made me happy-cry: humans reunited with dogs.

 

And that was Thoughty Thursday for the week.

Be well until the weekend!

thoughtythursday2016

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Feb 25-March 3, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Gentle readers, here are your informal writerly learnings for the week:

K.M. Weiland says, don’t write scenes—write images! Helping Writers Become Authors

Christina Delay: the attraction of passion. Writers in the Storm

Lisa Hall-Wilson shares five quick ways to shift description and setting into deep POV. Writers in the Storm

Julia Munroe Martin is getting in touch with the inner magician. Writer Unboxed

Magic cloaks, lucky charms and other writerly superstitions. Sarah McCoy explores writers’ rituals on Writer Unboxed.

Barbara O’Neal wants you to imagine your ideal reader. Writer Unboxed

Sophie Masson examines some of the great last lines of fiction. Writer Unboxed

Kristen Lamb explains how writing a story from the end results in a mind-blowing read.

Janice Hardy warns, over-explaining will kill your novel. Fiction University

Emily Wenstrom tells you how and why to clean your email subscriber list. DIY MFA

Bess Cozby rises to new challenges the DIY MFA way. DIY MFA

Rebecca Monterusso returns to DIY MFA: five reasons it’s time to call an editor.

Chuck Wendig shares three truths about writing and how the writing gets done. Terribleminds

Chris Winkle reveals the one big thing most manuscripts lack. Mythcreants

Jami Gold fills in more blanks in her writing craft master lists: theme development.

Angela Ackerman shares three ways setting can steer your story’s plot. Writers Helping Writers

Mary Robinette Kowal: ask a puppet, episode 4.

 

Ruth Harris lists eight common mistakes readers hate—and how to fix them. Anne R. Allen’s blog

Nina Munteanu: how art reveals truth in science.

Shoshana Kessock compares the feminism of Black Panther to the feminism of Wonder Woman.

Be well until Thursday!

tipsday2016

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Feb 18-24, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila / 1 Comment

Here are a few links to get your mental corn popping (making creative connections).

Anna Mehler Paperny begs your attention: no, Canada does not spend more on refugees than on its seniors. It’s a big misunderstanding that needs correction. Global News

Adam Gopnik: four truths about the Florida school shooting. The New Yorker

Ed Brayton says, the problem is toxic masculinity, not mental illness. Patheos

Peter Kruger cribs from The Princess Bride. Why does the NPR station have so much propaganda against Trump? Quora

Elizabeth Chuck reports on women, harassed in medicine, await their #metoo reckoning. NBC News

Olga Khazan examines a paradox: the more gender equality, the fewer women in STEM. The Atlantic

Rachael Stephen describes the cognitive behavioural therapy method in this next instalment of her series on mental health.

 

Phil Plait: Osiris-X looks home from far, far away. SyFy

An amateur astronomer spots a supernova, right as it begins. Ryan F. Mandelbaum for Gizmodo.

Megan Senseney surveys hygiene practices of the middle ages. Healthy Way

Anna Lovind writes an ode to winter.

Enjoy the evocative work of women artists of the Canadian Inuit. Women Arts Blog

Chris Wright wonders, can you hack coral to save it? Outside

John Vidal: a eureka moment for the planet; we’re finally planting trees again. The Guardian

Andy Coghlan reports how trees have been seen resting their branches while they “sleep.” New Scientist

Ephrat Livni: heart of barkness. Japanese “forest medicine” is the art of using nature to heal yourself, wherever you are. Quartz

Bored Panda shares Grace Gogarty’s hilarious guide to dog breeds.

Be well until the weekend.

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