curation

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 15-21, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are a few items to get your mental corn popping.

Cara Giaimo shares everything we know about birds that glow. Atlas Obscura

The Los Angeles Times editorial board says it’s time to phase out all single-use plastics.

David Costanza begs, can we please stop talking about generations as if they’re a thing? Slate

I didn’t know where to put this, really. Megan Senseney reviews the history of the spite house. Seems like an expensive way to get revenge to me. Urbo

Steven Silver offers an Apple crime roundup. Find out, among other things, how an Apple watch helped solve a murder. Writer fuel? You betcha! Apple Insider

Clive Irving lauds how veteran fighter pilot Tammy Jo Shults saved crippled Southwest flight 1380. The Daily Beast

Kyra Gaunt: how the jump rope got its rhythm. TED Talks

Artful science: Imogen Heap sings salt shapes.

 

And check out this beautiful moon Saturn occultation.

 

Inverse: Your Brain on Social Media. It’s not all bad …

 

Watch out, Grumpy Cat. Loki’s here to steal your throne. Vaiva Vareikaite for Bored Panda.

I hope you got some great ideas from this week’s batch of thought 🙂

Be well until next Tipsday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 15-21, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Looking for your informal writerly learnings? Why, they’re right here!

K.M. Weiland continues her ultimate first chapter checklist with part 2: writing the opening scene. Helping Writers Become Authors

Colleen M. Story wonders, is it unhealthy to be a workaholic writer? Writers in the Storm

Margie Lawson works her deep edit analysis magic on a bunch of descriptive passages. Not your mama’s character descriptions. Writers in the Storm

Laurie Schnebly Campbell helps you use the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator to create characters who drive each other crazy. Writers in the Storm

Lisa Cron explains how you keep writing when that critical, inner voice won’t shut up. Writers Helping Writers

Christina Delay dives deep with emotion on Writers Helping Writers.

Nathan Bransford wants you to know your rights as an author. Later in the week, he helps you find good comps for your novel.

Callie Oettinger reveals the secrets of the creative brain on Steve Pressfield’s blog.

Jami Gold takes a long, hard look at reader connections, fake personas, and catfishing. Oh, my! I mean, yikes! Later in the week, Becca Puglisi stops by to explain how to create a redeemable villain.

Following up on last week’s post, Chris Winkle helps you recognize bad and good storytelling advice. Then, Oren Ashkenazi explores six novels that struggle with multiple POVs. Mythcreants

Porter Anderson offers this provocation in publishing: attention spans are shorter and word counts are trending down. My favourite quote is from Tom Goodwin: “Book publishing is not in the ‘text industry.’ It’s not in the ‘reading industry.’ It’s in the ‘what do people want to spend their time doing? industry.’” Writer Unboxed

The Unbound Book fest is ripped for lack of inclusiveness and silencing a panelist last year. Olivia Garrett for the Missourian.

This oughta be fun: The Incredibles 2 trailer 🙂

 

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until Thoughty Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 8-14, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Here are a few links to get your mental corn popping!

Alana Ketler: doctors explain how hiking changes our brains. Collective Evolution

Krista Langlois: why scientists are starting to care about cultures that talk to whales. Smithsonian Magazine

Patricia Emonds: these twins, one black and one white, will make you rethink race. I know NG has received a lot of “too little, too late” criticism about this issue, but the article is interesting. National Geographic

Watch NASA’s 4K tour of the moon. Goddard Observatory

 

And, because Jupiter, an infrared fly by of Jupiter’s north Pole. NASA

 

Florence + The Machine – Sky full of song.

 

I hope you have a grand Friday and a fabulous weekend.

Be well until next Tipsday!

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 8-14, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

You may notice that your informal writerly learnings are on the small side this week. The vagaries of the interwebz 🙂

K.M. Weiland begins a new series! Your ultimate first chapter checklist, part 1: hooking readers. Helping Writers Become Authors

Joanna Penn interviews Jane Friedman: the business of being a writer. Later in the week, Joanna shares three techniques to write better settings. The Creative Penn

Then, over on Jane’s blog, Jane Anne Staw explains how to make your writing anxiety disappear by thinking small.

Sacha Black tells you how not to mess up your book series. Writers Helping Writers

A.K. Perry delves into another of James Scott Bell’s story signposts—the care package. DIY MFA

Elisabeth Kauffman continues her ask the editor series: how do you end a book? DIY MFA

Kim Bullock offers a mental health checkup for writers: when you’re not okay. Writer Unboxed

Robin LaFevers mines her characters’ wounds. Writer Unboxed

Chris Winkle explains why storytelling advice is such a mess. Mythcreants

Philip Horne: Paul Theroux, Susie Boyt, and Amit Chaudhuri let us look inside their writers’ notebooks. The Guardian

And that was Tipsday for this week.

Be well until Thursday!

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, April 1-7, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Another smallish Thoughty Thursday here to get your mental corn popping.

Jenna Birch uses the Myers-Briggs type inventory to examine what kind of friend you are. Man Repeller

Rebecca Beris reveals that silence is much more important to our brains than we think. Lifehack

Alex Beard: how babies learn and why robots can’t compete. The Guardian

Puffin beaks are fluorescent, and we had no idea (nor do we know why, really). Sarah Smellie for the CBC.

Ryan F. Mandelbaum breaks wind, er, news for Gizmodo: finally, there’s a book that can tell us which animals fart.

If you’re stressed at work … everyone needs a puppy in a drawer!

 

Guess what? Tomorrow’s Friday! Time to get your happy on 🙂

Be well until the weekend, when I have a blog-related decision to announce.

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Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, April 1-7, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

Were you looking for these? Your informal writerly learnings are here!

K.M. Weiland helps you decide between plain prose and beautiful prose. Helping Writers Become Authors

Jane Friedman returns to Writer Unboxed: a smarter author platform for the digital era of publishing.

Nathan Bransford offers a guide to social media for authors. Later in the week he offers tips on how to regain your concentration.

Emily Wenstrom explains how to use Twitter hashtags for writers. DIY MFA

Porter Anderson delves into author pay and publishing profits. And then, he looks at the success of Canada Reads as PBS announces a similar competition.

Valerie Francis joins Joanna Penn on The Creative Penn to discuss how to write a scene the Story Grid way.

Donald Maass takes a non-linear approach to middle scenes. Writer Unboxed

Sonja Yeorg is resurrecting a shelved manuscript. Writer Unboxed

Jo Eberhardt talks art and social change. It’s a ripping awesome post. Writer Unboxed

Tamar Sloan is deepening character complexity with the help of psychology. Writers Helping Writers

Angela Ackerman examines the destructive power of the lie your character believes. Writers Helping Writers

Jami Gold offers some suggestions to help you create a compelling, but quiet, black moment.

Heather Webb shares a writer’s lessons in failure. Writers in the Storm

Do the thing? Chuck Wendig offers a helpful (and hilarious) FAQ. Terribleminds

Kristen Lamb brings the LOLZ with her post on diagnosing the real writer.

Dheolos and Worldbuilding Magazine are creating a mountain setting. Mythcreants

Nina Munteanu explores how the women of The Expanse are changing our worldview.

Dan Koboldt is putting the science in your fiction. Writer’s Digest

And some writerly news from the north:

My friend and vice-president of the Sudbury Writers’ Guild Vera Constantineau is interviewed for The Northern Life about her new short story collection Daisy Chained.

Another friend and SWG member Rosanna Micelotta Battigelli announces pre-orders for her first novel, La Brigantessa, forthcoming from Inanna Publications this September.

And that was Tipsday.

Be well until Thoughty Thursday comes around to herald the weekend 🙂

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Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, March 25-31, 2018

/ Melanie Marttila

It’s time to get your mental corn popping 🙂

Ari Berman: Emma Gonzales is responsible for the loudest silence in the history of US social protest. Mother Jones

Zoë Beery hopes we all say goodbye to our happy plantation narrative. The Outline

Showwei Chu reports on how every bit of exercise counts in reducing the risk of early death. CBC

Colin Lecher explains what happens when an algorithm cuts your care. Automation is not always a good thing, especially when users don’t understand how it’s intended to work and don’t bother to check. The Verge

Samantha Paige on firsts. Shondaland

Karin Brulliard asks, are service dogs good therapy for military veterans suffering from PTSD? The Washington Post

Six signs of high-functioning depression (dysthymia) – Kati Morton

 

Your Brain on Sleep Deprivation – Inverse

 

I hope you found something inspiring or pertinent to a current project.

Be well until the weekend and my next chapter update for March.

thoughtythursday2016

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.

thoughtythursday2016

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!

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