Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 23-29, 2014

December 4, 2014 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Chuck Wendig confesses to being a sexist, racist, and whatever other ‘ists you can think of. This is social justice in my opinion, so I’m presenting it on thoughty day.

The psychology behind messy rooms. Elite Daily.

Wired’s absurd creature of the week: The colugo. Flying squirrel meets bush baby.

We’re mistaken about the whole alpha wolf thing. i09.

Ravens have social abilities previously only seen in humans. Another reason curvus corvus rocks my world. IFLS.

Interesting for genealogists and writers. Who is related to whom in what way? A great chart to keep things simple. mic.com

Because I love language. Newfoundland slang, brought to you by Cottage Life.

And that’s a wrap for this week.

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 23-29, 2014

December 2, 2014 / Melanie Marttila

What does theme have to do with your story’s climax? Everything, according to K.M. Weiland 🙂

Don’t let up on your tension. Katie’s weekly vlog.

A very important post from Dan Blank on Writer Unboxed: Adding more white space to your life.

Agent Sarah Negovetich answers your questions about publishing credits and space opera 🙂

Anna Quindlen’s A short guide to a happy life on Brainpickings.

Joss Whedon’s screenwriting talk for Impossible. He’d cracked a tooth at the time and persevered.

Steven Moffat has hired a woman to write for Doctor Who! Nerdist.

The Huffington Post’s Ethan Reid shares seven of the finest apocalyptic novels.

A list of words authors are sick of hearing. i09.

What Star Wars: A New Hope’s cut scenes can teach us about editing. i09.

Worldbuilding tropes that need to be forgotten. i09’s Toybox.

What science has revealed about people who read. arts.mic.

Shakespeare folio discovered in France. The New York Times.

C’est tout, mes amies!

Enjoy!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 16-22, 2014

November 27, 2014 / Melanie Marttila

Can you rewire your brain to change bad habits, thoughts, and feelings? AlterNet.

The science of sleep on Brainpickings.

Brain scans reveal what dogs really think of humans. Brain.mic

An archaeological find with a great story behind it. The Daily Mail Online.

A 1300 year old book of Egyptian spells has been deciphered. i09.

A 2000 year old pigment can eliminate the third dimension. Confused? Just read the article. i09.

Five facts you should know about the women who shaped modern physics. Ideas.TED.com

Know your place in the universe. BuzzFeed.

The sound the universe makes. Janna Levin. TED Talk.

Could we actually live on Mars? ASAP Science.

Russian dash cams have caught another flash in the sky. They’re still trying to figure out what it was. IFLS.

The sixth extinction. It’s coming. It’s okay to be smart.

What does a murmuration look like when it’s not in flight?

MacLean’s interviews Joni Mitchell.

A light-based art exhibit by Bruce Munro. My Modern Met.

Six ideas from creative thinkers to shake up your work routine. Ideas.TED.com

What Finland is doing right for its students. The Conversation.

Soup to nuts and everything in between 🙂

See you Saturday!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 16-22, 2014

November 25, 2014 / Melanie Marttila

Roz Morris has some excellent thoughts on choosing a title for your book. It’s more important than you think.

On finding your theme with K.M. Weiland. Guess what? It comes down to your character’s arc 🙂

How your editor can irritate you, and why that’s a good thing. Anne R. Allen with Judy Probus.

Victoria Mixon outlines the three vital steps to creating your protagonist.

Dave King is back on Writer Unboxed with another Buffy-inspired post: Everything I need to know about character, I learned from Buffy.

Jamie Raintree shares three strategies to stay motivated on long-term projects. Thinking through our fingers.

The seven roles of the healer archetype, on the Better Novel Project.

Julie Sondra Decker explores what happens while you wait. In propinquity.

Margaret Atwood came to Sudbury to celebrate her birthday last week. It’s the last time she’s going to make the journey, so we made a thing of it 🙂 TVO’s Steve Paikin (also Laurentian University chancellor) interviewed her.

And then the CBC’s Jessica Pope got a little Atwood action as well.

Ursula K. LeGuin at the National Book Awards. The New Yorker.

And the video:

Ursula K. LeGuin interviewed in The Paris Review.

Outlander’s Gaelic coach offers a crash course. Scotland Now.

Billy Boyd sings “Last Goodbye” for the final Hobbit movie. Entertainment Weekly.

Cary Elwes shares twelve Princess Bride Secrets. LA Weekly.

Seven strange and wonderful fan theories about fantasy and science fiction. i09’s Toybox.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 9-15, 2014

November 20, 2014 / Melanie Marttila / 3 Comments

Kindness and generosity can help your relationship last. The Business Insider.

Kare Anderson speaks about being an opportunity maker. TED.

The first real reason we need to sleep. The Business Insider.

Why psychological androgyny is essential for creativity. Brainpickings.

Like The Bletchley Circle? Read about one of the real code-breaking women the series was based on. The Edmonton Journal.

The grand unified theory of female pain by Leslie Jamison. VQR.

What has been discovered about the transmission of depression between mothers and daughters. Psychiatric Times.

Bryan Adams took these moving photos of wounded soldiers. The Independent.

Amazing buildings in Scotland. The Daily Record.

Some of the strangest and creepiest graves in the world. ViralNova.

A creative cartographer imagines a completely uncolonized Africa. i09.

The glow in the dark path inspired by Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Bored Panda.

Why tech leaders don’t want their kids using their products. The Unbounded Spirit.

Alberta fishermen find a fossil in the Castle River. The Huffington Post.

Nine TED Talks on how innovators are shaping the world of tomorrow.

Misnomers. Vsauce.

Just because it can be challenging to find your dog’s “presents” at certain times of the year. The dog tracker helps you find the dirt . . . Hack-a-day.

Sea otter pup cuteness. The Huffington Post.

Fun bubble experiments:

The Piano Guys. Ants Marching/Ode to Joy.

Hope you found some grist for your creative mill.

See you Saturday!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 9-15, 2014

November 18, 2014 / Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Last week’s big publishing news in The Globe and Mail: Where is Simon & Schuster heading?

What Amazon’s strategy may mean for publishing today. Someone saw this coming. Rebecca Allen. The Digital Reader.

Are there things more important to writing than talent? Anne R. Allen says yes. Yes, there are.

Roz Morris explains how a good editor helps you to be yourself.

How much realism does your novel need? K.M. Weiland.

Pantaphobia. That’s it! Fabulous post on Writer Unboxed about fear and the writer by Myra McEntire.

Sometimes, you’re going to hate your work in progress. Read Chuck Wendig’s thoughts on how to get through it (over it? around it?).

Young writers working together to reach their NaNoWriMo goals. CBC.

Can you afford to be a writer? Deborah Mundy for The Toronto Star Books.

Why writing shouldn’t be your first career. ALLi.

Neil Gaiman’s eight rules of writing. Brainpickings.

Anne Lamott on the true gift of friendship and the uncomfortable art of letting yourself be seen. Brainpickings.

Virginia Woolf on how to read a book. Brainpickings.

How to build a fictional world with Kate Messner. Ted.ed.

How writing fiction is helping people with mental illness. CBC.

That’s all the tips I have for you this week.

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Nov 2-8, 2014

November 13, 2014November 13, 2014 / Melanie Marttila / 5 Comments

Not a lot this week. Travelling and NaNo are taking priority.

Five tips from the stoics about happiness. The Business Insider.

How introverts react to the world. The Huffington Post.

How we’re wired. A video on left-handedness from It’s OK to be Smart.

Bizarre cloud formation seen in the Australian sky. IFLS.

The wildlife overpass near Sudbury is in the news. CTV.

See you Saturday!

Tipsday: Writerly Goodness found on the interwebz, Nov 2-8, 2014

November 11, 2014 / Melanie Marttila

First, it’s Remembrance Day.

Remember our armed forces and veterans and the sacrifices they’ve made for us.

Thank you, from the everywhere of my heart.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/remembrance-day-draws-huge-crowds-as-national-war-memorial-rededicated-1.2831009

K.M. Weiland discusses random story elements in her most common writing mistakes series.

Her weekly vlog focuses on scene breaks and including the right number in your story.

Katrina Kittle writes about how to facilitate your writing practice. Writer Unboxed.

How to invigorate your endings. Mythcreants.

Women heroes in pop culture, by Nina Munteanu.

DIYMFA’s master class with Jane Yolen.

Changing the way your world moves, by Brandon Kier on Mythcreants.

Patrick Rothfuss responds to the Ivory Tower.

How Hugh Howey Writes. Copyblogger.

Guy Gavriel Kay reflects on his apprenticeship. The Guardian.

Margaret Atwood on ageing, generational inequality, and what she’s working on now. The New Statesman.

Kurt Vonnegut on the shapes of stories:

Camilla Gibb on making a living as a writer. The Globe and Mail.

Molly Crabapple’s 15 rules for creative success in the internet age. Boing Boing.

More Molly at XOXO:

Why we should all be reading more poetry. Arts.Mic

See you on Thoughty Thursday!

Thoughty Thursday: Things that made me go hmmmm on the interwebz, Oct 26-Nov 1, 2014

November 6, 2014 / Melanie Marttila / 4 Comments

Last week, it was the attack on Parliament Hill that was the big news. This week, and many would say even eclipsing last week’s drama, is Jian Gomeshi. If you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, I’ll just let you catch up.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/jian-ghomeshi-host-of-q-no-longer-with-cbc-1.2813670

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/10/26/jian-ghomeshi-cbc_n_6050220.html

http://sexgeek.wordpress.com/2014/10/27/poor-persecuted-pervert/

http://theovercast.ca/real-take-away-message-news-jian-ghomeshi/

http://ellebeaver.com/2014/10/27/how-not-to-react-to-jian-ghomeshis-pr-statement/

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2014/10/31/jian-ghomeshi-and-the-women-he-knew/

When reporting harassment, you are not the problem. Mary Robinette Kowal.

The secret dual lives of people with mental illness. Behold.

To counteract all that: The science of happiness. Soul Pancake.