They Might Be Giants has three albums of kids’ songs! Here’s “Never Go to Work” and “The Alphabet of Nations.” Which takes me to what is (usually) my favorite TMBG song: Particle Man! Update: Tiny Toons did a version of Istanbul (not Constantinople). Wow. I missed some stuff in between being too old for cartoons […]
We went to The Forbidden Kingdom a few days ago. I read somewhere that it was “a Kung Fu Wizard of Oz,” and yeah, I can see that. I liked it (quite a bit), but it wasn’t a perfect movie, even for a popcorn action/adventure movie — because of the conflicts. The overall conflict was
Parade of Phantoms is shutting down, and so my story “Fragile” will not be published there. The editor was apologetic and seemed to think I should be able to publish the story in a professional market. Siiiggghhhh.
I got to wondering today whether torture had been angled according to personality types. “Meyers Briggs INTP? For you, the thumbscrews.”
IT’S MY BIRTHDAY TOO YEAH! (Beatles + Metropolis = I’m the chick at 1:30. )
A list of books recommended to me over the course of the conference, not including any craft books recommended during seminars: Little Britches, by Ralph Moody (the Colorado boy’s version of Little House on the Prairie) Modesty Blaise, by Peter O’Donnell/Ralph Holdaway (comic strip) The Company of the Dead, by David Kowalski Legend, by David
Sunday Inexorable and Satisfying Endings with Laura Reeve. Fiction can either introduce a new perspective or confirm a reader’s beliefs. Genre fiction mostly confirms a reader’s beliefs. Each genre has its own expectations for endings. Romance novels? Happy endings. Mysteries and thrillers? Find out who dunnit and how. Literary novels? Resonant endings (to be explained
Saturday Agent Pitch to Cherry Weiner (wee-ner). I’d been hearing I was getting too long for my story. Cherry said, “70K? And you’re trying to cut words? No, honey. Add 30K and send it to me.” I don’t know if I’ll get that many in, but man was it a relief to hear that. I’ve
Friday Agent roundtable with Pamela Harty, Kate McKean, and Laurie McLean. My major revelation was that some agents have a focus on selling a novel, while others may also work with you on your proposal, editing on the novel, and even marketing. The impression I got was that small agencies with multiple people share a
You know how it feels when you’ve actually completed a major writing project that you love? Or what it feels like when you’ve finished a really good book? This whole weekend was filled with the sense of “I can do this.” Maybe not, “I can make a living off this and quit my job in
