http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml a weblog about writing en-us montoure@bloodletters.com This is kind of tedious to read, but that's the point: If all stories were written like science fiction stories goes into painful detail about all kinds of everyday activities in almost exactly the same way science-fiction does about the events it portrays. (It reads a lot like Heinlein or Niven to me, but maybe that just betrays my reading tastes.) If your science fiction reads like this, it's time to start rethinking things. http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml?thread=000091 This is an ongoing thread on gapingvoid, the weblog by Hugh "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards" Macleod, and, as you might guess, it's not about writing specifically, but is instead simply about how to be creative. There are some really lovely, insightful ideas in here: Then when you hit puberty they take the crayons away and replace them with books on algebra etc. Being suddenly hit years later with the creative bug is just a wee voice telling you, "I’d like my crayons back, please." http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml?thread=000090 Here's a little something for people who think that National Novel Writing Month is for slackers: the Great Mahakali Write-A-Thalon, where participants finish their novel or screenplay within 58 hours, from 9:00AM May 14th to 7:00PM May 16th. Completely insane. http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml?thread=000089 I haven't had a chance to finish reading this whole thread, but there's an excellent discussion going on at the Absolute Write Water Cooler: James D. Macdonald is talking about the art and craft of writing commercial novels. "My mutant talent is to make my opinions sound like facts," he says, and I have to say, they sound like facts to me, too. Excellent stuff. -- via Boing Boing http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml?thread=000088 Sorry I've been so silent here of late -- I don't have Internet access at home any more. But in case anyone's still reading this, I just wanted to share a useful article. But I couldn't find one, so instead, here's National Lampoon's How to Write Good. I wanted to go through and find a quote to post here, but really, I can't choose just part of it -- it's all amusing. Go see. http://www.bloodletters.com/ravenlike.shtml?thread=000087