N.E. White's Blog, page 20

Everyone is doing it

Might as well join in, right?

(I can hear my husband now, “Would you jump off a bridge if everyone was doing it?” Well…maybe. I mean, maybe they all discovered the water’s warm and it’s a lot of fun to jump off that bridge. It could happen!)

Yes, I’m starting a newsletter.

Go ahead. Sign up. You know you want to. (Because now you can stop waiting around here for me to post. ;) )

Click here.

I won’t share your email address with anyone. Promise! And I won’t ever send more than one newsletter a week (and probably a lot less than that).

Here’s what you will get:

My publication announcements. Be the first to know when a new anthology is coming out or when I finally manage to finish a story worthy of your time!
Story snippets. Both from my collection and from the good writers over on SFFWorld.com. I’ve partnered up with writers like Pete McLean, Charlotte Ashley, Andrew Leon Hudson, Wilson Geiger and many more!
Free stuff. You like free stuff, right? Who doesn’t. Sign up for the chance to enter random drawings where you can win Amazon gift cards, hard-back editions, and brownies (like, real brownies).

Plus, you’ll get the story behind this image:

Until later, write like you’re going for the moon.

And check out Devenio Concepts! Their site isn’t up and running yet, but it will be soon. These guys are awesome. Sign on to their email list, too. You just might be interested in all the cool things they have to offer.

Filed under: Monday Minutes Tagged: Devenio Concepts, Earthrise, Newsletter, newsletter announcement, short story

Unlikely Influences: What Lise Fracalossi learned about writing from LARPing

N. E. White:

Great advice. Read it!

Originally posted on Kate Heartfield:

Unlikely Influences is��a series of weekly blog posts about��how writers can learn the tricks of their trade in odd places. Most are from guest authors, but I���ll pop in from time to time too.

This week���s installment is by Lise Fracalossi.

���

���Hardenstein 2014 ��� Adventurers��� by RalfHuels (photographer), Anja Arenz, Chris Kunz, Dossmo, Niamh, Paolo Tratzky, Svenja Schoenmackers��/��. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

What I Learned About Writing From LARPing

by Lise Fracalossi

First, a brief definition, for those of you who haven���t seen the movie Role Models. LARPing (or larping) stands for live action roleplaying, or, what happens if you play D&D while wearing costumes.

I started out in the theater-style larp/interactive literature community, which involves short, one-shot games which feature people pointing index cards at each other. But I have recently graduated into playing live combat or ���boffer��� larps, which means I���m���

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Filed under: writing

Ethiopia

For the past few weeks, I’ve struggled with how to summarize my recent trip to Ethiopia for several reasons. One of which is that I spent most of my time in a westernized hotel conference room discussing geology and 3D models. Unless you are into those sort of things, it’s pretty boring.��Another reason is that I don’t want to misrepresent an entire country I really know nothing about.

Last night, my husband and I finally made the time to go through my trip pictures. After enduring the 100th picture of the back of a horse cart (we were only half way through!), he moaned and complained about the sheer number of photos I managed to take in the brief moments I had outside of the conference room. He informed me that a professional photographer he knew went to Africa and came back with a total of four (yes, that’s 4) photos he was willing to share.

I defended myself, stating that our impromptu slide show hadn’t allowed me any time to edit my photos. Still, he was right. I take way too many photos. And it occurred to me, like a good photographer, ��I could sum up my two-week experience in Ethiopia in just four photos.

So, here they are (never mind that I’m cheating with that picture at the top of this post).

Religion

At present, Ethiopia doesn’t have an official state religion, but in the 4th Century, the then Kingdom of Aksum officially accepted Christianity as a state religion and it still features large in Ethiopian culture.

Before dawn near the Medhane Alem Cathedral

My visit happened to coincide with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Christian Easter celebration – which seemed to last months. I didn’t get all the details, but essentially there’s a lot of fasting (40 days?) prior to Easter (which fell on the weekend after our visit, also a week after Easter is celebrated in the U.S.). However, it is not a full fasting, but rather just an abstinence from eating meat.

Yup, you read that right. This vegetarian managed to land in a country where most of the population wasn’t eating meat. Score!

Everywhere I went, there was a fasting menu for those opting to not eat meat for religious reasons. All I had to do was say I was fasting (if the servers spoke English) or point to the fasting menu (if they didn’t). It was great. I didn’t have to feel like a privileged westerner unwilling to eat the local fare, while getting the chance to eat the dishes specially��prepared to meet local tastes.

And the food was excellent. I’ve had Ethiopian food before (there’s an Ethiopian restaurant in my town and there might be in one yours), so I knew I would love the lentil and vegetable dishes along with their famous injera��(food of the gods, I tell you). I wasn’t disappointed with any of the dishes I had during my visit. Everything was exceptional. In a country known for its starving children, I gained weight.

Construction
Building construction on a hotel in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The picture at left isn’t the best example, so I’m cheating again and providing two pictures for this topic. Actually, I could fill an entire album with the amount of buildings under-construction just within walking distance of my hotel. They were everywhere.

Eucalyptus scaffolding

But the oddest thing: no one was working on them. Occasionally, I’d notice someone cutting re-bar in the street. If you look closely to the picture at left, there’s rubble on that chute. But for the most part, this section of Addis Ababa (near the airport) could easily pass for the set of some pre-verging-on-post-apocalyptic movie. It was a bit surreal being surrounding by 10 to 20 story unfinished buildings – with no one working on them. Of course, I asked my hosts what was up with the half-finished buildings. Most shrugged and said, “Developers.” As if that explained everything. Maybe it does.

Regardless, did you notice the scaffolding? All made out of sapling Eucalyptus. Like most places around the world where Eucalyptus is not native, it runs rampant. And Ethiopia is no exception. While one of our hosts admonished��the woody-weed, the nation’s builders make good use of it.

Build it, and they will come

Well, not necessarily. In keeping with the building construction theme above, China is investing heavily in many African nations, including Ethiopia. As any developing nation will attest to, infrastructure is key to propelling a country forward. However, I wonder about the pace of road building in Ethiopia. I don’t have pictures of all the road construction (too dusty), but I do have a picture of the finished product:

Toll road going into Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Notice something other than the smooth pavement, modern signage, and excellent paint job?

It’s empty.

My hosts took me on a trip down to Lake Ziway. We took the new expressway west toward Djibouti before turning off to go south to the lake. And the entire time we were on it (there and back), we pretty much had the road to ourselves.

The importance of having reliable transportation to a port town cannot��be understated. As one of the most populous land-locked nations in the world, Ethiopia would benefit enormously from a smooth highway when all the other roads are shared with folks like this:

Horse drawn cart with kid and driver

(I know, there’re going to be way more than four pictures in this post. Get over it and accept that I lied to you.)

But, if no one can pay the toll to get onto that nice, new expressway (paid and built by the Chinese using imported labor and materials), it makes one wonder whether the expressway may be a bit premature. Maybe, programs to help those farmers with carts purchase a vehicle would be funds better spent.

People Everywhere

Whenever I went out and about, I took my camera with me, but I pointed it mostly at landscapes and buildings. I didn’t take very many pictures of people, because I was too shy to ask folks if it was okay for me to take their picture. I regret that.

Ethiopia is full of people.

With an estimated 2015 population of 90 million, Ethiopia is one of the most populous nations in Africa. That’s roughly 83 persons per square kilometer. For comparison, the U.S. population density is about 33 persons per square kilometer. (The most populous nation in the world is China with a population density of about 21,000��145 persons per square kilometer. Which, really, is in a class of its own and why did I even mention it at all? EDIT: that 21,000 estimate was for Macao SAR, China.)

Anyway, suffice to say there are many people in Ethiopia from diverse ethnic backgrounds, and since I’ve gone way over my self-imposed photo limit, I’ll leave you with a few snap-shots of the people of Ethiopia.

Until next time, safe travels.

Filed under: Life Tagged: Ethiopia, travel

Travel and a goat

Hello World,

It has been some time since my last ‘real’ post. In between, I have been to Ethiopia. Rest assured, I will be ranting about my trip��along with my other rants. (Feel free to rant back at me!) But before that, I thought I’d get into the groove of blogging again by providing this handy travel list.

What to do when your travel day last more than 24 hours (and includes three continent, or ocean, spanning flights)

Do not forget an extra pair of underwear. You will need it.
Invest in the best ear plugs or sound-canceling ear muffs you can buy because if you don’t like the air pressure changes, you can bet your last dollar that the new born next to you doesn’t either.
Earn yourself karma points by remembering to use ‘please’, ‘thank you’, and ‘salaam’ as often as possible. Because if you are having a bad travel day, it’s likely so is everyone else traveling with you. Good manners are always appreciated.
Check that over-sized bag. Please. Just do it.
When in doubt, take an extra credit card.

That’s all the travel advice I have for today. Until next time, here’s a picture to ponder:

Cute goat awaiting its untimely death.

Have a nifty travel tip? Let us know all about it in the comment section below.

Filed under: Friday Photo, Life Tagged: travel, travel advice

Shared from WordPress

The High Road – https://dailyrichblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/the-high-road/

Always good to remind ourselves what we should be attacking.

Filed under: writing

Shared from WordPress

The first U.S. penny touts science, not God – http://wp.me/ppUXF-Acp

Interesting post.

Filed under: writing

Advice from a Slush Reader

Being an acquisition editor for a speculative fiction magazine requires two things:

Loads of free time
A love for the weird

I have copious amounts of one of those. Not so much of the other. Which do you think is the limiting factor above?

I started reading for an online e-zine. A volunteer position, of course. Most online e-zines make very little money. They are done – you guessed it – for the love of it.

Anyway, this past year, I’ve been reading loads of what some in the industry call ‘slush’.

Slush is the collective term used to refer to your stories. It’s not quite a negative term, not quite positive. It’s…slush. In my mind, it conjures images of warm afternoon ski days on a south-facing slope. Sometimes slush can be good.

But most of the time it’s bad.

As an acquisition editor, the trick is to get through the slush pile quickly, because if you don’t, it will keep coming until you are buried. So, you learn to recognize the signs of a good story and the warts and zits that foretell a bad story.

Let me say this right now, before I get into the meat of this article. If you take nothing else from this post, burn this into your brain:

If your first sentence is not perfect, does not draw me in, doesn’t say something profound or witty, then your story is not ready. If that first sentence mentions someone sleeping or being lazy, or describes the weather, then your story is not ready. If you start by explaining what your readers will gain from reading your story, then your story is not ready.

As a matter of fact, just know this: Your Story is Not Ready.

But wait, you may ask, how do I know if my story is ready or not?

If you don’t know if your story is ready or not, then your story is not ready.

Believe me, I’ve sent in stories that were not ready. I knew they needed a bit more spit and polish, but I figured the editor would see their promise and they’ll love them as much as I do and damn the consequences, they’ll accept!

Don’t fool yourself.

Frankly, we have so little of it these days, we shouldn’t be wasting each other’s time. Write your stories, then do the following to ensure they are ready before you submit them to some (harried) slush reader.

Advice from a Slush Reader
Share your story.

Yes, that’s right. Share it with your writing buddy or your best friend. As a matter of fact, join a critique group. Get as much feedback on your story as you can. The more the merrier. You’ll gain valuable insights into what you are doing wrong, but more importantly, you’ll start to recognize what you are doing right.

Edit your story.

This goes without saying, right? Never assume. And never assume you got every single typo out of your manuscript. There is never (okay, rarely) a typo-free story. I have tons of stories to go through, if I’m tripping over one typo over another, I’ll pass on your story even if I think it has promise. Most editors do not have time to work with a writer to polish their work. We expect it to be perfect when it hits our inbox.

Backstory sucks.

That’s not true, of course, but in short stories, inserting background story is like a huge speed bump in the road. Leave the backstory for your novels. In short stories, stick to the, you know, story.

Know your story.

What are you trying to say with your story? In one sentence, explain it to me. Go ahead. Do it right now. Take one of your short stories and write down, in one sentence, what your story is about. If you can’t succinctly do that for each of your stories, it’s very likely that someone who isn’t you won’t get your story. We are not in your head. I don’t magically know what it is you know. The only clues you can give me are the words you write. No, that doesn’t mean you need to write more words (see the point on backstory above). It means you must choose your words carefully.

Until next time, write well (but don’t send in that story in until it glows).

Nila

Filed under: Monday Minutes Tagged: writing tips

Rambling

Yeah, this is one of those blog posts.

I don’t really have anything to say, but I feel the need to, you know, say something.

Did you know I have a Tumblr account?

I do.

I never access it because I lost my password and the site does not make it straightforward to retrieve it or create a new one. So…I just don’t go there. But my WordPress blog is attached to it so it may appear that I am still posting there because…I am.

I have a habit of taking pictures of dead things.

Examples:

Click to view slideshow.

In my defense, I take lots of pictures. Doesn’t everybody now-a-days? We all have digital cameras. From among the thousands and thousands of pictures we take each year, some are bound to feature dead things, right?

I’m not the only weirdo. Apparently, it is a thing��(hey, that’s a link to a Tumblr site!).

It hasn’t rained aallllll month long.

Nor is it expected to in February.

Crazy, huh?

I know it doesn’t work this way, but can we all say (together now) ‘climate change‘?

The northeastern coast is getting hammered while the west coast is dry dry dry. I feel like an idiot for complaining (’cause you know as soon as it starts raining, I’ll be the first to whinge about the lack of sun), but it is so warm and sunny, the hubby and I contemplated using the portable AC unit today.

Until next time folks, share a random factoid from your life below in the comment section. Later.

Filed under: Life Tagged: dead birds

These Blasphemous Times

Happy Monday Readers,

Hopefully, you will wake this morning to a glorious day. They’ll be a sharp bite in the air, but the sun will be shining. Your coffee/tea/choice-of-beverage will be strong, and your commute into work will be short and pleasant. Everyone you encounter will have a smile on their face, and you will, too.

For today, you are all alive.

No one would have shot you because they took offensive at something you said or wrote or drew.

As writers, we know we’ve probably crossed the line of offensiveness a few times. We’ve written things that have come across as callous and disrespectful – probably because they were��meant��to be so.

We are extremely lucky to have crossed that line with little or no repercussions. At the most, we might get a comment or two from someone we’ve pissed off. We live in a society that values free speech, no matter how unpleasant. Folks can choose to ignore our offensive rants or they might even boycott our blogs or papers, but it is against the law to threaten anyone for something they have said or wrote.

We’ve lived so long under this right, hell, our first amendment gives us the right to free speech, I’m sure many of you, as I do, take it for granted.

But we shouldn’t.

And it would be wise to remember it is a (non-absolute) right given to us by the power of our government.

While I’m not fearful that our government will take that right away any time soon (though it may erode it), last week, we found out that it can be taken away by cowardly terrorists. (If you haven’t heard about the terrible attack on the French satiric paper called Charlie Hebdo, check out this (BBC), this (Daily Mail), and this (CNN) article.)

The United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights preamble includes this line:

…human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear…

Regardless of whether you agree with someone, we all have the right to express ourselves without fear of physical retaliation.

I don’t agree most things said on FOX News. I don’t agree with my state’s governor. I don’t agree with anything written in the Christian Bible or the Islam Koran. And I sure as hell do not always agree with my husband.

But I believe free speech is for everyone – including Sa��d Kouachi and Ch��rif Kouachi. If only they had realized that at a young age, maybe they would not have ended up behind a gun, shooting a roomful of cartoonists.

If you are offended by something, ignore it. Better yet, try to understand it. Because when we understand the other side, we learn something about ourselves. And once we know ourselves, we can change the world.

Until next time, pick up your pens and pencils, and write with no fear.

Darrin Bell (via Twitter)
Filed under: Monday Minutes Tagged: Charlie Hebdo, freedom of speech

He Drew First

N. E. White:

He drew first…

Originally posted on The Atheist's Quill:

David Pope in response to terrorist attack on French cartoonist (and others) Charlie Hebdo

Original post on Twitter.

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Filed under: writing