S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 249

The Promonator

EXT. LIT-HEAD'S BAR - OVERPRICED NY HOTEL HOSTING NAT'L WRITER'S CONFERENCE - NIGHT

Silence. Gradually the sound of writers arguing and getting drunk becomes audible. Soiled bookmarks and discarded freebie books litter the sidewalk. An agent runs out of the bar, followed by three romance writers seeking representation and Mr. Cover Art 2009, who thought he was cute.

INT. LIT-HEAD'S BAR - NIGHT

The roaring fire from the free books handed out during the writer's conference and now being burne...

PBW2K Ten

Remember back in April when I talked about PBW hitting the 2000th post mark? Today it officially does, just thirteen days short of the blog's five-year anniversary. The math says I've written on average 400 posts per year since I started this thing.

So now I'm going to shut it down and go live on an island without internet service. It's been fun. Bye!

No, no, just kidding. I won't leave you guys in the forest of Twitterfeeds and static excuse blogs. Besides, deserted islands are overrated...

Bucket Books

A life-goal or "bucket" list is comprised of all the things a person wants to do before life is over (or they kick the bucket.) The list can contain anything from ordinary/mainstream ambitions such as "get married and have kids" to exotic or highly unlikely dreams like "buy my own island and live there." In many of the articles I've read about the practice, writing and/or publishing a book is usually on the list.

I'm not surprise to see that there are so many aspiring bucket-list book writ...

The Art of Words

You're sensing a theme here now, aren't you? Ha.

The practice of making art out of words has been around almost as long as we have. Archeologists have found graffiti at Pompei and Herculaneum, and some 5,000-year-old specimens on the walls of the Tarxien Temples in Malta.

Mapelba has a collection on flickr here of art made from words from her novel, as well as a blog called Words are Art.

Wordmeister Edward Ruscha liked to paint words as art. My favorite from his work is his painting I Think...

The Art of Books

Dark Roasted Blend has two mesmerizing posts on making art out of books: Unusual Books and Book Sculptures and The Bittersweet Art of Cutting Up Books. I don't know that I could do anything like this -- I suffered some intense guilt pangs over the one time I deliberately defaced a book to make art -- but it's fascinating to see what artists who aren't cowards can make out of a book.

Libraries would love this: you try to pick up something to read, only to discover the bookshelves are made out...

Labor Day Ten

Ten Things About Writing Jobs & Sub Ops

Asylum.com, a men's lifestyle web site, is looking for reporters to hire and contribute to the site, and are okay with telecommuters. From the Craigslist ad: "Areas of interest include weird news, science, food, true crime, sex, politics, video games, entertainment and travel. We're looking for writers who can report original stories and humorously analyze new trends -- everything from the latest wave of serial killer memorabilia sites to new concoctio...

The Art of Pens

Since I did Post-It notes art yesterday . . . .

According to The Top Ten Most Expensive Pens in the World, "The Limited Edition Mystery Masterpiece, a joint creation between Mont blanc and Van Cleef & Arpels, is the most expensive writing pen ever created." I don't think I'd spend $730,000 for something someone could swipe so easily, but when you look at it you have to wonder how it would feel to try to write with such a lumpy/bumpy object.

Much more affordable: a chandelier made of pens, a...

The Art of Post-It Notes

I didn't know you could make sculptures out of Post-It notes, but I swiped a link from The Presurfer that led me to a very cool collection of 16 pranks, sculptures and murals made from the humble sticky note. I also found an almost finished Post-It version of the Mona Lisa over on Flickr.

Ever wonder how (and why) Post-It Notes were invented? Evidently it was part glue failure, part church hymnal.

The best Post-It Ad of all time, I think, is this classic on "how guys use Post-Its":



I prefer vi...

News

One of my friends over at Scribd gave me a heads-up on a freebie that gives a broad view of how to use the site to make money: 7 Little Known Secrets for Making Money and Saving the World on SCRIBD by Jed Diamond Ph.D.

I read it off the screen because the print option didn't work, but it's only eight pages so that didn't fry my eyes. It's a decent overview, but more geared toward nonfic writers; I don't think it's not going to set your fiction writing career on fire. It does contain a few h...

Painting Worlds

While I'm off writing and sulking (oh, yes, still doing that), a link blast from the past: Design of a vertical seaside metropolis by Jesse van Dijk (via Eva Gale.) I've also posted some pics of one method of world-building I do over at my photoblog.