M.L. Desir's Blog, page 41
December 27, 2018
My 2018 Awards Eligibility Post
Clark is an amazing writer and dominated 2018. I look forward to see what he does in 2019. Check him out!
Have I really hemmed and hawed and procrastinated until the waning days of 2018 to do one of those SF/F award-y list-y things for the Hugos, Nebulas, and what-not? Absolutely and of course! Hopefully I caught ya’ll at a good time….
View original post 1,098 more words
Is Fire A Solid, A Liquid, Or A Gas?
Fire is not a solid, a liquid, a gas, or even a plasma. It is our sensory experience of a chemical reaction called combustion. Fire engages a lot of our senses at the same time, creating the kind of vivid experience we expect to come from a physical thing. Combustion creates that sensory experience using fuel, heat, and oxygen.
THIS IS COOL. I WANT TO LEARN SOMETHING ELSE, TOO!Video via – TED-Ed
Further Readings And References @ Sparkonit, MIT, and Britannica
December 25, 2018
How to Write a Graphic Novel
Have you ever dreamed of becoming the next Alan Moore, Frank Miller or Will Eisner?
If you’re like, me I’m sure you have.
And you probably also thought that making graphic novels, or comic books, is a slow and difficult task that you won’t be able to do alone. Especially if you can’t draw.
You have to find someone who will illustrate it (and that sometimes includes someone else who will color and letter it), you will need an editor, and most important, a publisher....
Graphic Novel Script Format
Last summer, I worked as an Editorial Intern at First Second Books. One of my responsibilities was to read spec script submissions and I was floored by how many different formats were used for graphic novel scripts: screenplay format from a screenwriting software, stage play format written in Microsoft Word, prose outlines with sample pages of finished work…
I love reading scripts but sometimes the writer seemed to be making up the format as they went. I often found it difficult to...
December 19, 2018
Hazel Campbell (1940-2018)
We were very saddened to about Jamaican author Hazel Campbell’s death on December 12, 2019. Here is an obituary piece by Peepal Tree Press.
Hazel Campbell was born in Jamaica in 1940, and passed away on 12 December 2018. One of Jamaica’s leading short story writers, her writing career spanned 50 years.
She attended Merl Grove High School and obtained a BA in English & Spanish at UWI, Mona, followed by Diplomas in Mass Communications and Management Studies. She worked as a t...
Underwhelmed
I was once a star athlete.
“You’ve accomplished so much”.
“You must be proud”.
24-7, I’d hear this.
If not heard, inferred:
Changes in body language, vocal tone.
Subtle adjustments in physical
proximity .
”Well, kinda,” I’d reply.
Changing my body language, speaking out
of the side of a mouth, half-hidden
by a diffident, slightly puzzled
shrug.
“But then again,
not really.
I mean, it’s fun and all.
Free beer.
Good times.
Fast metaboli...
Haiti: Crisis and Resolution
There have been many bumps in the road since February, 1986, when our people overthrew the Duvalier regime. Several coups d’etat have occurred, with the most damaging to the population having taken place in 1991 and 2004.
View original post 858 more words
December 13, 2018
Steamfunkateers, the Steamfunk Role Playing Game, is now available!
Baas Bello, the most intelligent person on earth, races to prevent mad scientist, The Alchemist, from assassinating George Washington Carver… Harriet Tubman and John Henry team up to do battle with an army of steam-powered Confederate automatons before they turn the tides of the Civil War… Robert Charles hunts Were-Rats in New Orleans… Mad scientists, Vampires, Air Pirates, daring Adventurers, power-hung...STEAMPUNK LOVERS — take notice — THERE’S A STEAMPUNK RPG AVAILABLE!
What Kind Of Procrastinator Are You?
Writers are fascinating creatures. We’re most comfortable talking to imaginary people, traveling to imaginary lands, and creating stories out of nothing more than words. What we also love is to avoid doing those things at all costs.
You love writing and want nothing more to spend your waking hours putting pen to paper? Sure! Right after you’ve picked the perfect pen and made the paper from scratch because you can’t just sit down and write. That would be crazy? Instead, we write a...
