Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff's Blog: #42 Pencil: A Writer's Life, the Universe, and Everything, page 87

Story Inspiration Sunday

Sometimes writers compare themselves to method actors.

You know who you are.

You’re the one torn between actually experiencing what’s happening to you and trying to record and remember all the details so you can use it in your fiction later. Like the grubby walls of the ER or the sensual touch of your lover’s hand. Those snapshot moments that take your breath away, that are too intimate to write about clearly–how the pain catches at your side and the cramps force you to bend over, or the vibr...

Blurbery

Blurbery

by Ursula K. Le Guin

After the sixteenth request last month to blurb a book, I lost count. They kept coming; there must have been about thirty in the month of October.Five of them came in the form of the novel itself arriving unsolicited in my postbox with a cover letter from the author or editor. The others are letters, mail or email, describing the book and requesting me to read and blurb it. They all express admiration of my work, and most seem to be familiar with it, though some so...

Harvest Time 2013

I’ve been a little discouraged about things lately what with government shutdowns and such. There’s been a lot of good science coming out but it’s been overshadowed by the news. Wendy commiserated with me somewhat but finally said: just blog about something that’s not discouraging.

She is, as usual, right.

I like this time of year. We do a lot with the patch of land we have and have many ambitions and ideas and experiments we plan over the winter and put into practice in the spring. Then, in th...

Uses of the Undead: Part 5

Last week we considered the importance of narrative in monster-wrangling, and looked at the ultimate weapon of the Powers, the narrative opiate of the people: the Myth of Redemptive Violence. This week we unveil the people’s ultimate weapon, subversive agape, and wrap up the series.

An agape feast, monsters welcome.

Who Will Be Othered First?

If the proper battlefield for wresting control of our monsters from the Powers is Story, the People would seem to be outgunned from the beginning. This is...

And Now For Something Completely Different…

A few writers and I got together and decided to start an ad agency to supplement our income. We put together an ad for the brave new drink known as Jetstream Soda.

Take a look and let us know what you think. Don’t hold back.

Sue Lange

Jetstream Soda Rep/Northeast

In the beginning: cooking up a hinky taste of you

This novel started with a one-star review. Someone who had obviously not actually read one of my stories before she reviewed it had said, “I hate first-person stories, and this is in first person, so I hate this book.” I thought, sheesh, I’ve never written a first person book. I was inspired. Now I wanted to try it!

I love chick lit in present tense. Everything is happening right now. I love that immediacy. What if I did a whole novel in first person, present tense? Take it all the way to elev...

Who’s Your Favorite Mad Scientist?

Need something spooky to curl up with this Halloween night? Try BVC’s latest anthology,

Mad Science Café

Edited byDeborah J. Ross

$4.99 (Anthology)ISBN 978-1-61138-328-7

From the age of steam and the heirs of Dr. Frankenstein to the asteroid belt to the halls of Miskatonic University, the writers at Book View Café have concocted a beakerful of quaint, dangerous, sexy, clueless, genius, insane scientists, their assistants (sometimes equally if not even more deranged, not to mention bizarre), frien...

Off-the-Mat Aikido

The Way of a Warrior is based on humanity, love, and sincerity; the heart of martial valor is true bravery, wisdom, love, and friendship. Emphasis on the physical aspects of warriorship is futile, for the power of the body is always limited.

— Morihei Ueshiba, O Sensei, the founder of Aikido, translated by John Stevens

I spent last weekend at the Aiki Extensions conference, which was held at Sofia University in Palo Alto, California. Aiki Extensions is an organization of Aikido practitioners i...

WWW Wednesday 10-30-2013

WWW Wednesday. This meme is from shouldbereading.

Recent reads:

Medair(duology)by Andrea Höst.

This is a reread. The first time through I whizzed so fast to see what happened, I knew I was going to be coming back more slowly. As often happens with this author, knowing what is to come gives the story a new perspective.

Andrea K. Höst ‘s work invariably starts with a lone female protagonist flung into an interesting situation. This is one of my favorite story tropes.Both the character and the world...

Now I want to throw out all my furniture

kitten puddle cuddle

In about a week we will bring home two new kittens. My husband and I are thrilled, not just because our family will double in size and we will again be cat-governed, but because in order to make the place fit for new kittens, we’ve had to do some renovating.

Our previous cats were aged. In their declining months they tainted large areas of the living room and dining room hardwood floors with “pet spills.” The basement, too. Pretty much all of it.

So, in order to encourage th...