S. Andrew Swann's Blog, page 25

Things to screw with your futurism

Two unrelated things that I came across recently that should have some serious implications to anyone writing near-future SF.  The first post is actually kind of obvious, in fact it touches on one of the central themes of the singularity.  However, it hits a point that I don't think is explored often enough:

Quantum computing represents a moment of comparative advantage for the nation(s) that pioneers it akin to Great Britain being first with the Industrial Revolution. The first use...

Something you should read if you want to know what's going on

Returning to my occasional bout with politics on this here blog, I thought I'd mention the somewhat wry amusement with which I'm watching the complete misunderstanding of the whole Tea Party thing.  Even among allies of the movement, small and large-L Libertarians such as myself, saw the nomination of O'Donnell as a WTF moment since the conventional wisdom is she can't win the general election.  And of course the completely unbiased mainstream media is all a-cackle about the potential of a...

Plot and American Gods

Note: This post may contain spoilers, you've been warned.

A while ago, I posted some tips on writing "tightly-plotted" fiction.  This was in large part due to some reviewers using the term to describe my shaggy-dog space opera Apotheosis.  However, after listening to the audiobook American Gods by Neil Gaiman I thought it would behoove me to point out that the "tightly-plotted" label is simply a description of a way someone can put a story together– one well suited to thriller...

Yeah, this will save your business model.

(NOTE: I'm going to start posting (some) political stuff on my blog again, the experiment with two blogs didn't really work, and no one needs another political blog anyway.)

Again with the asshats I say.  And we have some wonderful hats of assness this time in the person(s) of a company known as Righthaven.  What is Righthaven, you ask?  It is a posse of out-of-control lawyers who Google on behalf of their clients' IP rights, and if they catch someone doing something nefarious— such as...

And now a word from Rod Serling

I put these on Facebook, but I figured they also rated a spot on the blog.

Listening

For my birthday I got a subscription to Audible.com and I've lately been listening to American Gods by Neil Gaiman, turns out to be a great choice for an audio book given how deeply rooted the whole narrative is in storytelling.  I daresay you won't find so many stories-within-stories this side of A Thousand and One Nights.  I'm also given to ponder the age old advice of reading your own work aloud as an aid to hone the prose.  I think listening to others' prose may be just as useful.  It...

Persistence

Well, I'm getting the chance to practice what I preach.  I've said that the most important part of being a writer is actually writing, butt in chair, day in and day out.  Right now it would be very easy for me to slack off.  I have one proposal and a full MS in my agent's hands to shop around, and I have no outstanding contractual commitments.  I could just sit back and let life and the day job take over. . .

But I'm not.  The counters aren't going to change for a while because I'm working on ...

Book Stuff and Blog Stuff

For audiobook fans, I have good news.  Blackstone Audio has just contracted to do an audiobook version of Wolf's Cross.  I've also added buy links for the Audible.com versions of Prophets and Heretics.   I also finally added this widget:

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To the Wolf's Cross page.

A Webcomic you should follow

Gunnerkrigg Court: If you took Harry Potter, tossed it a blender with some of Girl Genius and some Neil Gaiman, you'd end up with something in the same genre as this.  The story goes from cute, to creepy to heartwarming in the space of a couple of panels.  And, if you pay attention, everything that seems to be arbitrary weirdness (and oh, is there weirdness) does eventually get an explanation.  You have to love a story about an English boarding school where Coyote (yes, THE Coyote) is a...

And Now A Word From France