Phil Giunta's Blog, page 74
March 13, 2015
Meet short story writer Curtis Smith at the Write Stuff Conference!
The Write Stuff conference is just two weeks away! Joining our august faculty is short story writer Curtis Smith who will impart his experiences not only in writing, but in publishing.
Click here to read our blog interview with Curtis...
Click here to read our blog interview with Curtis...
March 9, 2015
About This Writing Stuff...
This week, Lincoln Michel considers the debate of "genre" vs. "literary" no longer relevant. For a chuckle, check out some absolutely horrendous Kindle covers.
We get a double-shot of James Scott Bell discussing ten ways to write solid characters and how to craft a better second act. PJ Parrish explores the origin of brainstorming and cites George Lucas and Steven Speilberg as examples of how to do it well.
Veronica Sicoe offers invaluable tips on how to use Microsoft Word more effectively, and Dave King differentiates between creating tension using plot versus using characters.
All that, and a little more. Enjoy!
The Last Holdouts of the Genre Wars: on Kazuo Ishiguro, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the Misuse of Labels by Lincoln Michel
Kindle Cover Disasters via KindleCoverDisasters Blog
Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Characters and How to Write Act II by James Scott Bell
Better Brainstorming...Even If You Write Alone by PJ Parrish
How To Clean Up Your Manuscript Formatting in MS Word by Veronica Sicoe
Bay Area Book Festival Defends Author Solutions Sponsorship by David Gaughran
Rakuten to Acquire Overdrive by Digital Book World
The Trouble with Indie Math by Dana Beth Weinberg
What Do Your Readers Know and When Do They Know It? by Dave King
Stephen King to Share Writing Tips in New Short Story Collection by Alison Flood
We get a double-shot of James Scott Bell discussing ten ways to write solid characters and how to craft a better second act. PJ Parrish explores the origin of brainstorming and cites George Lucas and Steven Speilberg as examples of how to do it well.
Veronica Sicoe offers invaluable tips on how to use Microsoft Word more effectively, and Dave King differentiates between creating tension using plot versus using characters.
All that, and a little more. Enjoy!
The Last Holdouts of the Genre Wars: on Kazuo Ishiguro, Ursula K. LeGuin, and the Misuse of Labels by Lincoln Michel
Kindle Cover Disasters via KindleCoverDisasters Blog
Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Characters and How to Write Act II by James Scott Bell
Better Brainstorming...Even If You Write Alone by PJ Parrish
How To Clean Up Your Manuscript Formatting in MS Word by Veronica Sicoe
Bay Area Book Festival Defends Author Solutions Sponsorship by David Gaughran
Rakuten to Acquire Overdrive by Digital Book World
The Trouble with Indie Math by Dana Beth Weinberg
What Do Your Readers Know and When Do They Know It? by Dave King
Stephen King to Share Writing Tips in New Short Story Collection by Alison Flood
March 7, 2015
Harve Bennett, Writer and Producer, 1930-2015
I had the honor of meeting Harve Bennett at Farpoint SF convention back in 2006. As I had grown up with the Star Trek films and the Six Million Dollar Man, it was an exciting moment for me. Mr. Bennett was definitely a fan-friendly guest with wonderful stories of working in the industry over a long and successful career. He had such a wonderful time at Farpoint that he returned in 2007 and again in 2009.
Star Trek fans are saddened by Mr. Bennett's passing, especially as it occurred only one week after the loss of Leonard Nimoy.
Star Trek fans are saddened by Mr. Bennett's passing, especially as it occurred only one week after the loss of Leonard Nimoy.
March 5, 2015
Welcome Gabriela Pereira to the Write Stuff Conference!
We welcome Gabriela Pereira to the Write Stuff conference next month! Gabriela is the Creative Director and Instigator of DIY MFA, the do-it-yourself alternative to a Masters degree in writing. She creates tools and techniques to help writers get the benefits of an MFA program without going to school. Gabriela earned her MFA from The New School and has taught both online and at national and international conferences. When she’s not teaching or working on DIY MFA, she enjoys writing middle grade and teen fiction, with a few “short stories for grown-ups” thrown in for good measure.
Click here to read her interview.
Click here to read her interview.
March 2, 2015
Book Review: A World Out Of Time by Larry Niven
Jerome Branch Corbell awakens from cryonic freeze to find himself cured of the cancer that had begun to ravage his body two centuries ago. To his dismay, the reason for his cure becomes quickly apparent--his mind had been transferred to an entirely different body, that of a young felon whose memory had been wiped as punishment for his crime.
Corbell quickly finds himself a stranger in a strange land where the only human who speaks English is his caretaker, a harshly detached man known only as Pierce. Corbell must badger Pierce for any information about modern society. Finally, Pierce relents and informs Corbell that Earth is ruled by a merciless governing body known only as the "State" and that they have ordered Pierce to oversee Corbell's training as a starship pilot. His mission: to fly a preset course through interstellar space and deploy canisters containing genetically modified algae onto planets that have been targeted as life-sustaining, thereby planting the seeds for future human expansion.
Corbell need know nothing else about the world. He won't be staying.
However, shortly after leaving the solar system, Corbell changes course and decides to flee to the galactic core, hoping to return to Earth 70,000 years later after the State would likely be long dissolved. No sooner does he reveal his plans than Pierce uploads his consciousness into the ship's computer just before the vessel is out of range. Pierce, revealing his true name as Peersa, attempts to bully Corbell into continuning the State's mission, but fails when it becomes apparent that he must obey Corbell's orders.
Corbell extends his life through long periods in cryonic sleep, but is an elderly man by the time they reach the galactic core. There is no way he will ever see Earth again...or is there? Calculating the result of skirting the accretion disc of a nearby black hole, Peersa indicates that they could return to Earth's solar system, but it would be three million years in the future!
Upon arrival, what they discover is a solar system completely out of order. Planets that resemble Saturn, Earth, and Uranus are far from their normal orbits. Earth now orbits Jupiter! How could the planets have been moved? Corbell and Peersa determine a way to convert an algae canister into a one-way landing craft which would allow Corbell to explore the Earth's surface. Before departing, Corbell informs Peersa that he will be released from Corbell's authority upon his arrival on the surface--dead or alive.
After surviving the descent to the Earth's surface, Corbell remains in contact with Peersa for a short time while he explores what appear to be the abandoned ruins of an advanced civilization and a drastically altered climate. It is not long before Corbell realizes that he is not alone when he is captured by an elderly woman named Mirelly-Lyra who is convinced that Corbell has knowledge of a substance known as "dictator immortality", a solution developed by the State eons ago to extend the life of its leaders.
Mirelly-Lyra reveals herself to have been a traitor to the State who, like Corbell, fled in a starship and returned approximately a century ago. The State no longer existed, but the childlike members of modern society arrested her for treason, tried her based on the laws of her time, and imprisoned with other criminals in a zero-time jail. They had only recently been released.
With no further help from Peersa, who had taken the ship elsewhere in the solar system, Corbell escapes in a stolen air car and flees across the ocean to another continent only to find a bizarre society where former State dictators, also freed from zero-time prison, are ruled by the same intelligent children mentioned by Mirelly-Lyra.
Taken prisoner yet again, Corbell explores this new world with wary wonder. As he learns about Earth's past, will he unlock the secrets of dictator immortality and discover who moved the planets?
Of the three Larry Niven books I read over the past few months, A World Out Of Time was the one of the more enjoyable and imaginative stories. Niven adroitly employed a mix of science and conflict to drive the plot. The relationship between Peersa and Corbell, initially antagonistic then progressively cooperative, was well-developed during their interstellar journey to and from the galactic core. I was fascinated by Niven's vision of a primitive post-war society not only as a consequence of a devastating conflict after the State's fall, but also by the displacement of the planets and the resulting drastic climate change.
I wasn't entirely convinced by the mechanism used to move the planets and there was much detail missing regarding exactly how Earth's society had evolved as a battle-of-the-sexes schism. Overall, though, it was a fun and well-paced read.
Corbell quickly finds himself a stranger in a strange land where the only human who speaks English is his caretaker, a harshly detached man known only as Pierce. Corbell must badger Pierce for any information about modern society. Finally, Pierce relents and informs Corbell that Earth is ruled by a merciless governing body known only as the "State" and that they have ordered Pierce to oversee Corbell's training as a starship pilot. His mission: to fly a preset course through interstellar space and deploy canisters containing genetically modified algae onto planets that have been targeted as life-sustaining, thereby planting the seeds for future human expansion.
Corbell need know nothing else about the world. He won't be staying.
However, shortly after leaving the solar system, Corbell changes course and decides to flee to the galactic core, hoping to return to Earth 70,000 years later after the State would likely be long dissolved. No sooner does he reveal his plans than Pierce uploads his consciousness into the ship's computer just before the vessel is out of range. Pierce, revealing his true name as Peersa, attempts to bully Corbell into continuning the State's mission, but fails when it becomes apparent that he must obey Corbell's orders.
Corbell extends his life through long periods in cryonic sleep, but is an elderly man by the time they reach the galactic core. There is no way he will ever see Earth again...or is there? Calculating the result of skirting the accretion disc of a nearby black hole, Peersa indicates that they could return to Earth's solar system, but it would be three million years in the future!
Upon arrival, what they discover is a solar system completely out of order. Planets that resemble Saturn, Earth, and Uranus are far from their normal orbits. Earth now orbits Jupiter! How could the planets have been moved? Corbell and Peersa determine a way to convert an algae canister into a one-way landing craft which would allow Corbell to explore the Earth's surface. Before departing, Corbell informs Peersa that he will be released from Corbell's authority upon his arrival on the surface--dead or alive.
After surviving the descent to the Earth's surface, Corbell remains in contact with Peersa for a short time while he explores what appear to be the abandoned ruins of an advanced civilization and a drastically altered climate. It is not long before Corbell realizes that he is not alone when he is captured by an elderly woman named Mirelly-Lyra who is convinced that Corbell has knowledge of a substance known as "dictator immortality", a solution developed by the State eons ago to extend the life of its leaders.
Mirelly-Lyra reveals herself to have been a traitor to the State who, like Corbell, fled in a starship and returned approximately a century ago. The State no longer existed, but the childlike members of modern society arrested her for treason, tried her based on the laws of her time, and imprisoned with other criminals in a zero-time jail. They had only recently been released.
With no further help from Peersa, who had taken the ship elsewhere in the solar system, Corbell escapes in a stolen air car and flees across the ocean to another continent only to find a bizarre society where former State dictators, also freed from zero-time prison, are ruled by the same intelligent children mentioned by Mirelly-Lyra.
Taken prisoner yet again, Corbell explores this new world with wary wonder. As he learns about Earth's past, will he unlock the secrets of dictator immortality and discover who moved the planets?
Of the three Larry Niven books I read over the past few months, A World Out Of Time was the one of the more enjoyable and imaginative stories. Niven adroitly employed a mix of science and conflict to drive the plot. The relationship between Peersa and Corbell, initially antagonistic then progressively cooperative, was well-developed during their interstellar journey to and from the galactic core. I was fascinated by Niven's vision of a primitive post-war society not only as a consequence of a devastating conflict after the State's fall, but also by the displacement of the planets and the resulting drastic climate change.
I wasn't entirely convinced by the mechanism used to move the planets and there was much detail missing regarding exactly how Earth's society had evolved as a battle-of-the-sexes schism. Overall, though, it was a fun and well-paced read.
March 1, 2015
Meet Writer, Editor, and Photographer J. Christine Richards at the Write Stuff!
Christine Richards is one busy woman. She is a writer, editor, photographer, and an active member of Toastmasters International, Words for the Journey Christian Writers Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, and the Christian Writers Guild.
Find out more about Christine on our conference blog!
Find out more about Christine on our conference blog!
Meet YA Author and GLVWG Anthology Chair, Becky Bartlett, at the Write Stuff!
YA Author Rebecca Bartlett has been a long time member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, its current treasurer and always a great resource. She is sure to inspire attendees with her upcoming conference session “Create Credible Characters with Voice, Dialogue, and Point of View.” Plus, as chair of the GLVWG anthology, she will be sharing her insights during her session, “The Making of an Anthology.”
Click here to read her interview on our conference blog!
Click here to read her interview on our conference blog!
February 27, 2015
Leonard Nimoy 1931-2015
I was waiting at the bank today when I checked FB on my phone. I saw Mr. Nimoy's image and I knew what the caption would be even before I scrolled down to read it. It was the news I'd feared since his hospitalization. The cast of Star Trek have always been an inspiration to me and the characters they portrayed, my heroes since childhood. It has been an honor to meet each of them at cons and other events over the decades. Definitely memories I will always treasure.
Below was the first time I met Mr. Nimoy at a book signing in 1998 at the Montgomery Mall in Pennsylvania. With me were friends Vince Maiocco and Inge Heyer--now Dr. Inge Heyer, PhD and co-con chair of Shore Leave .
Below was the first time I met Mr. Nimoy at a book signing in 1998 at the Montgomery Mall in Pennsylvania. With me were friends Vince Maiocco and Inge Heyer--now Dr. Inge Heyer, PhD and co-con chair of Shore Leave .
February 24, 2015
My New Shiny!
I am pleased to report that my short urban fantasy story, "My New Shiny" and my essay about writing, "Write or Die", will be published in an anthology called GLVWG Writes Stuff. What the heck is GLVWG, you ask? It is the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, sponsors of the Write Stuff conference that I've been blabbing about here on Facebook for months (because I'm the chairman this year).
The anthology will launch at the Write Stuff Conference in Bethlehem, PA on March 26-28!
Cover art by GLVWG member, Keith Keffer.
About This Writing Stuff...
This week, Ilana Myer examines the elements of a strong female character while K.T. Bradford challenges us to spend a year reading books by authors of another gender, ethnicity, or sexual preference. Writer Beware and David Gaughran update us on the status of the two-year-old lawsuit against Author Solutions. Warren Adler explains why he went indie, Mary-Theresa Hussey details the roles of a freelance editor, and James Scott Bell provides ten steps that lead to writing failure.
All that and a little more, including a tank armored in books (you don't see that every day)! Enjoy!
Oh No, She Didn't: The Strong Female Character, Deconstructed by Ilana C. Myer
I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford
Writer Beware Update: Lawsuit Against Author Solutions, Inc. by Victoria Strauss
Barnes & Noble's Dirty Little Secret: Author Solutions and Nook Press by David Gaughran
Warren Adler: Why I Went Indie & Why the "Joys and Glory of Authordom Cannot Be Dismissed" via IndieReader
What a Freelance Editor Brings to the Table by Mary-Theresa Hussey
The Ten Commandments of Writing Failure by James Scott Bell
Using Fencepost Characters by Joe Hartlaub
Let's Talk About Me by Donald Maass
Weapons of Mass Instruction: A 1979 Ford Falcon Converted into a Tank Armored with 900 Free Books by Christopher Jobson
The Write Stuff Conference is only Three Weeks Away!
All that and a little more, including a tank armored in books (you don't see that every day)! Enjoy!
Oh No, She Didn't: The Strong Female Character, Deconstructed by Ilana C. Myer
I Challenge You to Stop Reading White, Straight, Cis Male Authors for One Year by K.T. Bradford
Writer Beware Update: Lawsuit Against Author Solutions, Inc. by Victoria Strauss
Barnes & Noble's Dirty Little Secret: Author Solutions and Nook Press by David Gaughran
Warren Adler: Why I Went Indie & Why the "Joys and Glory of Authordom Cannot Be Dismissed" via IndieReader
What a Freelance Editor Brings to the Table by Mary-Theresa Hussey
The Ten Commandments of Writing Failure by James Scott Bell
Using Fencepost Characters by Joe Hartlaub
Let's Talk About Me by Donald Maass
Weapons of Mass Instruction: A 1979 Ford Falcon Converted into a Tank Armored with 900 Free Books by Christopher Jobson
The Write Stuff Conference is only Three Weeks Away!
