Patricia C. Wrede's Blog, page 89
June 22, 2009
Life and some recommended reading
Spent a glorious weekend at Fourth Street Fantasycon, of which more anon, I hope. Now my car is busted AGAIN and I'm waiting for them to come and tow it to the garage to fix the ignition switch. And I think I should get my cat to the vet before I leave for Chicago, but I don't have a driveable car. I also can't drive back to the convention to see the folks who are staying over for a day. Wah! Cars, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.
On another note, Mary asked for some reading recommend
June 21, 2009
Stories are a way of life
When I was a kid, my father told us bedtime stories. The five of us would get together in our pajamas and sit around on the biggest bed in the house, and Dad would turn the lights down or off and start talking. Unlike many parents who do this sort of thing, he never, to the best of my recollection, retold fairy tales or well-known books. No, Dad made up stories about Pee Wee Rabbit, and the Man With The Big Nose and his friends. It's one of the memories all of us treasure about our childhoods.
Da
June 14, 2009
A Rant on Passive voice
I have just finished arguing with a would-be writer who a) is convinced that passive voice is evil and must be avoided at all times, and b) has, it turns out, no idea at all what passive voice actually is.
I am therefore going to rant.
Passive voice is not when something has been allowed to happen, nor is it a literary device, nor is it any sentence containing "was" or "were. Passive voice is a grammatical term, not a literary device. Passive voice is a specific type of sentence structure, in wh
June 8, 2009
Rain!
Rain is a good thing, at least right here, right now. We've been badly in need of it…and we finally got some this weekend. It's still wet and drippy and dark out, which means that a) I don't have to do any yard work today, and b) the cats are curled up in their favorite napping places, wondering why their stupid human is busy doing things on a day that's just made for napping.
Instead, I have paperwork. Estimated taxes are due next week, and I have to make sure I have enough in the bank account t
June 4, 2009
There is no One True Way
One of the things you find a lot in writing books are prescriptions: This is THE (only right and workable best) way to write/develop a career as a writer.
And they're wrong. Or so I think, anyway.
There is no One True Way to write. (This is practically my motto, and has been for years.) I know professional writers who outline, who don't outline, who start at the beginning, in the middle, at the end, who start with characters, with plot, with setting, with theme, with idea, who develop whatever b
May 30, 2009
Ten things I loved about Wiscon
(I meant to put this up right after the con, but … oh, well, better late than never.)
More or less in chronological order:
1. Sitting in the Governor's Club Thursday night listening to Ellen Klages tell stories and having chocolate martinis and flourless chocolate cake.
2. Friday's panel on "Cultural Appropriation," which was excellent.
3. The dealer's room, where I scored big: Nisi Shaw's Tiptree-winning Filter House, Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu's The Shadow Speaker, Ellen Klages' The Green Glass Sea,Urs
