Bryan Thomas Schmidt's Blog, page 50
June 29, 2011
Taming The B*tch: Writer's Block
Okay a few weeks ago, on a total whim, I fired off 7 Tips For Being Good Beta Readers, a post that rocked this blog. It has gotten more hits than anything else I ever posted. I have yet to see a single Retweet but yet readers keep coming. Since I had not been very [ Read More ]
June 21, 2011
NOVEL EXCERPT: The Worker Prince Chapter 5
In previous excerpts, we've met the protagonist, Davi Rhii, and his friends and family and rival Bordox. Now let's meet the main antagonist, Davi's uncle Xalivar. Xalivar is a complicated character. Hopefully this will give you an idea what Davi's up against. In this scene, Davi has been called back before his uncle, High Lord [ Read More ]
TV Review: Falling Skies
Well it has action, it has aliens, and it has mankind defending itself from invasion by a mysterious, ruthless enemy which enslaves their children. Why am I not more excited? Because this looked like a rip off of so many things that came before. First, you have vigilantes fighting it out against aliens. Where have [ Read More ]
June 20, 2011
Movie Reviews: Super 8, Pirates Of The Caribbean 4, Green Lantern
Well, I've seen three speculative fiction movies in the past week–one great one and two which I think were really good. I enjoyed all three. Two were in 3D, in both cases unnecessary and just a jab by Hollywood for more money. But regardless, I recommend them to genre film fans and general audiences as [ Read More ]
June 11, 2011
How To Let Your Characters Grieve Well
One of the keys to good writing, writing which pops off the page and carries the reader away, is depicting characters' emotions realistically. If we can feel what they feel, if it moves us to laugh or get angry or cry, we are hooked on the characters and their needs become ours. So how do [ Read More ]
June 10, 2011
It's here!!!
I couldn't resist apply my own post on making ARCS in Create Space to create a custom copy of the edited version of my novel. Other than copyedits, this is the version which will be going out soon for blurbs and to reviewers, and ultimately, to you readers. It's just a good feeling after a [ Read More ]
To The Woman I Fell In Love With
Okay, this is going to be a departure from the usual topics but tonight I just need to do this one for me. There was a woman I fell in love with. We met in the Portuguese Speakers Wanting To Learn English room on www.orkut.com January 2nd, 2005. We talked for the first time on [ Read More ]
June 5, 2011
Lessons From Editing
We finished the final edit on my debut novel The Worker Prince today. And while there's still a road to publication, from sending out ARCS for reviews and blurbs, to racheting up marketing, to copyedits, artwork, etc., it's a good feeling. This was my first time working through this process with an editor. And I [ Read More ]
June 3, 2011
Links Of The Week, Vol. 2 Issue 10
http://www.suzemuse.com/2009/11/creat... — an ebook on creating amazing videos http://bit.ly/mxxptJ — Author David Farland on the future of publishing http://www.radiofreealbemuth.com/ — Preview the exciting new Philip K. Dick based "Radio Free Albemuth" movie http://kriswrites.com/2011/06/01/the-... — Kristine Kathryn Rusch on publishing, agents, and agents as publishers Cool science: Lost Pyramids discovered underground in Egypt from space:http://fxn.ws/ipjyF8 http://jdsawyer.net/?p=1582 [ Read More ]
May 22, 2011
Links of The Week Vol. 2 Issue 9
http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/... – Juliette Wade on subtle bias in language and how it effects people's reactions to the text in job listings, etc. Food for thought. A very helpful post on marketing books for authors from @yukongraham via Twitter: http://j.mp/mogMpJ Helpful post from my friend Sam Sykes (Tome Of the Undergates, Black Halo) on the pitfalls of the [ Read More ]
