Robyn Paterson's Blog, page 32
May 16, 2014
Prepping Your Novel
Earlier this week, I wrote about the “Chinese” method of novel writing, which is all about doing all the hard creative work first and then a quick-breezy approach to your first draft. The key here, of course, is plotting out your novel/story in advance so that you don’t have to worry about it later, and while that seems simple enough in theory, in reality plotting itself can often be a weird alchemical process.
Each writer has their own way of plotting that works for them, and often they must...
May 15, 2014
Coolest Get-Out-the-Vote Ad- EVER!
We have elections coming up, I think we need to call Voteman! (NSFW, METAL!)
May 14, 2014
Word Counts for Fiction
A common problem for writers is trying to decide how long to make their stories.
Now, the proper answer is of course- as long as it needs to be.
However, there are still some standards (albeit ones which are slowly changing thanks to eBooks) that most publishers go by when determining how long a book should be. As more than two-thirds of the publishing market is still dead-tree print books, even eBook authors might want to keep them in mind.
The basic rules are:
Novel: 80,000-110,000 words
Young A...
May 13, 2014
Writing Chinese Style, or how to Crank Out 50,001 Words in a Day.
Not everyone knows this, but Chinese and European chefs actually take a radically different approach to cooking.
In the European style (which we naturally follow in North America), the focus is on short preparation times and long cooking times. This likely came from the nature of European vegetables (lots of tough starches) and the style of pots and ovens they used to cook with. In any case, the key to European style cooking is all about the cooking process itself, and not so much about the pr...
May 12, 2014
Monday Morning Wakeup! Meet Hot Musical Metal!
Youtube user 331Erock is an extremely talented electric guitarist with a love for doing heavy metal guitar adaptations of different songs. (He’s done over 50 assorted tunes so far.) I thought a few of his better ones would be a great way to start off a Monday morning. Enjoy! 
This one is guaranteed to get you out of bed! Thundercats! HO-ly sh*t he’s good!
Where’s my whip and hat?
A little romance of the metal kind:
Obligatory, and oddly soft for a metal tune.
As my friend CTC commented- this shou...
May 9, 2014
Check your Privilege!
The concept of Privilege as a way to make people think about the unequal distribution of power in society was a good idea, and continues to be a good idea when used as a framing device to promote understanding. However, like most things, it‘s been co-opted by those who want to use it to their own advantage.
Now the phrase “check your privilege” is well on its way to being the newest way to call someone a Nazi and end conversations rather than start them. It’s really handy- anytime I want to sh...
May 7, 2014
House of Lies
I just started to watch House of Lies on Netflix (Canada), and I have to say the writing is so sharp I think I cut myself on the remote. This (Hard) R-rated comedy about consulting packs a hour’s worth of show into half that time, and the episodes I’ve seen so far are just so solidly done I can’t believe I missed this gem. The dialogue, the story structure, the characterization, the acting, the gratuitous sex- I think I’m in love!
Oh, and it’s damn funny too. My hat’s off to whoever writes thi...
May 5, 2014
May 2, 2014
Korean Drama- Three Days (Spoiler Free Review)
I just finished watching the Korean action-thriller drama Three Days, which I have to say I enjoyed quite a bit. It’s a Korean series in the vein of the American drama 24, about the Personal Security Service (PSS) of the Korean President, and how they’re caught in a struggle between the President of Korea and a shadowy cabal of powerful men who are trying to kill him. The PSS are charged with protecting the President, but is the man they’re giving their lives for really worth that protection?...
