Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 178
June 27, 2012
Year One
It’s been roughly a year since I started making my backlist available in epub formats, so this seems a good time to shuffle through the records and come to some kind of conclusion.
And the conclusion is this:
Thank God for Amazon!
Even if Amazon is yet another megalomaniacal Internet company bent on annihilating all competition and achieving total world domination in its chosen field (250 points!), Amazon has still provided more options for writers than anyone since Gutenberg. The Kindle broke o...
And the conclusion is this:
Thank God for Amazon!
Even if Amazon is yet another megalomaniacal Internet company bent on annihilating all competition and achieving total world domination in its chosen field (250 points!), Amazon has still provided more options for writers than anyone since Gutenberg. The Kindle broke o...
June 22, 2012
TGIF
Taos Toolbox is finally over. And, as when any class comes to an end, the happiest people are the teachers.
And look! David’s gone all entrepreneurial!
And look! David’s gone all entrepreneurial!
June 20, 2012
Must Have Slipped My Mind
Did I forget to mention the Taos Toolbox Sacrifice Stone?My bad.
As We Stagger Half-Blind Onto the Shores of Marathon
Only two days left at Taos Toolbox, and we are narrowing our focus down to the finish line. Yet the participants have somehow retained enough brain cells to make amusing remarks, of which a selection follows.
There aren’t enough vegetarians in fiction.
I’ve been reading a lot of writing books looking for my soul.
While I cannot recommend “jumble and blurt” as a story method, it nevertheless seems to be working for you.
I am suffering from Taos Brain.
I flipped through some books at the supermarket...
There aren’t enough vegetarians in fiction.
I’ve been reading a lot of writing books looking for my soul.
While I cannot recommend “jumble and blurt” as a story method, it nevertheless seems to be working for you.
I am suffering from Taos Brain.
I flipped through some books at the supermarket...
June 17, 2012
Lovely Day in the Neighborhood
It’s been a relaxed weekend here at the Toolhouse, with the students playing tourist or working on their next week’s stories. I’ve taken a couple hikes, though one of them resulted in my sliding down a rock face and scraping the bejesus out of my knee and shin. It’s not bothering me much at present, though it’s not pretty.
Daniel Abraham’s talk on career paths was extremely good, and there were a lot of thoughtful looks afterward.
Tonight the students put on a potluck dinner, which was lovely a...
Daniel Abraham’s talk on career paths was extremely good, and there were a lot of thoughtful looks afterward.
Tonight the students put on a potluck dinner, which was lovely a...
June 15, 2012
Spamwall
A spambot has now targeted this blog. (Fake Gucci bags, anyone?) I’m spending an inordinate amount of time deleting spam.
But the spambot is only hitting one topic. Does anyone know how to turn off comments on a single topic in WordPress?
I can turn off all comments. I can turn off comments on pages, but permit comments on the blog. I can permit comments on pages, but turn off comments on blogs. I can turn off comments on all future blog posts.
But there seems to be no way to turn off comments o...
But the spambot is only hitting one topic. Does anyone know how to turn off comments on a single topic in WordPress?
I can turn off all comments. I can turn off comments on pages, but permit comments on the blog. I can permit comments on pages, but turn off comments on blogs. I can turn off comments on all future blog posts.
But there seems to be no way to turn off comments o...
June 14, 2012
Virtual Tee
More quotes from the critiquing ground that is Taos Toolbox.
Speaking as a mad hermit. . .
That book was so brilliant that I couldn’t finish it.
It’s difficult to have an orgasm and stab someone.
It would be really cool if Mom gets killed on a business trip.
This chapter has white hut syndrome.
Speaking as a mad hermit. . .
That book was so brilliant that I couldn’t finish it.
It’s difficult to have an orgasm and stab someone.
It would be really cool if Mom gets killed on a business trip.
This chapter has white hut syndrome.
Tolstoy’s Been Nookd!
‘In one of the truly bizarre incidents we’ve seen out of the e-book publishing world, a translation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace for Barnes & Noble’s Nook platform has replaced all mentions of the word “kindled” with “Nookd.”‘
I actually doubt Barnes & Noble is responsible for this, and I’m inclined to suspect the publisher and an overzealous use of Find and Replace.
Yet it reminds me of the German edition of Hardwired, where the text had been altered to feature a paid advertisement for Maggi...
I actually doubt Barnes & Noble is responsible for this, and I’m inclined to suspect the publisher and an overzealous use of Find and Replace.
Yet it reminds me of the German edition of Hardwired, where the text had been altered to feature a paid advertisement for Maggi...
June 13, 2012
Gopher Tuna
Still at Taos Toolbox, still workin’ hard. And, while I’m at it, fighting a spambot infestation.
No, I say, I do not want a man’s Gucci bag. Nor do any of my readers.
Thank you.
While we wait for my brain to be rebooted, please enjoy someone doing to “Carmina Burana” what ought to be done to “Carmina Burana.”
No, I say, I do not want a man’s Gucci bag. Nor do any of my readers.
Thank you.
While we wait for my brain to be rebooted, please enjoy someone doing to “Carmina Burana” what ought to be done to “Carmina Burana.”
June 12, 2012
Smooth Entry
Taos Toolbox is moving along— swimmingly, I must say— and has already featured two critique sessions, a couple of lovely catered meals, and a serious literary discussion in the hot tub.
Some of the moments of critique stood out, and here they are:
Your story gave me a minor epistemological crisis.
If you could write the next 20 chapters this afternoon, I’d like to read them in bed.
Cloud should be something more than a cute furry cat that Sam sleeps with.
Writing about music is like dancing about...
Some of the moments of critique stood out, and here they are:
Your story gave me a minor epistemological crisis.
If you could write the next 20 chapters this afternoon, I’d like to read them in bed.
Cloud should be something more than a cute furry cat that Sam sleeps with.
Writing about music is like dancing about...
