Walter Jon Williams's Blog, page 189

Workshops (With Me In Them)

If you're beginning your writing career, or if you'd like to begin your writing career, there are any number of fine workshops that might help you on your way.Only two of these, however, have me in them.  (And you want me in your workshop, you really do.) One of these is Taos Toolbox, a workshop that I created.  This year I'll be teaching with Nancy Kress (who is sublime) and special lecturer Daniel Abraham (whose sublimity may be open to question, but who is really, really smart).  The...

"Better Read That Contract, Mister I-Wanna-Be-In-The-iBooks Store"

Apple has just released its long-awaited iBooks Author, its application to convert a text file into an ebook suitable for sale in the iBooks Store.But, according to our friends at venomous porridge, you should read your End-User License Agreement (EULA) very carefully before you download the application, because Apple demands control over what you do with your ebook after you've created it.Except that you can't read the EULA,  because it's part of the app itself— you can't read it before you ...

Farewell Johnny

The Godfather of Rhythm and Blues, Johnny Otis, died today at the age of ninety.  The long, joyful ride of the Johnny Otis Show has finally come to an end.Johnny Otis was the son of Greek immigrants, but his wholehearted adoption of black culture and music led a lot of fans (including me) to think he was black.  He not only recorded a lot of classic R&B, he discovered Etta James and Jackie Wilson, produced Big Mama Thornton's version of "Hound Dog," and recorded with Mel Walker and Little...

Brief Interruption

This page will be shut down on Wednesday, January 18, as a protest against forthcoming SOPA/PIPA legislation, which would severely affect the ability of the Internet to do what it does best: serve as the greatest force for free speech, liberty, and cooperation in the history of the world.*How would this work?  Here's what would happen to popular site Boing Boing, in the words of Cory Doctorow:[I]n order to link to a URL on LiveJournal or WordPress or Twitter or Blogspot, we'd have to first c...

Rule Four

 

Sometime back, I posted My Three Laws, in which I posit laws of the universe which I seem to have been the first to discover, or at least to articulate.
I think I've just come up with a fourth.
Williams' Law #4: The Internet will never love you.
Discuss.

What Should I Be Reading?

Lately I've been reading some Worthy Novels.  You know the kind: they're well-written, have well-developed characters, and situations that ought to be interesting but somehow aren't.  There isn't anything wrong with these books: they just aren't very exciting. Somewhere along the line the author took a turn into Plodsville.  Finishing them felt more like a duty than a pleasure (which may have been the case for the author as well).I'm lookin' for some excitement in my fiction.  Please advise.N...

When One Person Matters . . .

In our bustling world of seven billion people, it's all to easy to lose track of what one individual might be able to accomplish.  How likely is it that a single private individual, spurred by conscience and moral conviction, can put into action the forces that could overthrow the established tyranny of, say, Moammar Qaddafi.Especially if that private individual is publicity-seeking French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy.But, as Lévy told me recently, "sometimes you are inhabited by...

Gods Love Kinky Pizza

No, I don't understand it either.
And I should probably put out a little "Adult Content" warning.  I mean, you see flying parts!
And man, I want to know where I can find those boots.

Radio Zeta

The Zetas, Mexico's ultra-violent drug cartel, is now reported as having their own encrypted radio net.Since 2006, the cartels have maintained an encrypted DIY radio network that stretches across nearly all 31 Mexican states, even down south into Guatemala. The communications infrastructure of the narco-gangs that have turned Mexico into a gangster's paradise consists of "professional-grade" radio antennas, signal relays and simple handheld radios that cost "millions of dollars" — and...

Chosen Ones

 

I've had it with Chosen Ones.  You know, the people we are told by the wise old wizard or some other Explicator of Plot who "are Chosen to save the world/kill the Dark Lord/become king/bring balance to the Force/whatever."Who the hell is it who does the Choosing, here?  Lazy writers, that's who.Listen up, writers.  Two things happen when I'm told that a person is Destined to accomplish something.First, it removes all suspense.  Because the character is Destined, you know the character's...