Merce Cardus's Blog, page 71

Could We Actually Live on Mars?

There’s a lot of talk these days about when and how we might all move to Mars. But what would it actually be like to live there?

With more than twenty original illustrations by Michael Carroll, Robert Murray, and other renowned space artists, How to Live on Marsseamlessly blends humor and real science, and is a practical and exhilarating guide to life on our first extraterrestrial home.

Mari Foroutan details the features of Mars that are remarkably similar to those of Earth — and those that...

TUESDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: The Tipping Point

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Quote of the day

The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviorcrosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.

~MALCOLM GLADWELL, author ofThe Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

WRITING

Sending Your Character Back Home, Go Teen Writers| Tweet

One of the most rewarding parts of a story is when we get to see how much a character has changed. There are lots of ways to show this, but some...

3 Tips For Improving Your Skills

The Little Book of Talentis a manual for building a faster brain and a better you. It is an easy-to-use handbook of scientifically proven, field-tested methods to improve skills—your skills, your kids’ skills, your organization’s skills—in sports, music, art, math, and business.

The product of five years of reporting from the world’s greatest talent hotbeds and interviews with successful master coaches, it distills the daunting complexity of skill development into 52 clear, concise directive...

Elizabeth Gilbert Shares Helpful Creative Processes

Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. InBig Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear,this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity.

While physical discipline in writing is important, meditation and yoga fall by the wayside during periods of intense creativity.

How do you stimulate creativity?

Well, I’m a big conversationalist so I listen. An...

MONDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: Reinventing You

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Quote of the day

To succeed in today’s competitive job market and build a career that leverages your unique passions and talent, it’s almost certain that at some point you’ll need to reinvent yourself professionally–and ensure that others recognize the powerful contribution you can make.

~DORIE CLARK, author ofReinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future

WRITING

5 New Ways to Choose Perfect Character Names, T...

Several Short Sentences About Writing

Several Short Sentences About Writingis an indispensable and distinctive book that will help anyone who wants to write, write better, or have a clearer understanding of what it means for them to be writing, from widely admired writer and teacher Verlyn Klinkenborg.

Know what each sentence says,

What it doesn’t say,

And what it implies.

Of these, the hardest is knowing what each sentence actually says.

Make short sentences

At first, it will help to make short sentences,

Short enough to feel...

Two Brilliant Hacks for Finding Your Calling

NationBuilder founder and CEO Jim Gilliam, author of The Internet Is My Religionoffers some advice to people who haven’t yet unlocked their own potential.

First, try new things by saying “yes” to things you’re initially inclined to say “no” to. Only by stepping outside your comfort zone can you determine whether said comfort zone actually exists.

Second, just as with raising a child, unlocking one’s personal potential requires a village. Find good listeners who are willing to hear your story...

Is Ethosism the Solution to Global Socio-Economic Inequality?

The author of Cast Awayoffers a thought provocative remedy to global socio-economic inequality; the rise of Ethosism.

Globalization and free trade do spur economic growth and they lead to lower prices on many goods. ~Robert Reich.

For centuries, there has been a big push for glamourizing globalization and free trade that stresses Capitalism’s virtues; the efficiency with which prices carry information between buyers and producers and allocate resources.

For quite some time now, I started to...

What Makes the Great Wall of China so Extraordinary?

The Great Wall Of China is a 13,000-mile dragon of earth and stone that winds its way through the countryside of China. As it turns out, the wall’s history is almost as long and serpentine as its structure.

Megan Campisi and Pen-Pen Chen detail the building and subsequent decay of this massive, impressive wall.

A 13,000 mile dragon of earth and stone winds its way through the countryside of China with a history almost as long and serpentine as the structure.

The Great Wall began as multipl...

THURSDAY LINKS ~ Reads on Writing, Self-Publishing & Better Living: The Upward Spiral

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Quote of the day

In mountaineering, if you’re stuck in a bad situation and you don’t know the right way out, you just have to pick a direction and go. It doesn’t have to be the best direction; there may not even be a best direction. You certainly don’t have enough information to know for sure. So if you start down a path and end up at a cliff, you’ll just have to pick another direction from there. Because guess what? In a dire situation, you can’t be...