B. Morris Allen's Blog, page 21
October 24, 2012
In praise of middle school teachers (or, how I found science fiction)
In the 1970s, we lived in Vienna for five wonderful years. I loved it, but all my experiences fall into one mental time frame, and I have trouble remembering what came first. So, I know that I was reading whatever was on my parents' shelves, including a lot of Gogol, Dickens, and, for reasons known only to my father, The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini (he assured me I'd need it for college. I didn't.) I also, of course, read Penelope Farmer, Nina Bawden, Betty Macdonald, Laura Lee Hope, a...
October 12, 2012
Shadow...
I've
always been a text-oriented guy. What I lack in graphical skills (which
is a lot), I try to make up for in prose, but there are times when I
wish my skills were more evenly balanced. A little while back, I wrote a
story, Shadow, that is very visually oriented. I didn't think much more about that aspect, until fellow writer Zed Paul very wisely said "Right
after reading [the story], I thought It would be great if you teamed up
with an artist who actually rendered the scenes you depicted...
always been a text-oriented guy. What I lack in graphical skills (which
is a lot), I try to make up for in prose, but there are times when I
wish my skills were more evenly balanced. A little while back, I wrote a
story, Shadow, that is very visually oriented. I didn't think much more about that aspect, until fellow writer Zed Paul very wisely said "Right
after reading [the story], I thought It would be great if you teamed up
with an artist who actually rendered the scenes you depicted...
May 12, 2012
How to publish an e-book
Life is full of opportunities to learn and teach. So, when the mood
struck me to publish an e-book, I took it as an opportunity to have a
good time and learn about the process. There are lots of blogs on this
process, but somehow none of them told me quite what I wanted about the
whole sequence, so I'm posting my own experience here. Good luck!
First, a flow chart showing the steps I took.
Second, the steps themselves.
Note that I chose to take a long, reasonably thorough route that
provid...
struck me to publish an e-book, I took it as an opportunity to have a
good time and learn about the process. There are lots of blogs on this
process, but somehow none of them told me quite what I wanted about the
whole sequence, so I'm posting my own experience here. Good luck!
First, a flow chart showing the steps I took.
Second, the steps themselves.
Note that I chose to take a long, reasonably thorough route that
provid...
April 22, 2012
Suggested reading: Jack Vance
There's no other writer like Jack Vance. A couple of people have tried, but I've not encountered another writer whose writing is such a pleasure to read. With Vance, it's all about the use of language. Sure, the machinations are intricate, the characters outre, but it's the sheer verbal skill that keeps you coming back for more. I'll read anything Vance writes, whatever the plot. He's never let me down, because even when (as in Night Lamp) he doesn't neatly wrap things up, the words by themse...
