Joseph L. Persia's Blog, page 12
March 6, 2014
Below you are a seeing device powered by "Spritz" that allows you to read about 500 word per minute...
Below you are a seeing device powered by "Spritz" that allows you to read about 500 word per minute. It is set at 350wpm. The question I have for you however, would you want a reader to load your book into this device to read your book or future book?
Comments?
Comments?
March 5, 2014
Stacey J. Aaronson has put together a simple, brief video to explain the difference between developmental...
Stacey J. Aaronson has put together a simple, brief video to explain the difference between developmental editing, content editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
If you are planing or thinking about writing a book, you may find the video useful and if you see something that you would like to add, or think needs more clarification, please, feel free to share it below.
If you are planing or thinking about writing a book, you may find the video useful and if you see something that you would like to add, or think needs more clarification, please, feel free to share it below.
What's the Difference Between Developmental Editing, Content Editing, Copy Editing, and Proofreading
March 4, 2014
Creative writing professor Hanif Kureishi says such creative writing courses are 'a waste of time'
Buddha...
Creative writing professor Hanif Kureishi says such creative writing courses are 'a waste of time'
Buddha of Suburbia author, who teaches the subject at Kingston University, added that many of his students could 'write sentences' but not tell stories
Hanif Kureishi, is an English playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, novelist and teaches how to write in those disciplines at London’s Kingston University. However, Kureishi calls writing courses as a “waste of time,” adding that the majority of students taking these courses are “talentless, and goes on to say in this article “A lot of my students just can’t tell a story. They can write sentences but they don’t know how to make a story go from there all the way through to the end without people dying of boredom in between. It’s a difficult thing to do and it’s a great skill to have. Can you teach that? I don’t think you can.”
Kureishi is not the only one who feels this way. Author and sometime writing teacher Lucy Ellmann, described the course on creative writing as "the biggest con-job in academia,” and pointed to a comment in the Guardian made by the poet August Kleinzahler that said, "It's terrible to lie to young people. And that's what it's about."
Many in our community have taken creative writing courses. Some have or are even teaching them and some have never taken them.
What is you experience on the subject of creative writing courses and do you agree with Hanif Kureishi about them?
Link to the rest of the article here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/creative-writing-courses-waste-of-time-hanif-kureishi
Buddha of Suburbia author, who teaches the subject at Kingston University, added that many of his students could 'write sentences' but not tell stories
Hanif Kureishi, is an English playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, novelist and teaches how to write in those disciplines at London’s Kingston University. However, Kureishi calls writing courses as a “waste of time,” adding that the majority of students taking these courses are “talentless, and goes on to say in this article “A lot of my students just can’t tell a story. They can write sentences but they don’t know how to make a story go from there all the way through to the end without people dying of boredom in between. It’s a difficult thing to do and it’s a great skill to have. Can you teach that? I don’t think you can.”
Kureishi is not the only one who feels this way. Author and sometime writing teacher Lucy Ellmann, described the course on creative writing as "the biggest con-job in academia,” and pointed to a comment in the Guardian made by the poet August Kleinzahler that said, "It's terrible to lie to young people. And that's what it's about."
Many in our community have taken creative writing courses. Some have or are even teaching them and some have never taken them.
What is you experience on the subject of creative writing courses and do you agree with Hanif Kureishi about them?
Link to the rest of the article here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/creative-writing-courses-waste-of-time-hanif-kureishi
Creative writing professor Hanif Kureishi says such creative writing courses are 'a waste of time'Buddha...
Creative writing professor Hanif Kureishi says such creative writing courses are 'a waste of time'
Buddha of Suburbia author, who teaches the subject at Kingston University, added that many of his students could 'write sentences' but not tell stories
Hanif Kureishi, is an English playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, novelist, and teaches how to write in those disciplines at London’s Kingston University. However, Kureishi calls writing courses as a “waste of time,” adding that the majority of students taking these courses are “talentless, and goes on to say in this article “A lot of my students just can’t tell a story. They can write sentences but they don’t know how to make a story go from there all the way through to the end without people dying of boredom in between. It’s a difficult thing to do and it’s a great skill to have. Can you teach that? I don’t think you can.”
Kureishi is not the only one who feels this way. Author and sometime writing teacher Lucy Ellmann, described the course on creative writing as "the biggest con-job in academia,” and pointed to a comment in the Guardian made by the poet August Kleinzahler that said, "It's terrible to lie to young people. And that's what it's about."
Many in our community have taken creative writing courses. Some have or are even teaching them and some have never taken them.
What is you experience on the subject of creative writing courses and do you agree with Hanif Kureishi about them?
Link to the rest of the article here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/creative-writing-courses-waste-of-time-hanif-kureishi
Buddha of Suburbia author, who teaches the subject at Kingston University, added that many of his students could 'write sentences' but not tell stories
Hanif Kureishi, is an English playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker, novelist, and teaches how to write in those disciplines at London’s Kingston University. However, Kureishi calls writing courses as a “waste of time,” adding that the majority of students taking these courses are “talentless, and goes on to say in this article “A lot of my students just can’t tell a story. They can write sentences but they don’t know how to make a story go from there all the way through to the end without people dying of boredom in between. It’s a difficult thing to do and it’s a great skill to have. Can you teach that? I don’t think you can.”
Kureishi is not the only one who feels this way. Author and sometime writing teacher Lucy Ellmann, described the course on creative writing as "the biggest con-job in academia,” and pointed to a comment in the Guardian made by the poet August Kleinzahler that said, "It's terrible to lie to young people. And that's what it's about."
Many in our community have taken creative writing courses. Some have or are even teaching them and some have never taken them.
What is you experience on the subject of creative writing courses and do you agree with Hanif Kureishi about them?
Link to the rest of the article here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/04/creative-writing-courses-waste-of-time-hanif-kureishi
March 2, 2014
'Water Night'
-Eric Whitacre
Create the possibility and everyone can "come together" at the same time...
'Water Night'
-Eric Whitacre
Create the possibility and everyone can "come together" at the same time from anywhere on earth and sing!
-Eric Whitacre
Create the possibility and everyone can "come together" at the same time from anywhere on earth and sing!
February 27, 2014
Raymond Chandler’s Ten Commandments for Writing a Detective Novel
You'd be a poorer soul indeed as ...
Raymond Chandler’s Ten Commandments for Writing a Detective Novel
You'd be a poorer soul indeed as a fan of the detective novel if you never heard of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler had some very strong opinions about crime fiction. However, with a little mind bending you may find these commandments can be applied to what ever book you are working or will someday work on.
What do you think?
Below are his ten commandments for writing a detective novel by way of Passive Voice to Open Culture.
1) It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the dénouement.
2) It must be technically sound as to the methods of murder and detection.
3) It must be realistic in character, setting and atmosphere. It must be about real people in a real world.
4) It must have a sound story value apart from the mystery element: i.e., the investigation itself must be an adventure worth reading.
5) It must have enough essential simplicity to be explained easily when the time comes.)
6) It must baffle a reasonably intelligent reader.
7) The solution must seem inevitable once revealed.
8) It must not try to do everything at once. If it is a puzzle story operating in a rather cool, reasonable atmosphere, it cannot also be a violent adventure or a passionate romance.
9) It must punish the criminal in one way or another, not necessarily by operation of the law…. If the detective fails to resolve the consequences of the crime, the story is an unresolved chord and leaves irritation behind it.
10) It must be honest with the reader.
Can the above ten commandments be good rules applied to you as a writer ?
You'd be a poorer soul indeed as a fan of the detective novel if you never heard of Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler had some very strong opinions about crime fiction. However, with a little mind bending you may find these commandments can be applied to what ever book you are working or will someday work on.
What do you think?
Below are his ten commandments for writing a detective novel by way of Passive Voice to Open Culture.
1) It must be credibly motivated, both as to the original situation and the dénouement.
2) It must be technically sound as to the methods of murder and detection.
3) It must be realistic in character, setting and atmosphere. It must be about real people in a real world.
4) It must have a sound story value apart from the mystery element: i.e., the investigation itself must be an adventure worth reading.
5) It must have enough essential simplicity to be explained easily when the time comes.)
6) It must baffle a reasonably intelligent reader.
7) The solution must seem inevitable once revealed.
8) It must not try to do everything at once. If it is a puzzle story operating in a rather cool, reasonable atmosphere, it cannot also be a violent adventure or a passionate romance.
9) It must punish the criminal in one way or another, not necessarily by operation of the law…. If the detective fails to resolve the consequences of the crime, the story is an unresolved chord and leaves irritation behind it.
10) It must be honest with the reader.
Can the above ten commandments be good rules applied to you as a writer ?
February 24, 2014
There are lists and there are lists, but one of the lists that is the most fun to read is this one below...
There are lists and there are lists, but one of the lists that is the most fun to read is this one below.
What do you think?
What do you think?
February 22, 2014
Happy Birthday Pooh!
"On his first birthday, Christopher Robin Milne — son of A.A. Milne — was given...
Happy Birthday Pooh!
"On his first birthday, Christopher Robin Milne — son of A.A. Milne — was given a teddy bear. That bear became the inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh tales, the first of which appeared in 1924. Father and son are pictured below in 1926."
So, in celebration of his 90th with a rare recording, listen back to a rare, 1929 recording, in which Milne reads from his book, Winnie-the-Pooh.
A.A. Milne's inspiration came from a stuffed bear, but what inspires you to write~?
Link here: http://www.npr.org/2014/02/22/280761847/celebrating-winnie-the-poohs-90th-with-a-rare-recording-and-some-hunny
"On his first birthday, Christopher Robin Milne — son of A.A. Milne — was given a teddy bear. That bear became the inspiration for the Winnie-the-Pooh tales, the first of which appeared in 1924. Father and son are pictured below in 1926."
So, in celebration of his 90th with a rare recording, listen back to a rare, 1929 recording, in which Milne reads from his book, Winnie-the-Pooh.
A.A. Milne's inspiration came from a stuffed bear, but what inspires you to write~?
Link here: http://www.npr.org/2014/02/22/280761847/celebrating-winnie-the-poohs-90th-with-a-rare-recording-and-some-hunny
February 20, 2014
Perhaps Groucho Marx Was Right When He Quipped In A Zen Moment, “Time Wounds All Heels.”
A cautionary...
Perhaps Groucho Marx Was Right When He Quipped In A Zen Moment, “Time Wounds All Heels.”
A cautionary tale for writers and poetic justice through Kindle Worlds for LJ Smith, the original writer of the popular Vampire Diaries books
Would the bright lights of glitz and glam blind you to restrictive work-for-hire contracts where you no longer own the intellectual property you are writing?
The complete story from The Daily Dot: http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/vampire-diaries-lj-smith-kindle-fanfiction/
A cautionary tale for writers and poetic justice through Kindle Worlds for LJ Smith, the original writer of the popular Vampire Diaries books
Would the bright lights of glitz and glam blind you to restrictive work-for-hire contracts where you no longer own the intellectual property you are writing?
The complete story from The Daily Dot: http://www.dailydot.com/fandom/vampire-diaries-lj-smith-kindle-fanfiction/
February 19, 2014
Kurt Vonnegut Plots The Anatomy of Stories in A Master’s Thesis Rejected by The University of Chicago...
Kurt Vonnegut Plots The Anatomy of Stories in A Master’s Thesis Rejected by The University of Chicago
Kurt Vonnegut once asked himself in his autobiography, “What has been my prettiest contribution to the culture?”
The answer to his own question was his master’s thesis he did as a student while attending the University of Chicago, “which was rejected because it was so simple and looked like too much fun.” The graphic below by graphic designer Maya Eilam clearly shows the shape of plots and uses literary examples for the various story patterns Vonnegut depicted in his thesis.
I am going to print this out and it is going on the wall above the horizontal line of my computer where I write, part navigation system and part writing mandala to rest my eyes from the screen. You too may want print it out should you get lost on where you’re going in your story.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/kurt-vonnegut-masters-thesis-rejected-by-u-chicago.html
Kurt Vonnegut once asked himself in his autobiography, “What has been my prettiest contribution to the culture?”
The answer to his own question was his master’s thesis he did as a student while attending the University of Chicago, “which was rejected because it was so simple and looked like too much fun.” The graphic below by graphic designer Maya Eilam clearly shows the shape of plots and uses literary examples for the various story patterns Vonnegut depicted in his thesis.
I am going to print this out and it is going on the wall above the horizontal line of my computer where I write, part navigation system and part writing mandala to rest my eyes from the screen. You too may want print it out should you get lost on where you’re going in your story.
http://www.openculture.com/2014/02/kurt-vonnegut-masters-thesis-rejected-by-u-chicago.html
