L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 44

Issues in Psychological Measurement #1

What is measurement? Some would argue that measurement is nothing more than the process of assigning numerical values to various objects or attributes. Although this might seem like a reasonable approach to take at first glance, it cannot be correct if measurement is to have any meaning whatsoever.

Consider the following situation: there are five pieces of wood. The lengths of these pieces of wood are 5 cm, 5 cm, 6 cm, 7 cm, and 7 cm. The average length of these pieces of wood is 6 cm.

Now co...

An Update

For those of you wondering what’s been going on, I’m glad to announce that I have not succumbed to the plague or any of the other myriad problems at large in the world today. If anything is going to do me in one day, I’d put my money on my bad knee getting me into trouble when the inevitable zombie apocalypse rolls around. Seriously, if that happens, I’m going to try to drive everywhere. Then again, I live in Australia. If a zombie apocalypse starts consuming the rest of the world, we should...

Divine Interference Is Now Available On Amazon!

The gods are back in action! Divine Interference, the sequel to Divine Assistance, is now available on Amazon!

Can Fate win a poker game against Luck, Misfortune, and Mischief? Can Creation survive Bureaucracy finally taking a holiday? And can Muse persuade Annihilation to adopt a more… artistic approach to devastation? These are just three of the stories in Divine Interference.

And don’t worry, you’ll be seeing plenty of your old favourites as well. Whether it’s Death himself grappling with...

How Versatility Can Get You Into Trouble

If you’ve read any of my past articles on writing, you’ll know that I am a big fan of writers developing a versatile set of skills. In general, I believe that it is advantageous for a writer to have a variety of techniques at their disposal and to develop their talents across a range of different genres and styles. Being versatile is a great deal like having a toolbox. Sure, if you need to put in some nails, a hammer is fantastic. However, if you find yourself needing to drill a few holes, th...

Progress Report 30-09-2018

My apologies for the lack of updates recently. I’ve been caught up in a variety of things, and I’ve been fighting off a persistent flu for most of the month. For some reason, my knee has also been a bit sore lately too. Yeah, not the best month.

As a result, I’m way behind schedule. On the upside, I am now very close to finishing Divine Interference, which is the sequel to Divine Assistance. I’m in the final stages of proofreading, so I am aiming to have it out in the next week.

There are a t...

Hobbies and Barriers to Entry

A barrier to entry is basically a cost that has to be paid before someone can participate or enjoy a particular activity or pastime. To some extent, barriers to entry are inevitable. For example, if you want to play tennis, you not only need a tennis court but you also need to have a tennis racquet and a tennis ball. Where barriers to entry can have a destructive effect is when they become so high or onerous that they turn many people away.

Rather than use sports to provide a detailed example...

On Vampires And Their Weaknesses

Today, I’d like to talk about vampires, and, let me tell you, they’re a funny bunch. Vampires are some of the most popular fantasy creatures, but their exact weaknesses are often a matter of some debate. So let’s talk about those weaknesses.

First and foremost, it is often said that vampires can be killed by driving a wooden stake through their heart. Now, in fairness, vampires aren’t unique in this respect. I can guarantee you that if you drove a wooden stake through my heart, I would be dea...

Canine Combat

I recently witnessed one of the more amusing things I’ve seen in recent memory. Imagine, if you ail, two small dogs, neither of which belong to a breed that is at all suited for actual combat. Now imagine those two small dogs approaching each other as both of their owners look on in growing horror as the pair begin to bark, snarl, and posture.

Meanwhile, I’m watching this and wondering how exactly they plan on harming each other.

After some tugging on the leash and apologies, both owners and...

Iteration

One of the most common mistakes I see in writing is people trying to get things perfect on the first try. Save for a few miraculous occasions, that really isn’t likely to actually happen. Instead of thinking about writing as something you need to get right immediately, think of it as an iterative process where the goal is to improve with each attempt.

The phrase “don’t let perfect become the enemy of good” is very much applicable here. You’re never going to be perfect, and pursuing perfection...

World Building #2 – Fundamental Needs

Today, I’ll be continuing my discussion of different approaches to world building. You can find my previous post about it here.

Another approach to world building that you might find useful is to consider the fundamental needs of a world’s inhabitants. A fundamental need is something that must be met for an organism to survive. Naturally, fundamental needs can differ quite dramatically from organism to organism. However, what is constant is the fact that organisms, whether they are as simple...