L.G. Estrella's Blog, page 46

On Psychometrics and Individual Differences

Psychometrics and individual differences are the parts of psychology that are devoted to measuring people. This measurement is most commonly concerned with gauging either intelligence or personality through some form of test, but it can also be applied to a host of other attributes (e.g., social skills, emotional intelligence, clinical practice, etc.). However, this measurement should not be carried out recklessly.

Before a test can be used, there are three conditions that must be satisfied:

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A Small Change…

Over the next day or so, you might notice a small change. The Galactic Peace Committee will soon have a slightly different cover reflecting the impending arrival of a sequel. Beneath the main title is a subtitle: The Galactic Peace Series Part One.

As you can imagine, this means that part two is not far off.

Galactic Diplomacy (Coming Soon)

I am currently in the process of proofreading Galactic Diplomacy, which is a sequel to The Galactic Peace Committee.

What will Jake Smith, proud diplomat and member of the Galactic Peace Committee, have to deal with this time? It will definitely involve ornery aliens, and you had better believe it will involve multiple near-death experiences. But what sort of ornery aliens and what sort of near-death experiences?

It won’t be long before you find out.

Well That Sucked…

I got my phone snatched by a thief on Sunday. I chased the bastard to the nearest train station but lost him at the turnstiles. He got onto a train and that was all she wrote.

Damn. Five years ago, with two working knees, I would have caught the fucker, but I’m not as fast as I used to be.

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When Starting A Story #1

When starting a starting a story, there are a few things that you might want to consider.

Establish the rules. The rules determine how the universe works in your story. If you don’t know what the rules are, then your chances of writing something that doesn’t contradict itself or come across as confusing are less than stellar. A story can have all sorts of fantastical elements and still come across as believable and logical as long as it is internally consistent. In other words, a story shoul...

Humour: Make the Ordinary Extraordinary

There are many ways in which to write humour. Depending on your own writing style and personal experiences, it is highly likely that you will find writing some of them easier than others. However, one of my favourite ways to write humour is through making the ordinary extraordinary. In other words, you take a situation that people can empathise with (an ordinary situation), and then you change things about it to make it just that little bit crazy (an extraordinary situation).

This is probably...

Learning Is Not A Linear Process

Despite what some people may believe, learning is rarely a linear process. Instead, it is often marked by changes in learning rate, along with significant plateaus after reaching important milestones.

Let’s start off with a physical example. Let’s say that you’re training to run five kilometres. If you’ve never run that far before, you’ll likely find the first days of training to be very hard. But once you get into the groove, you’ll also find that you improve fairly rapidly. But does that ra...

Expectations and Reader Reactions

There is a scenario that almost every writer has encountered at least once. They write something that is technically outstanding and eagerly release it to their readers only to be bombarded with rage, disappointment, and dismay. Now, there are several possible explanations for this, but today I’d like to focus on just one: reader expectations.

In many ways, a good story is like a promise between the writer and the reader. Throughout the early parts of the story, the writer makes a promise of...

The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company is now Available on Amazon!

The first set of side stories for The Unconventional Heroes Series is finally available on Amazon! Join Timmy, Katie, and the rest of the gang for more adventures of the fun, humorous, exciting, and magical variety. The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company consists of fourteen short stories (totalling roughly 157,000 words) set before, during, and after the first three parts of The Unconventional Heroes Series. If you’ve ever wondered what other hijinks our loveable bunch of would-be heroes has gotte...

The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company is now Available on Amazon

The first set of side stories for The Unconventional Heroes Series is finally available on Amazon! Join Timmy, Katie, and the rest of the gang for more adventures of the fun, humorous, exciting, and magical variety. The Hungry Dragon Cookie Company consists of fourteen short stories (totalling roughly 157,000 words) set before, during, and after the first three parts of The Unconventional Heroes Series. If you’ve ever wondered what other hijinks our loveable bunch of would-be heroes has gotte...