Sable Aradia's Blog, page 55
November 1, 2017
Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing
By Ruthanne Reid
Some of you may have noticed that the esteemed Mr. Gaiman is my favorite living author. Even if he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, it’s hard not to notice him: books, graphic novels, award after award—the man is prolific and very good at what he does. So when I realized he had eight rules of writing, you better believe I beelined to read them. And guess what? They’re fantastic … with a few explanations.
Without further ado, here are Mr. Gaiman’s eight rules:
Read the full article at The Write Practice.
October 31, 2017
A Foodie’s Guide to Surviving the Zombie Apocalypse
By Sylvia McKeown
It’s the end of the world as we know it and if you want to survive, best you get a little creative on the food front.
Some apocalyptic appetite pleasers for Halloween:
KICK THE CAN
Every serious cook knows that you are only as good as your larder, but this time it’s a little more life-and-death kind of serious. Cans are not only a good source of basics that can last as long as the noxious killer cloud that coats the city, but they can also be used as projectiles or even as sound security measures when tied to a string – nothing is wasted in “the aftermath”.
Make as many bean jokes as you like, but protein is important. With a little fire, stock and (precious) water you can have hearty soup in no time – complete with musical entertainment, which is helpful since there is no more power since “the incident”.
Read the full article at the Sunday Times.
October 30, 2017
#WyrdWest Twitter Author Takeover Today!
Check out our Twitter author takeover to celebrate the release of Way of the Gun (Wyrd West Chronicles #4). Lots of great SFF writers will be sharing their work! Just click on the graphic to find the beginning of the thread. Check us out, RT and share!
October 29, 2017
New Release: Way of the Gun (Wyrd West Chronicles #4)
It’s a month overdue, but it’s finally here! Wyrd West Chronicles #4 is available at Amazon at this link!
Tomorrow I’ll be trying something new; there will be an author takeover event on Twitter! Starting late morning PDT @SableAradia.
Here’s the trailer:
Way of the Gun by Diane Morrison
This is the fourth novella in a serial I’m writing that’s geared primarily for e-platforms. Publication schedule will include one every two months, with a print collection intended for once a year with all of that year’s stories included.
What is a serial? A serial is a series of stories published sequentially. In many cases they would end with cliffhangers that would encourage you to get the next one. I don’t end things on cliffhangers, but they are designed to be read sequentially and continue more or less where the last one left off. Each is a complete story in and of itself, and each year’s stories will have a consistent story arc between them.
In this installment of the Wyrd West Chronicles, the ladies finally get a chance to shine! It’s probably the most “Western” of the series, with very little that relies on magic and fantasy, except the intelligence of the horses.
The Wyrd West Chronicles are a genre-bender and a mixture of a lot of things, so they’re not likely to be for everybody. In essence, it’s what happens when a high fantasy meets a Western, set in a post-apocalyptic magical world that’s a little bit steampunk (or cattlepunk, if you’re familiar with that term). I guess the closest description of its genre is Weird West, where Western meets the supernatural. However, the supernatural element in Weird Westerns tends to be geared towards horror; vampires and zombies and the like. Mine is more like Tolkien meets Tombstone.
I think, however, that you could still legitimately call it a Western. The themes are based in Western themes; standing up for what you believe is right, rugged individualism, determined survivalists; that kind of thing. A dedicated Western fan will recognize a lot of tropes that they know and love (without the stereotypes, I hope; though that may not be evident right away.) This is a mythic West. Yet, all the tropes that remain exist for a reason that I think is consistent within the world I’ve constructed. Firefly fans might appreciate what I’m trying to do.
The setting is a post-apocalyptic Canadian West which has an American Midwestern presence. What was the Cataclysm that I speak of in the book? Why are things the way they are in this world? Don’t worry, I will explain all that; just not right away. 
October 28, 2017
How a Month of NaNoWriMo Can Lead to a Lifetime of Better Writing
by Grant Faulkner
When I first became a writer, I marveled at the magical worlds my favorite authors created—their lyrical prose, their riveting plots, their piercing characterizations. They wrote with such grace, such ease, that it seemed as if they’d been born to it, blessed with a talent and anointed by a higher power. They were masters, and I was a simple novice, a bystander who wanted in but was improperly dressed for the fancy dinner party they attended.
Their prose shimmered like diamonds, but what I didn’t realize was that they hadn’t just plucked those gems from an endless supply and dropped them onto the page. Each precious stone was hard-earned, burnished by the unsexy and often uncelebrated traits of diligence and discipline. When we praise the fine craftsmanship of a novel, we gloss over the toughest but perhaps most important roles in its creation: time management, accountability, work.
Every writer who becomes a master goes through a training ground, whether formal or self-imposed. The boot camp of choice for me—and hundreds of thousands of others like me—is the rollicking, spirited grind of National Novel Writing Month each November. With the heady goal of writing 50,000 words in just 30 days, participants at nanowrimo.org learn valuable approaches to the creative process alongside critical habits to becoming a successful novelist.
Read the full article at Writer’s Digest.
October 27, 2017
24 Books that Won NaNoWriMo
With National Novel Writing Month starting on November 1, you might be feeling a combination of Rocky-esque determination and sweaty nervousness. After all, this is the month where established authors and aspiring writers alike from all over the world take the challenge to buckle down and pen a full-length novel. Whether you’re a rookie or a veteran, participation is no ordinary feat. The goal is roughly 1,667 words per day, 11,669 words per week, with the grand total of 50,000 words due by November 30.
No pressure.
But before you sharpen your pencils, fire up your computer, draft up your outline, or play The Final Countdown, get inspired with these 24 books that can trace their roots back to NaNoWriMo projects. Not only did books including The Night Circus, Water for Elephants, and Fangirl reach the finish line, they reached the pinnacle—publication.
Who knows? Maybe your NaNoWriMo book could wind up on this list someday. Which ones do you recommend? Let us know in the comments!
Read the full article at the Goodreads Blog.
October 26, 2017
Fantasy Equines: Where There’s a Form, There’d Better Be a Function
By Judith Tarr
To the non-horse person, a horse is pretty much just a horse. There’s the really big one like the beer-wagon Clydesdale and the really little one like the Mini doing therapy at the hospital. Then there’s the one that races and the cowboy one. And the wild one. The rest are black, brown, white, or spotted, and sort of blur together.
Which is how I sometimes think movie people pick their horse actors. I know it has more to do with what the wranglers and trainers have available than with straight-out lack of knowledge, but sometimes I do wonder.
Read the full article at Tor.com.
October 25, 2017
Virtual Fantasy Con 2017: Complete Panel Playlist #VFC17
It’s my pleasure to share with you the complete playlist of the Virtual Fantasy Con’s 2017 panel discussions. I had the honour of hosting three of them: Gender Issues in Fantasy, Realism in Fantasy Warfare, and Fantasy Mashups; you’ll find those ones near the end of the list. I’d like to thank all of the amazing authors whom I had the pleasure of speaking with! If you have an interest in fantasy fiction, I think these are well worth the watch.
October 24, 2017
Book Review: Shift by Hugh Howey
Shift by Hugh Howey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Read for the Apocalypse Now! Reading Challenge.
Method of the world’s destruction: Nanobot plagues and nuclear weapons.
I really loved the first book in the series, Wool Omnibus, more so because this was an indie writer who’s become mainstream. So when I discovered there were more books, I had to get access to them right away.
So I got this one out of the library. Unlike Wool, this is not a collection of stories, but two stories that were written in tandem, taking us back and forth between them and in some cases, back and forth in time. The first story explains how the silos got there and what happened to the world to destroy it. The second explains how Jimmy ended up alone in Silo 18, for those of you who have read the first book.
I don’t think that someone who has not read Wool will appreciate this one as much as someone who has, just because they’ll have no context. Can you read it as a standalone without reading Wool and understand it? Yeah, you sure can.
There’s some really powerful stuff in this story, and the language choices are amazing. Five stars to a whole sequence about a cat that Jimmy found lost in the Silo. I cried.
On the other hand, I thought this story suffered in comparison to Wool because the bad guys were unfathomable to me. They did some crazy things that made no sense and were utterly stupid. Is this a commentary on Washington? If so, okay, but the problem with fiction is that sometimes, stuff that people actually would do seems improbable in writing, and I think this was the case here.
Were these people supposed to be super-religious and trying to fulfill Biblical prophecy? If so, the bad guys make sense; but that’s the only way they make sense, so I find myself wondering if Howey didn’t want to say so for fear of offending people?
That being said, I loved the main character because he’s an anti-hero in the classical sense; he’s just a guy, and he doesn’t necessarily do things heroically. And I liked one of the minor antagonists that he dealt with because she seemed very human to me. I grokked her. She’s horrible, but I’ve known women like her.
It left some mysteries still to be revealed too. One wonders at the ending, and whether it’s true or an illusion. There’s a third book in the series. Looking forward to reading it next year for a new Apocalypse Now! challenge!
October 23, 2017
If “Firefly” Characters were in the U.S. Military
If you’re like me, you discovered the TV show Firefly well after the time it first ran in 2003. While we were spared the original heartbreak that came when the show was not renewed for a second season – damn you, Fox – we are still reminded of our loss every time we watch the show. And we watch it again, and again, and again, because it’s incredibly addictive television. And if you haven’t seen it – well, I’m not sure what I can do for you other than to tell you to see it, because who doesn’t love a space western?
As I was watching it this past time, it dawned on me that I’ve seen all these characters before: in the military. So here are the crew members of the cargo ship Serenity, as they would appear in your military unit.
Malcolm Reynolds
We first meet Mal…
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