Mur Lafferty's Blog, page 77
July 27, 2010
All Write! Pin-Ups: Highway To Hell
You can't stop ALL WRITE! Pin-up month! The examination of Pratchett's inner fantasy life continues with this tour-de-force illustration by comic artist extraordinaire Daniel Warner! Sometime, a girl just has to kill some orcs. On top of a unicorn. With a shirtless elf. We've all been there, I think.
July 26, 2010
The glory of menial tasks
Tonight I conquered Mt. Laundry, and as I was folding, my brain quietly worked out my writing melancholia and what I think may be behind it. Who knew that fretting over wrinkled t shirts was so helpful?
Of course, many people know this. Your brain likes to quietly work on problems, not be attacked constantly by your stupid, conscious mind.
Your conscious mind is Pinky, and your brain is, well, Brain. It works best without Pinky badgering it all the time, NARFing and crying. So when your...
July 23, 2010
ISBW #149 Editing – Paolo Bacigalupi / Tobias Buckell Interview
The Alchemist and The Executioness
Editing and a dual interview! Our show notes recorder is back on the job and will have notes to us soon!
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July 20, 2010
ALL WRITE!: Birthday Wishes
My birthday was Saturday, and one of best presents I received was Natalie's rendition of the ALL WRITE cast celebrating it. I just had to share!
July 19, 2010
More Books: The Alchemist and The Executioness, The Third Bear
First, I finished The God Engines last night. I had some questions about some things that Scalzi did with his narrative (namely never revealing whether the "rooks"–think "companions" in Firefly–are male or female – he used no pronouns and no revealing gender-specific body parts during a somewhat graphic sex scene), and it was quite dark, but I enjoyed it and it made me think. Recommended.
The Alchemist and the Executioness: This is not on the pile of books, as it's Audible-only, but it's...
July 18, 2010
Books, and reading, and more books.
Confession time. In today's Internet age, we (I) are easily distracted, entranced by shiny devices that play games and movies and music, and an IM is a tiny shot of dopamine that our brains crave much more than any stupid learning given by BOOKS.
That said, a writer needs to read. It's not just a "what's happening in my genre?" issue, but it's a deeper, subconscious issue where your little brain learns vocabulary and turn of phrase and storytelling. If you don't read, you can't write. On a...
Books, and reading and more books
Confession time. In today's Internet age, we (I) are easily distracted, entranced by shiny devices that play games and movies and music, and an IM is a tiny shot of dopamine that our brains crave much more than any stupid learning given by BOOKS.
That said, a writer needs to read. It's not just a "what's happening in my genre?" issue, but it's a deeper, subconscious issue where your little brain learns vocabulary and turn of phrase and storytelling. If you don't read, you can't write. On a...
July 15, 2010
On Perfection
Humans, as a rule, do not trust perfection. We do not trust the easy way out. We do not respect those born into money; we love the "poor to rich" stories. If we actually meet the "perfect" mate, we assume there's something deeply wrong on a fundamental level. (I watched an episode of Kim Possible with my daughter and when Kim found the perfect boyfriend – cute, interesting, engaging with her friends, dying to take her to the prom – my first thought was, "Oh, he's so evil. Just wait." By the e...
July 14, 2010
ISBW #148 Feedback / Good Cop, Bad Cop
Yes. Another unannounced break. I was editing a book. This was recorded before I took the time to edit. Lots of feedback, and Matt joins us again for a long Good Cop Bad Cop.
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July 12, 2010
All Write! Pin-Ups: Dragonrider
ALL WRITE Pin-Up month continues! Natalie Kelly, one of the super-talented people I'm working with on Fables of the Flying City–she did the awesome poster I gave away at the launch, and is coloring the graphic novel–gave us this fantastic portrait of Pratchett flying on a dragon. I'm tempted to make it her permanent means of transportation.
