Frank Miller's Sin City Library I: Books: Frank Miller

Amazon.com: Frank Miller's Sin City Library I: Books: Frank Miller: "In this massive collection you get the first four Sin City graphic novels housed in a black slipcase with the Sin City logo in red foil. The volumes presented here are in hardcover format in a larger than normal size. Think of the DC Absolute hardcover series; these books are just slightly smaller than that format. As if the extra large presentation weren't enough, the page stock has been significantly upgraded. The pages are as thick as the typical Sin City cover stock, and ultra-glossy, which is ideally suited for Miller's dynamic black and white artwork. Each page becomes fine art. I was extremely pleased with my original Sin City hardcovers and paperbacks, but they just pale in comparison to the quality of this package. This really is the ultimate Sin City reading experience."

Technorati Tags: writing, frank, miller, daredevil, books, book, comicbook, illustration, illustrator, graphic, novel

Ronin: Books: Frank Miller

Amazon.com: Ronin: Books: Frank Miller: "This story comes across much better than the parts would suggest. It has elements of fantasy, history, and science fiction woven together. It's an eco-catastrophic world with clean, livable enclaves for the few. It has demons, heroes, and some who tried and failed. A lesser writer would have made those parts sound like a formula: 'Attach Hero (a) to Villain (b), then connect the Mysterious Source of Vast Power (c).'"

Technorati Tags: writing, frank, miller, daredevil, books, book, comicbook, illustration, illustrator, graphic, novel

Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus: Books: Frank Miller,Roger McKenzie,David Michelinie,Klaus Janson

Amazon.com: Daredevil by Frank Miller & Klaus Janson Omnibus: Books: Frank Miller,Roger McKenzie,David Michelinie,Klaus Janson: "As the artist for Spectacular Spider-Man, the then basically unknown Frank Miller took on the job as penciler for Daredevil; which was one of Marvel's more maligned titles at the time. Eventually he also began to write the book, and that's when the magic really started to happen. What's collected here in this Daredevil Omnibus is Miller's complete, legendary run on Daredevil in which he reinvents characters from the ground up. Adding some spice to creator Stan Lee's original vision of Daredevil's origin, Miller is also noted for the introduction of Elektra; the ninja assassin and Matt 'Daredevil' Murdock's life long love who is now his adversary. "


Technorati Tags: writing, frank, miller, daredevil, books, book, comicbook, illustration, illustrator, graphic, novel

Nuts & Bolts of Writing

Nuts & Bolts of Writing

If you need this, you probably need to find something else to do.

Inquest opens into ’spy’ billionaire’s death

Jetcity � Blog Archive � Inquest opens into ’spy’ billionaire’s death : "I have a feeling this would be my true vocation, meaning espionage. Anyway, a billionaire Mossad spy in Egypt, if that’s not cool I don’t know what is. This is the kind of idea fiction writers lust after but can’t touch. Plausible, complex and full of possibilities. Throw in some hot sex and gun play and Tom Clancy would wish I he had thought of it first. "

Taxi Driver Screenplay

TRAVIS BICKLE, age 26, lean, hard, the consummate loner. On
the surface he appears good-looking, even handsome; he has a
quiet steady look and a disarming smile which flashes from
nowhere, lighting up his whole face. But behind that smile,
around his dark eyes, in his gaunt cheeks, one can see the
ominous stains caused by a life of private fear, emptiness
and loneliness. He seems to have wandered in from a land
where it is always cold, a country where the inhabitants
seldom speak. The head moves, the expression changes, but
the eyes remain ever-fixed, unblinking, piercing empty space.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, screenwriting, movie, fim, cinema, script

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Copyright Office

Zinio: Your favorite magazines... Now Digital

Zinio: Your favorite magazines... Now Digital

Authoratory: find an expert in any field

Authoratory: find an expert in any field: "Authoratory is a unique database of contact information, professional interests, social connections and funding of 289,943 leading scientists!

Academia or the private sector, whether you seek an expert witness, a sales lead, an inside connection, a job, a hire, or a reference - its all here in Authoratory!"

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, written, books, expert, literature, education, teaching,

Ghost Story Writers

Ghost Story Writers: "The Cyclopaedia of Ghost Story Writers is an ever-expanding database of information (bibliographic and biographic) of authors who have written at least one published short story (generally less than 30,000 words) with the theme of haunting or another related aspect of the supernatural during the Georgian, Victorian or Edwardian period. The current definition of whether an author belongs within this period is vague but as a general rule no author born before about 1920 is included."

Why Writer's Market is a Waste of Money (if you didn't already know)

Oh sure, Writer's Market was all we had before the Internet, but now it's obsolete. Almost every magazine's writer's guidelines can be found online, and the writer's guidelines are what you want, not those little snippets Writer's Market give you. A quick Google search is of far more use to you than $50.00 worth of paper that loses value every single day from the date of purchase. By the time you get it many of the listings will be already worthless, after a year you would be better off tossing it. For you die hard fans of WM I suggest you start highlighting all the submissions the USPS bounces back to you ("No forwarding address") if you want to see what I mean.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writer's guidelines, writer's market, books, articles, essays, selling, publishing, publisher, magazine, mail, postal, submission, submissions

Writing a Book

Noisy Decent Graphics: "'people ask me from time to time if I’ve thought about writing a book. Well, as a matter of fact, I have… but thinking about it hasn’t magically produced a manuscript, as it turns out.'"

The 10 secrets of writing reviews that will keep readers coming back � Jonathan Deamer

The 10 secrets of writing reviews that will keep readers coming back � Jonathan Deamer: "Reviews make great blog posts: they’re not only a novel answer to the perpetual blogger’s conundrum of “what shall I write about today?”, but also a cool way to attract readers. Lots of people want to know if the new U2 record (for example) is any good, so why not write to cater for an audience that’s already there? "

Comics By Fletcher Hanks

Boing Boing: I Shall Destroy All the Civilized Planets! Destructo has an oxygen-destroying ray that he's going to use on every big shot in America, suffocating them all at the same time. The Destructo mob uses astounding efficiency to conceal vials of oxygen-destroying rays all over the world. They release the rays using a radio-cabin on a pine-clad mountain. The president, cabinet, and congress keel over. So do all newspaper and magazine editors, the FBI, secret service, bankers, industrial leaders, doctors, Army and Navy officers, enlisted men, police, etc. Panic sets in.

Paying Market: Intergalactic Medicine Show

Submissions - Intergalactic Medicine Show We are looking for stories of any length in the genres of science fiction and fantasy. "Science fiction" includes hard sf, sf adventure, alternate history, near-future, far-future, psi, alien, and any other kind of sf you can think of. "Fantasy" includes heroic fantasy (based on any culture's mythology), fairy tales, contemporary fantasy, and "horror" in the sense of supernatural suspense (not gory bloodfests, thanks).

Technorati Tags: markets, writing, writer, fiction

Pure Writing Balls

Neo-Nutsies bring frustration, anger -- and joy - 06/27/2007 - MiamiHerald.com ''You should be back in a damn mud and dung hut you nappy headed ho''. . .''Who's crying now, you affirmative action ape?''. . . and etcetera. The gist of this outburst: a handful of contentions, each more asinine than the last.

Children's Author to Teach on Flash Fiction

During the Namekagon Art Festival on Saturday, July 7, Redbery Books will present a writer’s workshop by Catherine Friend, entitled “Catch the Magic: the Basics (And Beyond) of Writing for Children.” The class will be held at Mooselips in downtown Seeley from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Catherine Friend is the 2007 recipient of the Loft/McKnight Award in Children’s Literature. She has published six books for children including her most recent picture book, “The Perfect Nest,” illustrated by John Manders. Friend lives on a farm in southeastern Minnesota and is the author of the memoir, “Hit by a Farm: How I Learned to Stop.” She has taught writing for 10 years at the Institute of Children’s Literature and has freelanced as an editor critiquing manuscripts.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, flash fiction, fiction, Catherine, Friend

Why wine writers talk that way

Why wine writers talk that way. - By Mike Steinberger - Slate Magazine: "'Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine,' Fran Lebowitz once said. "

How to Become a Freelance Blog Writer

� How to Become a Freelance Blog Writer: "But the cool thing about freelance blog writing is that you can do it from any place, any time of day. So you can write late at night, during your lunch hour, or in the early morning hours. You can do it while traveling, or while sitting through a boring conference. There’s a freedom to it that’s very appealing.

So how do you go about becoming a freelance blog writer? Here are some of my best tips:"

“Do you like science fiction?”

Awkward Things I Say To Girls � Blog Archive � “Do you like science fiction?”: "“You know what I really want? A girl who likes science fiction. I want a really nerdy girl. Let’s be honest.”

Then I start to think. Why not just ask?"

TabPad

LFI.net // Programs // TabPad: "TabPad is yet another Notepad clone - except with tabs. TabPad was designed to look almost identical to Notepad, with the same features and functionability (plus more), except to also incorporate tabs. TabPad is fast, efficient and well written, and supports opening dozens (if not more) of tabs for text files. You can make it your default editor if you please, TabPad supports files being opened by Explorer, or you can simply use it standalone. Drag and drop support is also included (that includes batch drag and drop, meaning multiple files). As of Version 1.90, TabPad includes autorecovery, allowing you to salvage anything you were working on in the event of a program/system error or power outage [There is no gurantee you will not lose data]. I've also incorporated an 'ASP Tools' toolbar, allowing you to quickly access all the files an ASP page 'includes', or search through them automatically."

Technorati Tags: Tabpad, freeware, software, writer, writers, writing, tool, tools,

Words Invented by Shakespeare by joel laumans

piksels � Words Invented by Shakespeare by joel laumans: "Today while browsing the ever so beautiful interwebs, I came across something interesting about Shakespeare. Turns out that our second favourite William (after the one and only William Gates of course) invented over 1700 of the words we use commonly use, by simply turning nouns into verbs, adjectives into verbs, and so forth..

Here is a very small list of words he invented:
Accused
Addiction
Advertising
Amazement
Arouse
Assassination
Bandit
Bedroom"

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, words, Shakespeare

WellToldTales.com

WellToldTales.com: "Well Told Tales is looking for edgy fare, 2,000 to 5,000 words (give or take), in the sci-fi, horror and hardboiled (ie: crime or detective) genres. See our submissions policy for more information."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, fiction, fictional, story, stories, literature, literary, submission, markets, magazine, magazines, ezine, ezines

List of DC Comics cosmic entities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

List of DC Comics cosmic entities - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "A
the A
Abaddon the Destroyer, featured in JLA, The Demon, and The Books of Magic
Abnegazar of the Demons Three, featured in JLA
Adramelech
Agony & Ecstasy, from Hellblazer
Ale
The Aleph
Alexander Luthor, Jr., of Crisis on Infinite Earths and Infinite Crisis
Amenadiel, from Lucifer
Amethyst, a Lord of Order
Antagonist (of the New Gods)
Anti-Matter Man
Anti-Monitor, from Crisis on Infinite Earths
Anti-Sun
Archangels, from Books of Magic
Ares, frequent adversary of Wonder Woman
Artemis
Arzaz
Ayries, from Green Lantern #43
Asmodel
Asteroth
Athena
Auron
Azmodus"

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, fiction, fictional, story, stories, literature, literary, submission, markets, magazine, magazines, ezine, ezines

philipkdickfans.com - The web site devoted to science fiction visionary Philip K. Dick

philipkdickfans.com - The web site devoted to science fiction visionary Philip K. Dick: "Welcome to PhilipKDickfans.com, the ultimate online resource dedicated to the life and work of the world's greatest science fiction author. The twenty first century has seen a surge of interest in Philip K. Dick, whose stories have inspired generations of readers, film lovers and artists of all kinds. "

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, fiction, fictional, story, stories, literature, literary, submission, markets, magazine, magazines, ezine, ezines

LabLit.com - the culture of science in fiction & fact

LabLit.com - the culture of science in fiction & fact

Paying Market-Futurismic: Guidelines

Futurismic: Guidelines: "Futurismic seeks contemporary science fiction for publication at the website. We're looking for innovative, exciting stories that use the tools of speculative fiction to examine contemporary issues and take a look at what's just around the corner. Whether by established professionals or promising newcomers, we would like to see the very best in today's SF, with an emphasis on work that truly connects with and illuminates the fast-paced, fascinating times we live in."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, fiction, fictional, story, stories, literature, literary, submission, markets, magazine, magazines, ezine, ezines

Award-Winning Erotic Fiction and Romantic Erotica Available This Summer

Award-Winning Erotic Fiction and Romantic Erotica Available This Summer: "'I believe in romance with bite, sex with enthusiasm, and a full range of emotions from cave to sky that would make 'Heathcliff' and 'Mr. Darcy' fall to their knees in full passion. I believe in romantic erotica that is exciting and invigorating for both men and women. My readers share my books with their lovers. They can't get my books back from their wives -- or husbands,' said Neale Sourna."

Technorati Tags: erotic, erotica, sex, sexual, sexuality, xxx, adult, books, read, reading, book, novel, short, stories, story, writer, writing,

Flashes On The Meridian: Dazzled by Flash Fiction

Flashes On The Meridian: Dazzled by Flash Fiction: "Lately there are brilliant flashes of fiction almost everywhere you look. You see them in print journals, magazines, anthologies, collections. You will also find dazzling examples of flash fiction on the Internet, in all its many forms, guises, and under all its many names. Is flash fiction something new? Or is this art form presently enjoying yet another period of popularity? I would answer that it is something old, something new, and even something borrowed too. It is a wedding of sorts--a wedding of styles, traditions, and genres."

Erotic poems reveal Juan Ram�n Jim�nez did more than just pray with three nuns

DollyMix: Erotic poems reveal Juan Ram�n Jim�nez did more than just pray with three nuns: "Jim�nez said the years he spent under the nuns' 'care' were the 'happiest of my life'. He about his experiences with the nuns in a series of 'lewd and erotic' poems, which he sent to a publishing company, and then retracted as he didn't want to upset his wife."

Technorati Tags: erotic, erotica, sexsexual, x-rated, xxx, porn, porno, naked, nudity, lingerie

Response Source | Press Releases - Win �500 in the LoveHoney Erotic Fiction Competition!

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Ficlets | Welcome to Ficlets!

Ficlets | Welcome to Ficlets!: "A ficlet is a short story that enables you to collaborate with the world.

Once you’ve written and shared your ficlet, any other user can pick up the narrative thread by adding a prequel or sequel. In this manner, you may know where the story begins, but you’ll never guess where (or even if!) it ends."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories

Wired 14.11: Very Short Stories: "We'll be brief: Hemingway once wrote a story in just six words ('For sale: baby shoes, never worn.') and is said to have called it his best work. So we asked sci-fi, fantasy, and horror writers from the realms of books, TV, movies, and games to take a shot themselves."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? - New York Times

What Is the Best Work of American Fiction of the Last 25 Years? - New York Times: "Early this year, the Book Review's editor, Sam Tanenhaus, sent out a short letter to a couple of hundred prominent writers, critics, editors and other literary sages, asking them to please identify 'the single best work of American fiction published in the last 25 years.' Following are the results."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

Entitlement: Choosing the Right Name for Your Story

Entitlement: Choosing the Right Name for Your Story: "So what's in a title? Is it really that important?

You bet it is. Would you rather your job resume say 'salesperson' or 'marketing representative'? 'Clerk' or 'service specialist'? 'Repairman' or 'technician'? One sounds commonplace; the other sounds impressive.

Let's go a step further. Imagine Boys' Life billed as Youth Experiences. Or Nightline as Ted's Late News Roundup. Loses a little something, right? And it's hard to picture 007 introducing himself as 'Dinkins. Arnold Dinkins.'"

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

RESEARCH, TRACK, AND CONQUER How to research short fiction markets, track submissions, and ultimately get published.

RESEARCH, TRACK, AND CONQUER How to research short fiction markets, track submissions, and ultimately get published. : "As an editor of a quarterly fiction journal and a published short fiction writer, I know full well the rigors of getting a piece published. I've both written and received my share of rejection letters, and I know it is easier to give up than to press on. Having also had the privilege to write and receive a handful of acceptances, I know that it's worth the struggle. In this article I will lay out guidelines for finding the right markets and tracking your submissions."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

Paying Market: Strange Horizons Fiction Submission Guidelines

Strange Horizons Fiction Submission Guidelines: "We want good speculative fiction. If your story doesn't have a clear fantasy or science fiction element, or at least strong speculative-fiction sensibilities, it's probably not for us.

We'd like to help make the field of speculative fiction more inclusive, more welcoming to both authors and readers from traditionally underrepresented groups, so we're interested in seeing stories from diverse perspectives and backgrounds.

We want stories that have some literary depth but aren't boring; styles that are unusual yet readable; structures that balance inventiveness with traditional narrative. We like characters we can care about. We like settings and cultures that we don't see all the time in speculative fiction."

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, market, guidelines, writer's, payment, fiction, fictional, story, stories, narrative, literature, author, authors,

Fantastic Fiction

Fantastic Fiction: "Bibliographies for over 10,000 authors"

Stephen King on the artistic merits of torture porn - Los Angeles Times

Stephen King on the artistic merits of torture porn - Los Angeles Times: "I go to see the films because I like them, I like to be scared anyway. And I think you have a tendency to see things come in waves. If one thing is successful others follow in its wake. And the thing is, 'Hostel 2' is actually a better picture in every way. It's very clever and Eli Roth is a tremendous talent, and has a tremendous eye as a director. The material makes a lot of people uneasy, it makes me uneasy."

Samuel L. Jackson To Replace Bruce Willis As 'Nick Fury' - Starpulse News Blog

Samuel L. Jackson To Replace Bruce Willis As 'Nick Fury' - Starpulse News Blog : "Samuel L. Jackson has replaced his Unbreakable and Pulp Fiction co-star Bruce Willis as the frontrunner to play Marvel Comics' Nick Fury, according to breaking internet reports. Jackson will be introduced as the character in the upcoming Iron Man film, before taking the lead in a blockbuster surrounding the character, according to website AintItCool.com."

Pulp Fiction Art at its Best

www.skullring.org: Pulp Fiction Art at its Best: "Now, The Incredible Pulps: A Gallery of Fiction Magazine Art, edited by Frank M. Robinson, has brought back a little taste of the past. "

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

U.S. reporter's Iraq saga wins top non-fiction prize - washingtonpost.com

U.S. reporter's Iraq saga wins top non-fiction prize - washingtonpost.com: "An American reporter's account of the surreal world inside Baghdad's top security Green Zone was named on Monday as winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize, billed as the world's richest award for non-fiction."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

Behind the Scenes in Lesbian Fiction | AfterEllen.com

Behind the Scenes in Lesbian Fiction | AfterEllen.com: "Hundreds of writers, publishers, editors and fans gathered earlier this month in Atlanta, Ga., for the third annual Golden Crown Literary Society conference, which celebrates the diverse world of lesbian literature. The society was founded in 2004 when several lesbian writers and publishers realized there was no organization specifically focused on promoting lesbian-themed fiction."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

BlackNews.com - African American Erotic Fiction Gets Passionate Following By Author Zane

BlackNews.com - African American Erotic Fiction Gets Passionate Following By Author Zane: "When she started writing erotic fiction in her spare time and e-mailing it to friends and online acquaintances, it made sense to keep calling herself Zane -- after all, she couldn't be sure who was reading her work. Then she developed a following and discovered she could sell a book, and Zane was destined to stay Zane."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

Fiction lands journalists in hot water

IOL: Fiction lands journalists in hot water: "A news report about a school essay on a fictional president's refusal to admit fathering an illegitimate child has reportedly landed five Malian journalists and a teacher in prison."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

Movies: Can Hollywood do comic book movies right? | comic, books, book - TheV247.com

Movies: Can Hollywood do comic book movies right? | comic, books, book - TheV247.com: "Comic book movies equal Hollywood gold, right?

With icons like Spider-Man and Batman racking up ticket sales, and lesser-known commodities like Hellboy and Blade making their mark on the big screen, it seems like comic books and the silver screen have finally learned to work together. OK, you may have to ignore duds like 'Catwoman' and the bland 'Ghost Rider.'"

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

Meet the writer who disappeared between her own dark lines - Books - smh.com.au

Meet the writer who disappeared between her own dark lines - Books - smh.com.au: "THE case of Laura Albert - professionally known as J.T. Leroy - could be read as a literary cautionary tale, the story of a writer who hid behind her assumed identity and lost herself.

Where there should have been a single life, there were, instead, a pair: J.T. Leroy, addict, androgyne and the acclaimed author of Sarah, a novel about truck-stop prostitution set among the diesel fumes of a West Virginia highway."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

allAfrica.com: Angola: African And World Problems Portrayed in Novel (Page 1 of 1)

allAfrica.com: Angola: African And World Problems Portrayed in Novel (Page 1 of 1): "Immigration matters and ties between the West and Africa are the themes highlighted in the novel 'Zebra', by Angolan writer, Reis Lu�s 'Mbwango', that will be released Friday 18h00 hours in Luanda, on the premises of the Angola Writers Union."

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes

Former Royal Aide Blasts Author Of Controversial Book On Diana | June 21, 2007

AHN | Former Royal Aide Blasts Author Of Controversial Book On Diana | June 21, 2007: "The author of a new biography about Britain's late Princess Diana has been blasted by a former royal aide. Dickie Arbiter, a former Buckingham Palace spokesman, has accused Tina Brown of cashing in on Diana's death with the publication of her book 'The Diana Chronicles.'

He told Britain's The Independent newspaper: 'I was called upon by Tina Brown to give a number of quotes but there really is nothing new to write.

Technorati Tags: books, reading, reader, read, book, novel, novels, novellist, stories, story, writer, writing, writer, writes


'Much of it is regurgitated and lifted from other books. Tina is talking to the same old suspects, including me. There are some people in the royal household who just won't talk."

Poets & Poetry

I suspect that all real writers have only contempt for poets and poetry .There is nothing of value to be gained by the attempt to be profound, the attempt to inspire with meter and rhyme and staid, pretentious constrictions on your words. There is no advantage and no substance to poetry, but it's short enough to be accessible, short enough that every asshole on the street thinks they can churn something out.

Technorati Tags: poet, poetry, writing, writer, writers, art, rhyme, words, lyric, lyrics

50 Cent Lands Book Deal With 'Queen Of Bling Fiction' - Starpulse News Blog

50 Cent Lands Book Deal With 'Queen Of Bling Fiction' - Starpulse News Blog : "Rap star 50 Cent has expanded his G-Unit books brand by signing the 'queen of bling fiction' to his label. Meta Smith was released by Warner Books this year, but 50 Cent, real name Curtis Jackson, has snapped up the Queen Of Miami author, reports allhiphop.com.

She will follow other G-Unit Books authors including Nikki Turner, Relentless Aaron and Noire."

About Omniglot - a sitemap

About Omniglot - a sitemap: "This site contains details of most alphabets and other writing systems currently in use, as well as quite a few ancient and invented ones. It also includes information about some of the languages written with those writing systems, multilingual texts, tips on learning languages, a book store, some useful phrases in many different languages, and a ever-growing collection of links to language-related resources."

Computer Hacker Claims He Has Copy Of Final "Harry Potter" Book | June 21, 2007

AHN | Computer Hacker Claims He Has Copy Of Final "Harry Potter" Book | June 21, 2007:

A computer hacker has posted what he says is the end of the final "Harry Potter" book on his website. The hacker, who goes by the name of "Gabriel," said he broke into Bloomsbury Publishing and got a copy of the book so he could post what he claims to be a number of spoilers.

According to Gabriel's post, he got ahold of "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hollows" by sending Bloomsbury employees an e-mail-born threat that, when opened, gave him access to the book.

tag: Writer, Writing, writers, book, short story, fiction, novel, novels, Stephen hawking

USA Today Bestseller List, Week Ending June 10, 2007

Dear Author.Com | USA Today Bestseller List, Week Ending June 10, 2007:

***

Angels Fall, Nora Roberts, (Jove), $7.99, No. 4 (Peak 1 - as a hardcover release). Paperback release. This was the number one book on Bookscan with a total week sales of 44,300. Yeah. Nora Roberts sells more in one week than most author’s print runs.
The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Book 15) by Laurell K Hamilton (Berkley) $25.95, No. 5 (deubt). Word is that this is a return to form but I’m not getting back on the train. Am not.

holy shit-peddling airhead bimbos, Batman!

tag: Writer, Writing, writers, book, short story, fiction, novel, novels, Stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking and Daughter Writing Children's Book

Strollerderby : Stephen Hawking and Daughter Writing Children's Book:

The world's most famous physicist, Steven Hawking, has written a chlidren's book, George's Secret Key to the Universe, due sometime in Fall 2007. The book was co-written by Lucy Hawking, Steven's daughter, and illustrated by Garry Parsons.

tag: Writer, Writing, writers, book, short story, fiction, novel, novels, Stephen hawking

Frank Miller's gonna adapt Raymond Chandler's TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS for Clive Owen! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book

Frank Miller's gonna adapt Raymond Chandler's TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS for Clive Owen! -- Ain't It Cool News: The best in movie, TV, DVD, and comic book news.:

Frank Miller's gonna adapt Raymond Chandler's TROUBLE IS MY BUSINESS for Clive Owen!

tag: Frank Miller, movie, movies, entertainment, film, films, cinema, Clive Owen, Writer, Writing, writer, writers, Raymond Chandler, book, books, short story, short stories

A haunting tale from the king of horror - Diversions

A haunting tale from the king of horror - Diversions:

Many of the films that borrow from the works of Stephen King are hit or miss. Secret Window, Dreamcatcher, Hearts in Atlantis and The Green Mile are just some of the more recent ones, but only the last one could be considered a real success. The premise of 1408 doesn't make it stand out special amongst the rest: a story about an author who investigates haunted hotels and then finally finds a haunted one feels like an unoriginal clich�. But thanks in part to the always enjoyable performances of John Cusack (The Contract) and Samuel L. Jackson (Home of the Brave), as well as a rather fresh take on an old subject, 1408 is a must-see for horror fans and a quality film all around.

Technorati Tags: Stephen, King, John, Cusack, Samuel, L., Jackson, movie, movies, writing, writer, review, short, story, fiction, stories, literature, reading, actor, acting, , 1408

List of 26 Funny Porno Titles

Are the guys who come up with porno movie titles really writers? Maybe not, but these are pretty inventive I think.

1. Buffy the Vampire Layer
   
2. Indiana Bones and the Temple of Poon
   
3. Star Whores
   
4. Shaving Ryan's Privates
   
5. Sexmen
   
6. Forrest Hump
   
7. Sex Toy Story
   
8. The Sperminator
   
9. White Men Can't Hump
   
10. I Know Who You Did Last Summer
    
11. Good Will Humping
    
12. The Italian Blowjob
    
13. Black Cock Down
    
14. Monster Balls
    
15. School of Cock
    
16. Booty and the Beast
    
17. The Hump for Red October
    
18. Ass Ventura: Sex Detective
    
19. Armagedidon
    
20. Gays of Thunder
    
21. The Cum of All Queers
    
22. Lust in Space
    
23. New Jack Titty
    
24. The Ho-men
    
25. Million Dollar Booty
    
26. Riding Miss Daisy
    

Technorati Tags: porn, movie, titles, funny, humorous, amusing

Submission Guidelines-Noctem Aeternus

Submission Guidelines: "WHAT WE WANT:

We are looking for horror stories with a solid plot, strong character development, and attention to detail. Stories should also grab the reader’s attention quickly and hold it until the end. Although a good story can include gore, we don’t want gore for gore’s sake.

We are looking for great horror stories. Stories can be about monsters, the paranormal, serial killers, or anything else that evokes fear.

Science fiction, mystery, western, or fantasy elements are acceptable, however, there should be no doubt the story is horror.

"

Why Bother Reading?

There is a problem here. You start the story and wonder, before you get to the end of the first paragraph why you are reading it. Fiction writers and editors forget that in most cases, the people who publish small zines are unknown. They forget this completely. People have a reason to continue reading through a boring first paragraph if they know and like the author, but nobody knows some guy publishing in Underground Voices for the first time. If the story does not hold you, why bother reading? Is it that there is so little stuff in the world to read? Is it merely a matter of being charitable to a writer-hobbyist? Why publish something that starts out with words that grab hold of the reader's senses?


Technorati Tags: writing, writer, fiction, story, Underground, Voices, reader

The Problem with Editors

Everybody wants some kind of unique content that you can't find anywhere else. The problem for a freelance writer, is that you are a freelance writer, you write for different magazines with different aesthetics, different needs. It's not so much about being able to write in different voices for different editors as it is trying to get what you have written to sound like something that the editor has already accepted.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, maket, publish, publishing, editor, editing

Leisurely fiction prose harder than newswriting

Oshkosh Northwestern - Author Answers: Leisurely fiction prose harder than newswriting: "My background in journalism has helped me as a fiction writer because I've seen a lot of things that are potential fodder for fiction—the murder of a couple of fellow reporters (one was killed by a local businessman, another by Russian troops in Afghanistan), the bank fraud trial of one of Arizona's governors, the AZSCAM law-enforcement sting operation, missing-heir cases, etc. But I've had a hard time switching from the quick, punchy rhythms of newswriting to the long, leisurely rhythms of the novel. Fiction for me definitely is much harder than journalism."

Chinua Achebe wins Boooker Prize

The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon, USA: "Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe has won the 2007 Man Booker International Prize, beating such celebrated nominees as Philip Roth, Margaret Atwood and Ian McEwan.

The $120,000 prize is awarded every two years and honors a writer's entire body of fiction. (It is separate from the original Man Booker Prize, which honors a particular novel every year.)

Technorati Tags: writer, writing, Nigerian, novel, novels, books, novelist, chinua, achebe

Achebe, 76, is best known for his first novel, ''Things Fall Apart,'' published in 1958, and for ''Anthills of the Savannah,'' published more than 30 years later. But he has written more than 20 books, including novels, short stories, essays and collections of poetry."

Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest

2006 Results: "Detective Bart Lasiter was in his office studying the light from his one small window falling on his super burrito when the door swung open to reveal a woman whose body said you've had your last burrito for a while, whose face said angels did exist, and whose eyes said she could make you dig your own grave and lick the shovel clean."

If you haven't read or heard about it before, The Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest is awarded to writers of humorously bad fiction.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, fiction, contest, bulwer-lytton, humor, funny, humorous, literature, bad,

5 Things to Remember Before you Start Writing a Short Story

Things to remember should you decide to write a short story:

1) Make sure the story you are telling is suited to the short medium.
Some stories when told in the shorter form merely leave questions unanswered and frustrate the reader. If the story is suited to the short form you will be able to complete the arc in under 5,000 words.
2) Control your tangents.
In other words, make sure you know where you are going and don't get lost on the way.
3) If it does not help the story, lose it.
Keep in mind the "short" part of "short story".
4) Write quickly.
Nothing is more pathetic than laboring over short fiction. It should be deft and effective, like a single, accurate punch.
5) If you wouldn't read it, do not submit it.

The Hack

I envy the guys from the old days of pulp fiction who could put out fiction by the pound. This kind of thing is where the word "hack" comes from. The "hack" is supposedly an uninspired wretch with no appreciation for true art. Supposedly "true art" cannot be produced in mass quantities. Writers have too high an opinion of their profession. What we do is supply insightful entertainment, either in the form of made-up stories, or in the form of easily-digested reportage of boring, mundane shit. The idea is to make money by supplying insight and entertainment. All writing should entertain, pleasure in reading should be a part of what makes you want to pick up a book or turn to an article. Reading should be as necessary and as hard to surrender as cigarettes and coffee, and writers, real writers, the ones who are earnest about the trade, should be working to meet the need.

Sitting and waiting for inspiration to strike, or struggling with words, you do these when you see writing as an art, some thing of incredible beauty that must come from your mind. You balk at the horror of the empty page, the immensity of the job. This is where knowing who you are comes in, this is where you are either a real writer or you are not. If you can get through the struggle and be able to admit when the last sentence was garbage, be able to burn three days of work, be able to smile as the words work themselves out the tips of your fingers, then maybe this is what you were always meant to do. Maybe.

It's either there or it's not, only you can tell. The jumble of ideas in your head, the sentences you overheard at a dinner-party, the pictures you saw this morning on the front page of the paper, the raw material of all the yet-unwritten, either have the story or they don't. Only the man with the keyboard can see the worth and draw it out.

globeandmail.com: A short-story master rediscovered

globeandmail.com: A short-story master rediscovered: "Raymond Chandler once wrote 'there are two kinds of writers; writers who write stories and writers who write writing.' The stories of the late American author Leonard Michaels (1933-2003), now collected in a single volume for the first time, put Chandler's theory to a ferocious test. Gathering material from Michaels's 1969 debut, Going Places, up to his last stories, unavailable since they appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Stories and elsewhere, this posthumous collection charts the evolution of an inventive, curious and ribald writer."

Why I'm a horrible writer - The Stanford Daily Online

Why I'm a horrible writer - The Stanford Daily Online: "I did a horrible job of covering men's tennis for The Daily. Depending on who you ask, you'll probably find people who strongly agree and others who disagree. Regardless of what others think, I think that I did a pretty subpar job. Because I'm one of the biggest fans of Stanford Tennis, I'm probably also one of the least objective writers you'll ever meet, which causes a problem when my position calls for unwavering neutrality."

Paying Market: Space Squid

Space Squid
(Audio and print)
www.spacesquid.com
Pay Rate: $500/story
Length: Up to 1000 words
Genres: SF
Poetry: No
Submissions: Electronic
Dates: Nov 2006 to present (Spr 2007, #3)
Amuse and befuddle with easy-to-read sci-fi crap.
"We at Space Squid don't want your best stuff. We want the crap you can't bring yourself to kill, because it's too pugnacious to die.

"Margaret Atwood said the sci-fi is just 'talking squid in outer space." We think there's to reason to limit squid to just space and talking.

"Send us your squid, both the literal and the figuative equivalent. This is the refuse bin of sci-fi. This is the embarrassing mongoloid brother who's chained to the radiator in the basement. This is freebased genre smut for everyone who's tired of hearing people say, 'But there are parts of S/F that are really quite good.'

"Well, this isn't S/F. This is sci-fi and sci-fi should kick ass. It takes a lot these days for a story to truly kick ass, and we like to have our asses kicked. But neither have we deluded ourselves into thinking we can singlehandedly bring back the sense of wonder that drew us to sci-fi as children. We're pragmatists. Out goal isn't to bedazzle and shock, just to amuse and befuddle slightly. And above all we want to make it a quick, easily-digestible read so people won't feel ripped off if they don't like it.

"We've lost interest in the 99.9 percent of 'S/F' that takes itself too seriously (including the funny stuff, which more often than not tries way too hard). W're spent. Finished. Why wade through a novel-length digest of mediocre stories when we could be reading an actual novel? Why burn our eyes out on a Webzine when we could be browsing Web porn?

"So what are we looking for? Not the usual pedantic variation on a standard theme such as timetrave, robots, timetravelling robots, barbarians, dragons, wily-midget thieves in the Dark Ages, glorification of European classism in an oppressive feudal state, or swords. Sword-wielding timetravelling midget-robot barbarians in an oppressive state are okay though.

"Smut of any sort is okay too.

"Just send us whatever and we'll think about it. If it has something we like; a concept, a character, a nice turn of phrase, a brazen stupidity, we may figure out a use for it. Your contribution may become a cartoon, a piece of marginalia at the bottom of a page, a classified advertisement, a restaurant menu; whatever it takes to help us avoid filling our pages with the long, continuous blocks of (self-indulgent) text. Shudder."

Technorati Tags: writing, market, speculative, science, fiction, write, writer,

Ron Paul's Racism

The Daily Background � Blog Archive � Racism in Ron Paul’s Past Writings?: "Paul also once suggested that the vast majority of African Americans were criminals, writing “I think we can safely assume that 95 percent of the black males in that city are semi-criminal or entirely criminal.” Paul was referring to Washington DC, which is heavily populated by African Americans.

Congressman Paul also once seemed to encourage fear of African American men because of the color of their skin, saying “We are constantly told that it is evil to be afraid of black men, it is hardly irrational. Black men commit murders, rapes, robberies, muggings and burglaries all out of proportion to their numbers.”"
Later on, we find out that:
“It was composed by a ghostwriter, and then sent out with Dr. Paul’s name attached to it, Krekel told The Daily Background. He also said that at the time, Paul was not directly involved in politics and that he had a staffer write the column in his place. Paul “has apologized repeatedly for his error, and he has been dealing with the incident for 15 years,” Krekel added

Does it really matter who supposedly wrote it? If you attach your name to something you are endorsing it, are you not?




Technorati Tags: Ron, Paul, racism, racial, society, America, American, politics, writing, writer, ghostwriter, conservative, bigot, congressman

thisisby.us - How Fantasy Works, by jebrice

thisisby.us - How Fantasy Works, by jebrice: "The critics of American culture are usually quick to point out the trivial, the absence of the thoughtful, the intellectual. I myself once mocked the A & E network's Dog the Bounty Hunter in an article after finding that many of my co-workers thought he was cool. Shooting fish in a barrel, you say? Of course, but what I did not see is that American culture, meaning music, movies, books, television, is , with a few exceptions, about escape. Also the dumber and more worthless something seems, the greater the escape it provides. If you can let go of your reality enough to be sucked into something as truly absurd and worthless as, say, The Star Wars movies, then your reality has no control over you. It's like a doctorate in escaping misery. Trash culture, meaning romance novels, soap operas, pop music, Lindsay Lohan movies, all represent the effectiveness of American culture, not it's demise."

Technorati Tags: writing, fiction, fantasy, America, culture, life, lindsay, lohan, dog, bounty, hunter, A&E, television, music, soap, opera

Most Useless Top 10 List Ever

Most Useless Freelancing Top-ten List Ever (for writers, anyway) It's all RSS spam.

Mediocre Writing

Part of what I want to do with this blog is to avoid the rut of sameness, the chronic mediocrity you find among writers' blogs. All these silly people who have not come into any kind of contact with the truly ugly, or had any experience outside of generic middleclass whiteness, who have no eye for the truly interesting. You get the feeling that everybody wants to be Anne Rice or Dean Koontz, nobody wants to be different, to set themselves apart. Everybody has to be part of a clique, this kind of pretend-writer or that kind of pretend-writer, some place to validate themselves other than in their stories. Social writing. So you can churn out a few thousand words of "content" in a sitting, fifty-percent padding, fifty-percent copy-and-paste, this means...what?

Writing is something you do because you have to, not because you think you might be able to. There is a difference between taking a piss and learning to crochet. Most "readers" are stupid people who think that reading is a good way to look smart, being able to quote is a good way to impress friends and co-workers. Most newspaper articles are written to impress the writer, not to actually tell you anything. Few are in it because their sanity depends on getting words out. Those are the people you need to find.



Technorati Tags: writing, writer, writers, Dean, Koontz, Anne, Rice, blogs, blogging

Paying Market: Susurrus Magazine submission guidelines

submission guidelines: " Susurrus is a bimonthly, highly experimental venue for fiction that deals with the human condition in speculative situations. We accept fiction and artwork submissions to be considered for publication. We purchase first electronic rights (second in the case of reprints), and archive all works on the site unless an author specifically requests otherwise. Our response time is now about three months.We hope to have it back to normal after our themed anthology is online."

Technorati Tags: Submission, guidelines, writing, writer, paying, market, website

More on Writing Well

Writing well is not merely writing grammatically correct, properly spelled and punctuated prose, it's also a matter of writing what people will want to read. When it comes to writing professionally, writing to a market, you will have to be able to a) find something out that people want to know, and b) package it so that they will get what they want as quickly as possible. "A" involves being in tune with your readers, knowing what they are looking for, perhaps because you are looking for the same things. "B" involves knowing what not to say as much as it does knowing what information to put out there. Kill the filler. Remember that you are selling something, in the case of fiction, you are selling a combination of entertainment and insight, that's the product, the story is merely the vessel. Above all, never forget that you are a retailer, all art is product, your work is not your child.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, work, art, insight, how-to, advice, prose, story

3 Tips for Writing Flash Fiction

Flash fiction, or the short-short story, is popular now because of the Internet and because readers are lazy, but does it have merit? of course, more merit, at least, than poetry which ties itself to sounding good and thus is usually either banal or meaningless. Like poetry, however, the brevity leads everyone to believe that they can do it so you have a million worthless pieces of flash fiction floating around the web along with the ghazals and limericks and sonnets that would have been better off burned than shown to anybody.

Things to note before you start writing a piece of flash fiction:
1) Have something happen. Bad writers make the mistake of forgetting the reader entirely and writing what sounds good in their heads. Under the pressure of a specific word-count, they masturbate furiously with their words, coming up with writey prose signifying nothing.

2) Have something DRAMATIC happen. This is not 30-round boxing match, this is one round with a young Mike Tyson. Hit hard or die.

3) Write it as quickly as it would take to read it. If you have to think too hard, your readers probably will too.


Technorati Tags: writing, writer, flash, fiction, literature, dramatic, word-count, flash+fiction, advice

Philip K. Dick Goes Legit With Library of America Canon

Philip K. Dick Goes Legit With Library of America Canon : "With the Library of America's publication of Philip K. Dick: Four Novels of the 1960s — edited by Jonathan Lethem, whose own early fiction owes a lot to Dick's — the most outr�science fiction writer of the 20th century has finally entered the canon. The Man in the High Castle, Dick's coolly rendered imaginings of Japanese-Nazi confrontation in occupied America, was his breakthrough work. The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch and Ubik established him as one of the most hallucinatory yet insightful critics of late-capitalist American civilization. And Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep"

Freemind - Teaching Tool or Story Outliner?

Described by its makers as a "teaching tool" Freemind is really a way to set down your thoughts as a presentation. It's useful for writing outlines of plots and planning webpages, but I am sure there are many other uses for it. Quite unique and somewhat difficult to describe, you will have to try it for yourself.

Reach-a-Mail

Light, free email client that you can use from your USB drive if you so desire. It's stripped down with none of the fanciness of Outlook or Thunderbird, but if you submit work by email a lot you will find it absolutely essential. It works perfectly with gmail (unlike many other "light" email clients) and you can configure it merely to send your mail if you want to want to keep track of your inbox online.

Technorati Tags: writing, writer, freeware, tools, email, client, light, small, free, program, software, outlook, thunderbird, mozilla

Jarte - A Free Word Processor

Excellent free software if you don't want something like Windows Word or Openoffice hogging your memory. With Jarte you can write with a browser window open even on an older, slower computer. The spellcheck takes getting used to, but other than it's pretty versatile. As you can see it has tabbed windows which I find very useful for blogging.

Technorati Tags: Jarte, word, processor, rich, text, editor, wordpad, Microsoft, Word, openoffice, spellcheck, free, freeware, writer, writers, software, writing, tools

How to Outgrow 'Write What You Know' | freelancing blog

How to Outgrow 'Write What You Know' | freelancing blog: "Every writer has heard it time and again, and it’s not without merit: “Write what you know.”

When I began freelancing, I was just out of college, so what did I write about? College. I wrote profiles of collegiate entrepreneurs, I wrote editorials about college life… and after a while, I really wanted to move on and write about other things. But I didn’t feel qualified.

Another piece of excellent advice. "Write what you know" is a myth. Some of you know nothing, and others, nothing you know is of interest to anybody, including yourselves.

Luckily, I didn’t let that hold me back for too long."

Write At Least 1000 Words Every Day For A Week | freelancing blog

Write At Least 1000 Words Every Day For A Week | freelancing blog: "Now why would anyone want to do that: write 1000 words every day for a week?

Well you wouldn’t if you are an established writer; you are already pumping out much more than that on an average day."

The best advice ever if you want to kill writer's block and piss on it's grave. How you get better at something is to do it as regularly as possible. Set word counts for yourself and live up to them. Look writing as what you do, how you do life.