Consider it a sort of Sunday Sharing-ish post. Mostly, it’s just a motley, random bundle of things that I think are cool. Inspired by the fact that the Olympics—one of my favorite things on earth—are going on. So without further ado:
I loved this photography project even before I was living in NYC, and I love it all the more now that I am here. Every subject he captures is beautiful in his/her unique way. I highly recommend liking the Facebook page so the updates will show up in your newsfeed; they always bring a smile to my face.
If you like video blogs, new media, adaptations, Pride and Prejudice, or just generally enjoy laughing, I highly recommend this webseries. Here’s the first video (and I’ve embedded it with the playlist, so you should be able to just go straight on to the next one after this one is finished):
I am an extremely aural learner, and songs are one of the best ways to guarantee that I will remember something. Thanks to this song, I can sing the first 20-ish digits of pi from memory. So, you know. That’s pretty cool.
Most of my friends from home know these as the delicious scones I bring to potlucks and teas and such. If you haven’t tried them, you must. They are delectable. (The poppy seeds are optional.) I’ve already made them for my housemates here once and they were gone in a single day. I’m making more this week.
ETA: Photographic evidence of me making these scones for my friends for our annual LOTR film marathon:
I love parodies. *points to Awesome Links page* I have strong (negative) feelings towards the lyrics of the Bruno Mars song “Grenade”. I think The Hunger Games are awesome. Hence, my delight in this parody, which takes the otherwise FRUSTRATING lyrics and makes them ACTUALLY MAKE SENSE. (If you’ve somehow managed to avoid reading the books or seeing the film, be warned that here there be spoilers:)
1. Go to the 7th or 77th page of your work in progress.
2. Go to the 7th line of the page.
3. Copy the next 7 sentences or paragraphs. Remember, they must be as they are typed.
4. Tag 7 authors.
5. Let them know they’re it!
Hookay. I’m counting my current draft of Unfamiliar Spellings as my WIP. And I’m starting with the 7th line of page 7. Let’s see what happens:
“He can’t be that light of a sleeper,” Albert said. “I’m the one who lives with him,” she whispered, stuffing the phone back in her pocket. “Not taking any chances. God, I can’t wait until we have our licenses. He’s so anal about the law.” She said “the law” like it was the name of a cheesy horror film villain. Privately, Albert thought that his mentor had a good reason to be concerned about legality, but that wasn’t something to point out at this moment. “I need coffee,” Julia said again. She pulled open the freezer door, and icy white light poured out into the kitchen. “But I think all we have is whole beans, and the grinder sounds like a dying cat.” She pulled a small brown bag from the freezer door and opened it; even from several feet away, Albert could smell a hint of coffee in the cold, stale air wafting from the freezer. “Yeah. Unground.” “You could grab a bean and chew on it.” “Ha.” Julia’s mouth quirked. “Yeah, I—” “Shh!” A soft clicking made them both freeze, and the nervous jolt hovering under Albert’s ribs shot upwards into his chest. But a few seconds later, he realized that the sound was only Rosie, the Flicks’ golden retriever, trundling across the kitchen towards them.
As for who I’m tagging (in no particular order):
1. My fabulous crit partner, Annalise Green (who hasn’t blogged in months, but only because she’s been doing awesome stuff—we’ll get her to return to us, you’ll see).
2.Megan Whitmer, who is freaking hilarious and basically my new favorite person on Twitter. (Psst. Guess what? This one time, she added ME to her Twitter “Faves” list. It was a good day. *nods*)
3. The generous, funny, and amazingly tenacious Leigh Ann Kopans, who JUST GOT A FREAKING AGENT. I’m not-so-secretly hoping she’ll take me up on this award so I can read an excerpt from her novel. (*puppy eyes*)
4. Fellow lit agency intern, Nerdfighter, anglophile, tea enthusiast, history geek, and all-around awesome person Caitlin O’Connell!
5.Hali Baumstein, my kickass internship-predecessor who writes insightful blog posts and commiserates with my exasperated tweets from the depths of Slushpile Hell.
6. Fellow writer Chris Kelworth, who blogs at The Kelworth Files and who wins major awesome points for being the most regular reader/commenter on my blog (thanks, Chris! ).
7. Last but certainly not least, my bestie Azalea Micketti, because I happen to know she’s in the midst of writing something, and I want to see it! (Plus, like Annalise, she needs to be brought back the the land of the livi—sorry. Blogging. The land of the blogging.)
Also, in unrelated news, I figured I would do a sort of miniature Sunday Sharing of a few cool things (all of which are, coincidentally, video-game-related):
1. This short film. Gives me goosebumps every time. Holy crap.
2. For all the Portal fans out there:
3. An entertaining and educational discussion of story structure. It’s aimed at video game designers, but it’s applicable to just about about any storytelling medium. Well-worth watching: Penny Arcade: Pacing
The lovely Jess Byam of Jest Kept Secret has passed on the 7×7 Blog Award, in which I am encouraged to share one of my own posts in each of seven categories. And hey, Sunday is Sunday Sharing (in which I post seven links)!
So doing the award post today makes perfect sense, right?
Yeeaaahhh. About that.
The funny thing is that this is probably the most difficult Sunday Sharing I have ever had to write. Part of it is that picking out links to post is hard. The other part is that I have issues where self-promotion is concerned (not other people’s self-promotion—my own). But the way I figure it, if I want to be a writer, this is something I’m just going to have to get used to. So all in all, I think this is good for me. A stretching exercise, if you will.
And without further ado, here are the posts I’ve selected.
Beautiful blog posts don’t tend to be my style, so I think this is the closest I get. I guess it’s beautiful to me in that it captures a very specific feeling that I’ve been experiencing for years but hadn’t ever really articulated until I wrote this. Anyhoo. In spite of the potentially misleading title, it’s about writing, and I like writing. So yeah.
Mind mapping! This is an awesome brainstorming technique that I find very useful. Since writing this post, I’ve had a number of people tell me (either virtually or in person) that they’ve found it to be an immensely helpful way of both organizing thoughts and generating new ideas. And it’s great for nonfiction, presentations, and academic work as well as for fiction.
I got a lot of good feedback on this one. Using precise description to paint a picture in a reader’s mind is a necessary skill in fiction—and it’s also something that nearly all writers have to work at. Basically, it’s difficult AND vitally important. (Thank God there are concrete ways to approach this issue). I guess a lot of readers could relate to that.
I don’t know if the post itself is controversial because nobody has actively disagreed with it (yet). That said, I think it’s the one that has the potential to be controversial. I have some strong feelings about censorship, particularly the censorship of middle-grade and young-adult fiction. That said, these feelings are counterbalanced by knowing what it’s like to want to protect a kid/teen (a younger sibling, in my case) from the darker aspects of the human experience.
On one hand, I probably shouldn’t be surprised that this ended up being such a successful post. It was part of the Campaigner Challenge and there was an external link directing people to it. Still, I was astonished by how many people commented to say how much they liked it, and it ended up making it to the second round of the competition. That was really nice.
In theory, this is a blog post about change. In reality, though, I think it’s more about the fact that I just enjoy having conversations with a certain monocled velociraptor (a.k.a. Fred). Granted, I think we’ve had other noteworthy argu—I mean, discussions. But this was his first appearance on the blog, so it’s one of my favorites.
I’m not sure this post is the most prideworthy for purely objective reasons, but it has a significance that no other post on my blog has (to my knowledge, anyway). And what is that significance, you ask?
And how do I know this? Because unless there is some other female Nerdfighter who did those book-signing calculations with those exact figures, my blog is the one he’s talking about here (you should watch the whole thing for context, but skip to 1:08 if you want to hear the relevant part):
So yeah, seeing that video pretty much made my day (way back in July when it was posted).
At any rate, it is now my great pleasure to pass this 7×7 award on to some awesome bloggers! I’m going to pick five:
With that, dear readers and raptors (reapters? raders?), we’ve reached the end of this whirlwind tour down memory lane. If you liked any particular post mentioned here (or if you *le gasp* disagree with one of my choices), leave a comment and let me know!
NaNoWriMo is upon us, and as such, this week’s Sunday Sharing contains a handy-dandy toolbox of links that aim to keep you happy and sane this November. If you’re doing NaNoWriMo, that is. If you’re not, I can’t attest to whether this will preserve any sanity, but hopefully you’ll still get something out of it.
So, without further ado:
1. Pacing! Pacing in a story is such a tricky business, and although this video is specifically geared towards writers of video games, the principles it discusses are easily applicable to most forms of fiction. If you don’t have an intuitive sense for pacing, you can probably get a lot out of this resource. Check it out!
2. Plot Bunny Daycare! As NaNoWriMo wears on and your novel starts to lose that oohshiny newness, many writers fall victim to the wiles of rogue plot bunnies. What are rogue plot bunnies, you may ask? Simply put, they are new plots and novel ideas that come bouncing blithely into your brain and bamboozle your befuddled little self into following them. Don’t be thrown off! Do not stray from the path! And if a bunny becomes too persistent, there is an avenue of recourse: the Plot Bunny Daycare Center in the NaNoWrimo forums. Here, you can deposit all those doughty little darlings in the lap of lapine luxury and then reclaim them once December arrives.
3. Agony Aunt! YA author Maureen Johnson has volunteered to be our collective agony aunt this month (click here if you have no freaking clue what an agony aunt is), and you can read her advice and responses (which are posted daily) on her Tumblr. You don’t need to have a Tumblr account in order to read them, and you totally should read them because Maureen is freaking hilarious. And awesome. Go click—you won’t regret it.
4. Word Sprints! Feeling isolated in your struggle to reach your wordcount? The Office of Letters and Light runs word sprints at various points during the day via their @NaNoWordSprints Twitter account, which unites writers around the world who happen to be sprinting at any particular moment. Even better, the tweets come complete with encouragement and prompts to help boost your wordcount! (You don’t need a Twitter to participate, but it probably helps.)
5. Food! Every year, the intrepid NaNo author known as DM collects recipes for NaNoWriMo-friendly foods and snacks into the NaNoWriMo Cookbook. Perfect for the busy Wrimo on the go, these recipes cover all the basic food groups (with a natural emphasis on snacks and beverages) and are all submitted by fellow writers. Omnomnom. Go. Look. Create. Eat.
6. Humor! If you’re not already familiar with its healing powers, the NaNoisms thread can do wonders for the tired and frustrated novelist. I don’t know quite what it is about NaNoisms, but they tickle my funny bone so perfectly that I actually find myself laughing hysterically while reading them. Also, feel free to share your own writing mistakes—you might just make someone’s day.
7. Music! I will never get tired of posting Kristina Horner‘s “The NaNoWriMo Song” and encouraging you all to listen to it. So here it is once again, with a brand-spanking-new music video updated just in time for NaNo this year! Also, an awesome NaNo-related song “NaNoWritis” from Tally (live2tivo on YouTube)—technically more appropriate to watch in October, but nevertheless great (and catchy!):
We’re writers. We all know that words are powerful–and we all know that names can be some of the most powerful words of all.
Names carry connotations of hidden meaning or even magic–and sometimes, they’re just the best way make someone or something stand out or blend in. Whatever you want to use them for, it is undeniable that names are important in writing, and this week’s Sunday Sharing aims to help you pick the best names for your work! Truth be told, I usually find that names just spontaneously appear with my characters, but sometimes they don’t, and that’s when I have to go looking for them…
1. So we’ll start with an obvious one. I know this is a repeat post, but The Name Generator is one of my favorite places to get character names (all of which are drawn from census data but are unique enough that they’re not all “Bob Smith”). It’s also awesome because the “Other Options” tab allows you to try out different name combinations. If you’ve already got a first name picked out, type it into the “first name” box and let the generator show you potential last names to go with the name you’ve chosen.
2. This one may go without saying, but I figure it’s worth mentioning: Google Translate can be an awesome name-generating resource for all kinds of things besides just people (i.e. place names, organization names, object names, etc.). Simply type in a word and then try translating it into different languages until you find a word you like.
3. Should you ever need to give your character’s pet a cool name, check out this extensive database of pet names (includes options for cats, dogs, birds, fish, ferrets, rabbits, horses, mice, snakes, pigs, rats, hamsters, turtles, and guinea pigs).
4. Literary agent Rachelle Gardner offers this fabulous blog post on how to title your book. It’s a resource I fully intend to utilize once I get around to reworking my WIP (I highly doubt the book will actually end up being called Unfamiliar Spellings).
5. A caveman melanges remarks is an anagram for anagrams make clever names. And you know it’s true! Take the Internet Anagram Server (a.k.a I, Rearrangement Servant) for a spin and see if you come up with something clever/interesting!
6. Need a fantastical-sounding name for your speculative fiction? Check out this jackpot of name generators for everything from Greek-sounding to Lovecraftian-sounding to just plain evil-sounding names.
7. Finally…yeah, you saw this coming, right? Some interesting/humorous commentary on names/naming from the Vlogbrothers. First, the story of the woman of many names–Gussie Audrey Horsey Gowen Manlove Brown:
Next, six people who thrived despite their unfortunate names:
And last but not least, some advice from Hank on how NOT to name your kid. However, I think this could be useful info on HOW to name your characters if you’re looking to get them teased about their names!
And with that, I’m signing off. I’ve got a crazy week ahead of me, but hopefully I’ll see you on Thursday!
RT @GoslingLitAgent: Hey Girl, you can kill your darlings. I'm gonna keep em in a special folder. Labeled "My Girl's Darlings: Mad Precious… 13 hours ago
RT @JustineLavaworm: It's why I worry when writers are in such a rush to be published. Enjoy being able to write your novels at your own pa… 13 hours ago
I'm almost tempted to forget about sleep entirely & go make a cup of tea. Only I know that wouldn't work out well in the long run. 1 day ago
Blogroll
Speaking the Speech
My friend Azalea keeps a blog about “life, love, and the pursuit of theatre”. Read it! She’s awesome!
Stuff You Missed in History Class
One of my all-time favorite podcasts. Fun, interesting, and the source of many an awesome story idea. Subscribe. Do it.
The Book Fairy Haven
Reviews of YA fiction from a variety of genres. One of my new favorite sites on the internet.
The Bookshelf Muse
Emotion thesaurus, character trait thesaurus, setting thesaurus, weather thesaurus, color/texture thesaurus…this is hands-down one of the best internet resources for writers.
The Query Shark
Janet Reid, literary agent and part-time great white shark, critiques query letters. Expect buckets of snark mixed in with the chum.
Hi! This is another one of those I’m-not-dead-I-swear kinds of posts, but there’s a bit more to it than that. Because it’s not just this blog that I’ve neglected—in the past few months, my extracurricular writing has basically ground to a standstill. Several reasons for this: I’m taking a creative writing class that requires me […]
I’m taking a creative writing course this semester. It’s cool in some respects, but not cool in others, and the not cool part for me is the fact that every week we have an hour and a half lecture during which I learn approximately nothing. Seriously. To be fair, this is not entirely the fault […]
If you know me in real life, or follow me on Twitter or Tumblr, you’ve probably seen me gushing about some old dead guy named Siegfried Sassoon over the past few months. And if WWI or war poetry aren’t your thing, you probably haven’t the faintest idea why I’m so excited. So today, I’ve decided […]
First of all, before I do anything else: HAPPY 2013!!! Now I know what you’re thinking: “Thanks, Ari! But, uh…we’ve reached the Ides of January and you’re just now wishing us a happy new year?” The answer to that question is a bit complicated, and I shan’t endeavor to explain it all. But the basic […]
Hello, my name is Ari, and I have a WWI problem. I’ve always been something of a history nerd—“no surprise, if you know me well” (I mean, the word “story” is embedded in the word “history”). I’m also a bit obsessed with various aspects of Northern/Western Europe: I’m an unrepentant and enthusiastic anglophile/francophile with Norwegian […]
