Yes, it has a number in the headline. Yes, the headline contains hyperbole. Yes, some of the resources are of dubious value.
But some of them are worth a look.
Originally shared by Standout Books
In the formative days of a story, it can often help to ‘map’ your intended narrative to real-life events.
Originally shared by CM Stewart
http://futurism.com/this-new-bacteria-can-inhale-co2-and-produce-energy/
Relevant to my interests – in my Gryphon Clerks novels, the gnomes have a system of sign language developed to communicate in noisy industrial environments, but also used to plot against their dwarvish masters without being overheard.
Originally shared by Masha du Toit
Amazing. And these languages were not just simple signs, but complex ways of communicating.
“Outside of deaf communities, hearing people sometimes develop what are now often called “alternate sign languages” to communicate when words will not do. In monasteries, monks uses signs to communicate in areas where speech is forbidden, for instance. In industries where machines made speaking impossible—in ships’ engine rooms, in steel mills, textile mills, and sawmills—workers also found ways to communicate with their hands.”
http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-lost-secret-sign-language-of-sawmill-workers
It’s 5 months into the year, and already I have written one more short story and 800 more words of short fiction than I did in the whole of last year.
Of course, last year I had a lot of other stuff going on too. But still. Progress.
Any time you write a story with a historical setting, these simple tools are there to help – so you don’t use the 1970s phrase “warm fuzzies” in a story set in the 1930s, for example, or have Jack the Ripper talking about “adrenaline”, or your 1890s NZ character saying “not all that” (1990s US), or…
I could keep going for a while with other real examples. Bottom line: use the tools.
Originally shared by Karen Conlin
Two indispensable tools for writers and editors:
The Online Etymology Dictionary and Google Ngram Viewer.
Both are great first stops in your research regarding suitable language for your work. Did people in the 1950s use the term “flashback” to refer to memories related to hallucinogens? Was the term “backup” in the sense of “reinforcements” used in the 1600s?
I prefer to use http://etymonline.com for “first use” dates, and the Ngram Viewer for determining “more/most common” usages over time. You may find them useful in other ways.
#twt
Notice how many of these are SFF publishers.
(Getting published by these people is not easy. Don’t fool yourself otherwise. But people do it.)
This is the kind of thinking that takes us into the future.
Originally shared by David Brin
Can things get better? Can you be an agent of that transformation? Peter Diamandis is the founder of XPRIZE, Singularity University, and many other fascinating initiatives. He formulated his provocative ‘laws,’ about how to be vigorous, pro-active and make the world around you change.
http://diamandis.com/peters-laws
They are now available as a handy poster.
Can things get better? Can you be an agent of that transformation? Peter Diamandis is the founder of XPRIZE, Singularity University, and many other fascinating initiatives. He formulated his provocative ‘laws,’ about how to be vigorous, pro-active and make the world around you change.
http://diamandis.com/peters-laws
They are now available as a handy poster.
The title sounds like it’s going to be an MRA rant, but it’s absolutely not. Plenty of food for thought in the tropes that it calls out.
Originally shared by Traci Loudin
I love this article! It’s not perfect, and it critiques some of fandom’s most sacred films/shows, but if we are to make progress, we need to acknowledge that some of our favorite movies/shows, etc. do have their weaknesses. We all have our own blind spots regarding gender roles.
I often feel like as we’re making great strides conquering sexism against women, but the ways in which the patriarchy harms men is laughed off and ignored, sometimes even by people who believe in the equality of the genders.
From my perspective, equal doesn’t just mean “A woman should be able/allowed to do anything a man can do” but also “A man should be able/allowed to do anything a woman can do.” (Applied to the entire gender spectrum, of course.) And this cultural phenomenon that many people are deeming “toxic masculinity” or machismo is what stands in the way of true equality.
#gender #genderequality #feminism #sciencefiction #fantasy #scifi #sff
Via Brand Gamblin: exploring ways to think about the future.
Originally shared by Boing Boing
What Mark learned after spending two days with futurists and positive psychologists.
Oh, wow, I now have 100 rejections recorded on the Submission Grinder (there were a few others before I started using it). Little milestone.