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Author Archives: Cat Rambo
On Writing: Chekhov’s Gun Store
One of playwright Anton Chekhov’s most quoted maxims is this: If in Act I you have a pistol hanging on the wall, then it must fire in the last act. If you establish an expectation in the reader, particularly a … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged anton chekhov, chekhov's gun, james tiptree jr, plotting, the women men don't see, writing endings
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SFWA and Independent Writers, Part Four: What Lies Down the Road
This is the final part of a four part series. In this part, I’ll talk about plans down the road and make some predictions for what SFWA will witness over the next few years. Overall, I think it’s going to be nothing but positives and that SFWA will continue its tradition of helping authors.
The series so far:
Media Consumed in September
I was on the road for most of September. That photo’s taken in the elevator of the Flatiron Building while I was in NYC, but other places I stayed included Dallas, Texas and Pocatello, Idaho. (More on that to come!) Here’s what I read in September, according to my notes, which always seem to leave out some stuff. Continue reading
Reading Doc Savage: Land of Always-Night
In packing for a trip, I discovered I’d somehow bypassed some of the earlier Doc Savages, so we backtrack now to book 13: Land of Always-Night. On the cover, Doc, wearing torn shirt and steampunk goggles, looks back and away from a grove of giant mushrooms, not noticing the several odd figures vaguely resembling the Monarch from The Venture Brothers menacing him with raised hands.
This one has to be my favorite beginning yet:
It is somewhat ridiculous to say that a human hand can resemble a butterfly. Yet this particular hand did attain that similarity. Probably it was the way it moved, hovered, moved again, with something about it that was remindful of a slow-motion picture being shown on a screen.
The color had something to do with the impression. The hand was white, unnatural; it might have been fashioned of mother of pearl. There was something serpentine, hideous, about the way it strayed and hovered, yet was never still. It made one think of a venomous white moth.
It made Beery Hosmer think of death. Only the expression on Beery Hosmer’s face told that, for he was not saying anything. But he was trying to. His lips shaped word syllables and the muscle strings in his scrawny throat jerked, but no sounds came out.
The horrible white hand loaded up toward Beery Hosmer’s face. The side street was gloomy, deserted except for Beery Hosmer and the man with the uncanny hand. The hand stood out in the Merck almost as if it were a thing of white paper with a light inside.
Live Classes for April through June 2017
Here’s the latest roster of live classes for the Rambo Academy of Wayward Writers, with links to descriptions. Info that you may want to know: Logistics: Classes are taught online. You need internet connectivity and a microphone at a minimum; … Continue reading
Posted in classes & workshops
Tagged classes, f&sf writing classes, f&sf writing classes online
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Documents of Tabat: An Auction Handbill
A flyer, kept carefully folded, in the top drawer of Bella Kanto’s dresser. Dated some twenty-five years earlier, the paper crumbling and worn, and never looked at since being placed there. VALUABLE GROUP OF ASSORTED BEASTS AND ANIMALS Trained by … Continue reading
A Glimpse From the College of Mages
In the lull between bells, the campus walks were deserted and their scent trails stale, the pupils all in their classes this late morning. They worked them hard at the College of Mages, and no student would have a break … Continue reading
Documents of Tabat: Artists of Tabat
An Instructive Listing of the Major Artists of Tabat, being Pamphlet #5 of the series of “A Visitor’s Guide to Notables of Tabat,” Spinner Press, author unknown. Tabat’s art tradition is well established, and not a mere copy of the … Continue reading
Documents of Tabat: Flowers of Tabat
An Instructive Listing of the Flowers of Tabat, being Pamphlet #3 of the fifth series of “A Visitor’s Guide to Tabat,” Spinner Press, author unknown. Winter roses were originally created by Elora Two Sails as an ornament for the winter … Continue reading
