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Tag Archives: writing
The Algorithms of Storytelling: Design Patterns and Fiction with Cat Rambo and Wayne Rambo
Software coding and fiction writing can overlap, particularly in the area of design patterns and algorithms that can be applied to help you plan and execute a successful story. Join Cat and Wayne Rambo—published authors as well as programmers—who will discuss the … Continue reading
Video: Interview with Shoshana Edwards
I interviewed Shoshana Edwards, author of Death Lives in the Water: A Harper’s Landing Story from Ring of Fire Press and A Roman Wilderness of Pain. We talk about her writing, neurolinguistics, and current political rhetoric. Shoshana Edwards was born … Continue reading
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Tagged death in the water, interview, neurolinguistics, shoshana edwards, writing
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The Algorithms of Storytelling with Cat Rambo and Wayne Rambo
Software coding and fiction writing can overlap, particularly in the area of design patterns and algorithms that can be applied to help you plan and execute a successful story. Join two published authors as well as programmers who can teach … Continue reading
Punk U: The Whys and Whats of Writing -punk Fiction with Cat Rambo
Cyberpunk. Steampunk. Dieselpunk. Solarpunk. Splatterpunk. Hopepunk. Monkpunk. And more. Is it meaningful to add -punk to a genre name or just a marketing maneuver? What do the tenets behind the punk music movement add to the various genres it’s influenced? … Continue reading
Why You Can’t Teach Writing
How do you learn to write? You learn by observing and doing, by reading good fiction and making attempts at your own. The truth is that writing is primarily self-taught, that the axiom that you must write a million words is on the mark, and that the first truth is this: To learn to write, you must be writing.
With my students who are writing and thinking about writing, I would have to actively give them bad advice like Play videogames rather than write. Don’t read anything. Only write when you’re in the mood. for them not to get better.
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Posted in Writing
Tagged on writing, speculative fiction workshops, writing, writing advice, writing classes
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Guest Post: Walnut & Pumpkin Risotto by Ben Isham-Smith
Raised by an Italian mother (don’t let my embarrassingly anglicized name fool you), the kitchen formed the hub of all activity in our home growing up. Not just for cooking meals, but also entertaining, welcoming guests, and even eating.
If anything happened in our home, it happened in the kitchen.
Few recipes stir up the memories and emotions I associate with then as risotto does. My mother had her own go-to risotto recipe that had evolved over the years she had learned it from her own mother, and it became a monthly tradition for her to cook up a batch of risotto rice, leek and chicken, which would keep us going for days.
I’m a big fan of meals that can be cooked in a pot. Not just because they can often be a bit more ‘hands off’ than other types of recipe (I’m infuriatingly lazy), but also because I find there’s more room to improvise and tweak it in line with your own personal preferences.
This risotto recipe is a bit braver than more traditional takes on the Northern Italian dish. It matches traditional risotto elements, like white wine, onion and garlic, with a much more outlandish pumpkin and walnuts. If I’m honest, I don’t think my Italian grandparents would approve (in fact, I know they wouldn’t – they never forgave me for my lazy tiramisu recipe) but if I didn’t deliberately undermine them at every given opportunity, then what kind of grandson would I be?
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Guest Post: M. H. Thaung Discusses How and Why Do People Make Bad Decisions?
When I read or write fiction, I like seeing characters make bad decisions and then deal with the consequences. However, if they make those decisions for implausible reasons, they can appear silly or inconsistent rather than attracting sympathy. If they’re … Continue reading
Guest Post: Thoughts on How and Why to Write Non-Human Protagonists by S. R. Algernon
As a writer, sometimes I find myself inspired to write by seeing other writers use a particular device and wondering what I can do with it. Having grown up with Star Trek and the Twilight Zone, and having encountered Babylon … Continue reading
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Tagged about writing, guest post, writing, writing aliens, writing sensory
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Guest Post: Score One for Music by B. Morris Allen, Editor, Metaphorosis Books and Metaphorosis Magazine
What if prose were written like music? What if, instead, of a common world, stories in an anthology were steps on a share emotional path? Those are the questions the upcoming anthology Score is attempting to answer. Emotions are a … Continue reading
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Tagged b. morris allen, editing, guest blog post, music and writing, writing
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Guest Post: RecipeArium by Costi Gurgu
GOURMET RECIPE: VERMIH IN PLABOS SAUCE There are three complementary sides that determine a phril personality: gastronomy, politics, and romance. The rest represents salads or pickles to fill the mundane. I will start naturally, with food for the gourmet side … Continue reading