Our theocracy nightmare: President Palin’s martial law. The president reported that the Joint Chiefs, her cabinet, and all her advisors were unanimous in their advice that fighting this war here in the homeland required a declaration of martial law. The protections of the Constitution were not intended for our enemies, she said. Moreover, this was a war to be fought by soldiers, not policemen, and when the terrorists were caught, they needed to be tried in military, not civilian, tribunals. Nothing else mattered. She would devote her presidency to this and only this. The speech was wildly popular. The weekend after 7/22, my friend Sanjay, who runs Theocracy Watch, was at our apartment and the three of us were flipping channels and comparing the coverage.
Of course, it was not. My wife Emilie was not surprised. To be honest, I did have trouble understanding even that much. “Emilie is right,” said Sanjay. “Are you saying she’ll suspend the election?” “Not at all. Sanjay, unusually, seemed both amused and annoyed. “Not necessarily. “Thanks. Clarkesworld Magazine - Science Fiction and Fantasy : Issue 79. Unusual place names. Short Stories: Developing Ideas for Short Fiction. Short Stories: 10 Tips for Creative Writers.
The Speculative Fiction Muse. Sitemap. The Writer's Mary Sue Test. What-If-inator. Magic. Magic, Sorcery, And Alchemy Spells and potions, sorcery and divination, here's your place to work your magic . . . on magic! Abilities and Spells Academic Magical Studies Inspired by Terry Pratchett's "Discworld", this is a mostly-serious utility - it creates areas of magical study for mage characters in an academic realm. Dark Rituals When the bad guys are going to destroy the world or devestate the spirit world, you have to give what they're doing a name . . .
Grimoire of Questionable Spells OK, it's not serious, but it's all in fun. Encounter spells that most sane mages wouldn't use or consider. Magical Equipment Magic Items Generate a variety of magic items, from any kind, specific types, over even character-appropriate! Miscellaneous Magic Phenomena What strange phenomena can cause havok and wonders in your settings? More Resources! 30 Days of WorldBuilding. By popular demand, you can now download the Magical WorldBuilder Guide in three easy-to-carry (non-DRM) formats: PDF for printing out at home or reading on a computerePub for use with many fine ereader devicesMOBI for use with Kindles and MobiPocket software.As of 2007, The world-builder exercises are licensed under a Creative Commons license to help you in deciding whether you can translate (yes, with credit back), distribute to your writing group (yes, with credit), sell (not without permission), reprint (yes, for non-commercial purposes), or mirror (yes, with credit back) this useful guide!
In October, 2004, I posted 30 days of world-building exercises to the NaNoWriMo discussion forums. These are short, 15-minute exercises that can help you make crucial decisions about your world, and what you want your story to say about it. These exercises have been edited for general use and re-posted here. So, give yourself 7 and a half hours this month-- 15 minutes a day-- to build a world. Magical World Builder. By, Stephanie Cottrell Bryant <map name="admap78618" id="admap78618"><area href=" shape="rect" coords="0,0,468,60" title="" alt="" target="_blank" /></map><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:468px;border-style:none;background-color:#ffffff;"><tr><td><img src=" style="width:468px;height:60px;border-style:none;" usemap="#admap78618" alt="" /></td></tr><tr><td style="background-color:#ffffff;" colspan="1"><center><a style="font-size:10px;color:#0000ff;text-decoration:none;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;font-family:Tahoma, verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif;text-transform: none;letter-spacing:normal;text-shadow:none;white-space:normal;word-spacing:normal;" href=" target="_blank">Ads by Project Wonderful!
Your ad here, right now: $0</a></center></td></tr></table> Basic World-Building. Permanent link for Character Chat! Homophones, Homonyms, Homographs and More - The Plain Language Programme. When a Character Cries. Body Language for Writers - Writers Write. How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method. Don’t Write What You Know - Bret Anthony Johnston. Why fiction’s narrative and emotional integrity will always transcend the literal truth Every Wednesday, I teach an introductory fiction workshop at Harvard University, and on the first day of class I pass out a bullet-pointed list of things the students should try hard to avoid. Don’t start a story with an alarm clock going off. Don’t end a story with the whole shebang having been a suicide note.
Don’t use flashy dialogue tags like intoned or queried or, God forbid, ejaculated. Twelve unbearably gifted students are sitting around the table, and they appreciate having such perimeters established. With each variable the list isolates, their imaginations soar higher. They smile and nod. The idea panics them for two reasons. In the spirit of full disclosure, I should admit I’ve been accused of writing what I know on a good many occasions. I don’t know the origin of the “write what you know” logic.
Stories aren’t about things. Stories aren’t about actions. Was Toni Morrison a slave? So, You Want to be a Travel Writer. Six tips to get you started from veteran travel writer Julia Steinecke. Around the world in 80 travel-writing assignments? Only if you're lucky. Travel writer Julia Steinecke sheds some light on one of the world's most appealing and misunderstood professions. Travel writing is... huddling in my luxury hotel room over a bowl of instant noodles that I boiled in the coffee maker. Travel writing has the kind of glamour attached to it that makes people think you're willing to do it just for the cool factor.
Travel writing is knowing the best place to sleep on the floors of several major airports in Latin America. Travel writing is suddenly realizing I haven't left my home for two days because I've been sitting in front of my computer writing sponsorship requests to airlines, hotels and tourism boards. And, yes, travel writing is seeing the world for cheap, hiking through deserts, cloud forests and traffic, meeting villagers, grandmothers, partiers and activists from every continent. 1. 2. 3. 4. Ink - Quotes about writing by writers presented by The Fontayne Group. Writing "I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark. " Henry David Thoreau "Writing is an adventure. " Winston Churchill "Know something, sugar? Stories only happen to people who can tell them. " Allan Gurganus "... only he is an emancipated thinker who is not afraid to write foolish things.
" Anton Chekhov "A poet is someone who stands outside in the rain hoping to be struck by lightening. " James Dickey "It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous. " "Whether or not you write well, write bravely. " "The first rule, indeed by itself virtually a sufficient condition for good style, is to have something to say.
" WRITING. Monologue: I’m Comic Sans, Asshole. [Originally published June 15, 2010.] Listen up. I know the shit you’ve been saying behind my back. You think I’m stupid. You think I’m immature. You don’t like that your coworker used me on that note about stealing her yogurt from the break room fridge? People love me. When people need to kick back, have fun, and party, I will be there, unlike your pathetic fonts. It doesn’t even matter what you think. Enough of this bullshit. Available in our store:The “I’m Comic Sans, Asshole” Mug. The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do. Writing is a muscle. Smaller than a hamstring and slightly bigger than a bicep, and it needs to be exercised to get stronger. Think of your words as reps, your paragraphs as sets, your pages as daily workouts.
Think of your laptop as a machine like the one at the gym where you open and close your inner thighs in front of everyone, exposing both your insecurities and your genitals. Because that is what writing is all about. Procrastination is an alluring siren taunting you to google the country where Balki from Perfect Strangers was from, and to arrange sticky notes on your dog in the shape of hilarious dog shorts. The blank white page. Mark Twain once said, “Show, don’t tell.” Finding a really good muse these days isn’t easy, so plan on going through quite a few before landing on a winner. There are two things more difficult than writing. It’s no secret that great writers are great readers, and that if you can’t read, your writing will often suffer.
Amy C Collins. How to Plot and Write a Novel: Plan Your Novel Writing with the Snowflake Method. Many novelists mull over story ideas, letting them ripen and develop over time. When the story is ready to be told, instead of just sitting down and starting to type, try the Snowflake Method. This step-by-step way to write a novel begins with essential elements and becomes more detailed with each step.
Essential Elements for Novel Structure Snowflakes have a structure which begins with a simple form and adds more elements to create complex patterns. Novelist and physicist Randy Ingermanson created the Snowflake Method to break novel-writing into steps that build on each other in the same way. 1. 2. 3. The time-saving factor for novelists here is that at this point, a writer knows whether or not the story has problems. Expand on the Beginning Novel-Writing Steps 4. 5. 6. Plot problems will arise and new insights and ideas will appear through these steps. Revise and Expand into Scenes 7. 8. 9. 10. Ingermanson stresses that the Snowflake Method is not to be hurried. Not for All Writers.