Elizabeth Shack shares good writing resources and as a reminder to myself and everyone new here about them. There's Duotrope which is excellent for finding markets. Although I see they want you to sign up now. So'kay. I'll do then when I have shorts to flog around. Short stories. Geez, get your mind outa my gutter. The OWW SF&F workshop which is a well respected online writing workshop. A list from the Romance Writers of America about their online workshops. And if you want to bang on romance writers, don't let me know. RWA are cool people. And frankly, many genre writers would kill to have the sales numbers of romance authors. Plus, did I mention they're nice people (they even give an award for genre writing). And a new to me forum, Forward Motion. And I'll add one more here, Absolute Write. If you can get into the Cooler, all the better. Jaleigh Johnson has some more. (that's what I get for not reading all of my backlog first)
Ann VanderMeer lands at Tor.com. That's fabulous for all sides (Ann, Tor.com, and writers). Congrats, Ann. Well deserved and well done.
On book reviews and not feeding the trolls. I haven't been in this business very long, but here's one thing I've learned. Not everybody will love everything you do. And that's okay. Frankly, there are a few authors that I've read and wondered who pays them to write this drivel (usually followed by fervent prayers to the Muses to be so afflicted with a wildly successful novel) (Grokked from Absolute Write)
The UofM's librarycomputer and video game archives. Cool. And I know people who work in the UofM's library system. Double score! Have I mentioned how much librarians rock? (Pointed to by Dan)
The Apple Genius Manual. While the article makes this all sound so sleazy, there's a lot of retail stores that have manuals and training like this. Starbucks is another one. The only way they differ is in how deep and in what direction they go, but they're all focused on providing an "experience" to the customer, and getting that customer to feel they're cared about. (Pointed to by John)
Some links about the RNC going on right now. "Sheriff Gee also sent a message to those coming to protest: 'To the agitators and anarchists who want only to bring a dark cloud to this event, let me be clear: criminal activity and civil disturbances will not be tolerated and enforcement actions will be swift.'" Anybody want to lay bets on how many civil rights cases will be logged against the sheriff this week? Yes, the sheriff is emptying his jails of the good, honest criminals so they can process those rabble rousers who may be exercising their 1st Amendment freedoms. And then where are the Tea Partiers? "There is one problem with such rationalities: They contradict the (Tea Party) movement's belief that to change the system, it must be blown up… For them, political patience was not a virtue." Has the Tea Party sold out? Only their grass roots people who believed they were working for something more. And just in case you thought Romney chose Ryan for anything other than burnishing his Conservative Cred, Ryan exposes his wingnuttiness in an interview. While the main article is going on about how Ryan is basically touting what Akin tried to sell, there's also a lot more in there. Like, "we can burn coal cleanly." Really? When did that happen? Ryan has drunk the kool-aid and found it sweet. And then you have the records of the other speakers coming to light. "Strange to say, however, Mr. Christie has told reporters that he won’t use the term 'Jersey comeback' in his keynote address. And it’s not hard to see why: the comeback, such as it was, has hit the skids." That's usually what happens when reality hits conservative ideals. One or the other comes crashing down. But then, the conservative poo-flinging machine is just getting into second gear. Their strategy is to fling so much disinformation and FUD screaming that it either confuses everybody or disheartens them so that they don't go to the polls. This is like giving the bully your lunch money because they make you afraid of keeping it.(Grokked from Jay Lake)
"A group of coal miners in Ohio feel they would have been fired if they did not attend an Aug. 14 event with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and contribute to his campaign — and to make matters worse, they lost of day of pay for their trouble." Ah, unfettered business at its best. and now you know why people form unions to protect themselves from stupid shit like this and return respect to the workplace. (Grokked from Tobias Buckell)
"First they came for our foreskins, now it’s communism via email!… Why is it that those folks who think of themselves as the biggest bestest Americans are always the first ones to talk about revolution and revolt when they think they’re going to lose an election?" Jim Wright on the seeming rise of teh crazy. Or as I call 'em, the freeze-dried whackaloons. The right has become unhinged. No, really, it's getting to the point that I was about to sell psycho-trama sign bingo cards for the convention. And the people at the convention are supposed to be the cream of the crop. Yeah, I'd say most of them are about a half bubble off plumb.
"Like most of what the federal government is on the hook to fix — highways, bridges and airports — the dome is imperiled both by tough economic times and by a politically polarized Congress. While Senate appropriators have voted to repair the dome, which has not undergone major renovations for 50 years, their House counterparts say there is not money right now. In that way, the dome is a metaphor for the nation’s decaying infrastructure." Now we know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall. I'd love to turn you on. (Grokked from Jay Lake)
Alligator Quotient: Still running for all I'm worth.
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