Medieval Weapon Finds Modern Appeal
Swords are cool. What can I say, I’m easy to please. It’s important for any Fantasy/Medieval genre authors to know what is actual sword fighting, and what is dazzly highly-choreographed Hollywood sword fighting. Hint: There’s a lot less flips and twirls.
Barnes and Nobles Suspends the Ability to Download Nook Ebooks
DRM strikes again. Another futile effort in trying to lock users to one experience on one proprietary device in only company-sanctioned ways, never mind the fact that some consumer used your store instead of a competitor who is known for ease of use. I’m disappointed by the news as I want to see good things for Nook. Let’s hope this gets reversed sometime soon.
Banned Books Week: Celebrating Free Expression and the Open Flow of Information
It’s important to remember that not everyone has it easy when it comes to sharing their viewpoint or interests. When I was in middle-school, I checked out Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone from my school library. I had to go to a tutor after school to help me with math, and when she saw my library copy of Harry Potter she took it away, as I was unaware, it was the Devil’s book. No, I’m not making this up or embellishing this story to make it seem like I came from the deep heart of the Bible Belt. I faced potential penalties as that wasn’t a book I owned, but someone else decided to take matters into their own hands.
If you want kids to stop reading Harry Potter, just make them go through Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. That should do it.
Cyberbullies, Trolls, Mobs & Haters — How to Protect Yourself & Others in a Dangerous World
The Internet is the Wild West, still. Even after years of users exploring the frontiers and companies domesticating the landscape, the general mass is no man’s land. It offers a great freedom, but with that a lot of danger. We must help each other directly or with reminders such as this article. Let me give you a hand if you’re just skimming Of Note today; MUST READ!
How Important is Routine to a Writer?
I used to have a routine that was productive, but now I don’t, and I’ve never been happier. I took the business mindset out of what I love, and funny enough, it became fun again. There is certainly a line or a threshold that turns a work day into an obsession. And the truth is, a story isn’t worth it. Not one bit. This year I’m updating my novel, The Dragon’s Tear, and it’ll still be around to do it again next year; if I so choose. Don’t buy into the hype of a routine as actual once-in-a-lifetime opportunities will pass you by.
50 Quotes about writing from famous authors
I love lists like this, because they’re easy. All the pleasure centers of the brain are hit. It’s in an easy to follow format, there are recognizable names, there are pictures, and nothing is longer than a paragraph. Sort of like this…
The Two Most Powerful Behaviors of Successful Writers
Focus and boundaries, that’s life, huh? Do make sure that if you’re going to do something, you’re going to do it right. It may seem like you’re being unreasonable with others to tell them to give you space, but it’s required to ever see a project to the end. Most people don’t know what goes into writing. They just don’t see you for awhile, the same as most people, and once a year you magically pop up with a book. Over a hundred working hours is never seen by them, so they figure why don’t you party/hang out/come over/go to the beach/etc… more often.
How To Not Deal With Criticism
Receiving a negative response doesn’t feel good, the same way as putting a hand on an active stove feels less than pleasant. We have ways to avoid the proverbial stove and to stop it from raising its temperature from needing ointment to scolding. I do my best to not take anything personally, and that includes the good with the bad.
We can’t have enough reminders telling us the reality of writing is pain (some of the time). Granted, new writers won’t know until they themselves go through the trials and tribulations, but it’s not as if we didn’t warn them!