Monthly Archives: November 2008

Mapping your Settings

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I have always been a stickler about authentic detail in my writing. This trait has forced me to find innovative ways to make that happen. Google Maps is one of those tools I use. Novelists have to deal with many details while composing their books. One of the most challenging, if you are concerned about verisimilitude–an air of authenticity–is setting. Many times I have set my story in a place I’ve never been. Then, as the story evolves, I find that the logistics of moving characters around becomes problematic, because I’m not sure where one location is, in relation to … Continue reading →

iGoogle for Ideas & Reference

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  One tool that I use everyday has proven invaluable to my writing. It also has value in other areas, but for the purpose of this post, I will address iGoogle for writers. If you are not aware of iGoogle, it would behoove you to change that. iGoogle allows you to personalize your information searches. You can gather, track and monitor all areas of interest, and all in one place, on one page. You add widgets or modules to a certain tab, which you can also create. I have a writing tab where I place all modules concerning writing. This … Continue reading →

Writer’s Block UNblocked.

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  Most writers eventually ask the question: “I’m really stuck with the plot/storyline of my novel. Do you know of something that will help me?” Here’s a list of things you can do to get unstuck. 1. Research. One thing that has always worked for me is new information. Do some reading about elements of your story. I’m not talking about style–I’m talking about research. For instance, read information about the city in which you’ve placed the story. Location can often become somewhat of a character in its own right. Read about any of the other elements in the story–like … Continue reading →

What Happens When I Leave the House

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As most of my readers know, I am shackled with an older car that is systematically falling apart. I hope one day to enjoy the benefits and joy of having a car I don’t feel like I have to park out of sight when meeting someone at a coffee shop. But alas. I won’t belabor the point, as that cross has already been carried. Since reading every last book I had in the house, I had to replenish my supply, and make a trip to the Library. This is usually an exciting event for me, being the intellectual geek I … Continue reading →

The A.I. of Theists:

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(Or, “Who’s the Pinhead, Now, O’Reilly?”) [Excerpt from my book, Supernatural Hypocrisy: The Cognitive Dissonance of God Cosmology] THE ARGUMENTS GIVEN BY many theists, especially those of the fundamentalist variety, can be referred to quite accurately as A.I.–Artificial Intelligence, AKA Arrogant Ignorance. Poster boy for this concept? Bill O’ Reilly. On a segment of his show, O’Reilly had Richard Dawkins as a guest, but Dawkins was not treated as such. In his usual, haughty, overbearing, arrogant manner, O’Bully made sure that Dawkins never had a fair opportunity to respond, and it was blatantly apparent that Bill-O had absolutely zero respect … Continue reading →

Obama wins. Us too, maybe.

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There will be thousands of people writing and commenting about this momentous event in history, but of course, I still have to offer my part. The most surprising thing to me, beyond the overwhelming nature of Barak Obama being elected, is that when that announcement went up on the CNN screen: Barak Obama Elected President …I began to cry. The reaction surprised me. I didn’t even cry when Bill Clinton was elected and I was so thrilled when that happened. I think there are things underneath this, running strong in many of us. It represents the chance for the nation … Continue reading →

Temporal Anomaly?

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Something weird happened to me. One of those things you don’t really notice until you think about it. Yesterday, i went to bed at around 2:30 a.m., and as usual, continued reading the last of a book. I finished the last few short chapters and then got up to do the ritual things before bed, got back in bed and started a new book, read for about a half hour (no more than a hour), reached to turn the lamp off, and saw that by the clock it was something like 7:30 a.m. I thought–that can’t be right, then recalled … Continue reading →