Showing posts with label links. Show all posts
Showing posts with label links. Show all posts

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Sunday Surfing and I Survived Vegas

I survived Las Vegas
With my trip to Vegas consuming most of my week, I found little time to rummage through the nooks and crannies of the web looking for nuggets of priceless wisdom and guffaw-inducing entertainment.

However, I did find a few that I wanted to highlight for your ever-progressing self-enrichment.

I came across some great "How-To" articles on self-publishing here and here and this one with still more links.

And after last week's fun-poking at felines, here's a link to a canine post for your enjoyment. Writers and their canine doppelgangers.

Also from The Kill Zone is the Hunting Down The Muse post.

Scott Lukas Williams wrote a touching tribute: RIP Ray Harryhausen.

Here is part 1 and part 2 of Carissa Taylor's Write On Con Recap.

Mooderino was busy last week providing some welcome Synopsis Support. And along those lines, you may also want to check out Your Book In One Sentence part 1 and part 2.

You survived April's A-to-Z Challenge. Did you visit all the other participating blogs? No? Well then climb on board for the 2013 Post A-to-Z Road Trip.



And about that Vegas trip I took last week...

They say "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," but sometimes what happens is just too good or funny not to share.

I had my first chuckle within 90 seconds of paying for my hotel room. There I was, laptop bag in one hand, suitcase in the other. Before me stood a lovely, towering fountain.

No, he didn't fall into this
Upon this fancy fountain sat a fellow more than a little inebriated. I doubt I'd have noticed him at all had it not been for the splash.

A southern baptist preacher couldn't have dunked him any better.

Now, the brain requires a few brief moments to process such things before it thinks about rendering aid. In this, my brain was no exception. I stood there gawking just like everyone else. By the time the thought occurred to me, he'd already arisen from his self-administered baptism.

I stayed at the MGM Grand
With eyes as round as any I'd ever seen, he took in his surroundings while climbing back out of the fountain. He never spoke, but I'm fairly certain he realized he was drenched. I'm just not sure he understood how he came to be that way.

I would so love to know which questions were sloshing through his mind. His expression suggested so many possibilities.

The downside to the incident was the fact that the fountain was off and empty for the remainder of my stay. Perhaps it was due maintenance after the mishap or it needed a good cleaning. I somehow doubt it was the first baptism that fountain had seen.

But the trip was both productive and fun. The flights were at full capacity, but were all on time. I managed to get You Are My Sunshine stuck in my head during the return trip thanks to a spontaneous mother and daughter in-flight duet. (I have to admit though, the girl had a nice voice for being three or four years old.)

The weather was great the entire time I was there. I snapped some nice pictures. I posted some here and more on Facebook.

I ate at Gordon Ramsay's BurGR restaurant. (And that burger was way better than I expected!) I also had steak at Chef Emeril Lagasse's Cajun seafood restaurant. (I don't do fish.) Of course, everyone except me knew who these chefs were.

There really is something in Vegas for just about everyone--except for beaches, but they do have some nice pools. This last photo is from a pool area at MGM Grand.

Enjoy the links. And as always, write wisely.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Sunday Surfing and Waving From Vegas

What I Learned From Having a Literary Agent

5 Ways to Deal with Word Repetition

Self-Publishers: Do You Need Nurturing?

I found this one quite illuminating: LOL isn't funny anymore

Getting Everything Right Is Wrong

Pirates & Trolls But No White Knight by Beth Fred (on the pirating of eBooks)

Notes on Writing Fight Scenes

"Illegal" Magic Systems

And this is just a "little" thing for you science fans: A Boy And His Atom. Guinness-certified world's smallest movie, created by stop-motion photography of actual atoms arranged by IBM researchers. Magnification factor? 100 million times.


This North Carolina boy is heading to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend a LOMA/ACORD conference for work. While I love flying, I despise airports and all the hassles that come with them.  However, the upside to this trip is that I get to see Dr. Michio Kaku in person! He'll be wrapping up the conference!

Dr. Michio Kaku

Dr. Kaku's website is a great place to visit.

Wish me safe and hassle-free journeying. Time and wi-fi willing, I'll pop in and do a bit of visiting. Until then, write wisely!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Sunday Surfing

Flogging the Quill

Why Do We Keep Making Ebooks Like Paper Books?

Feeling Rejected? Join the {Prestigious} Crowd

Style, Fear and the Bias Against Creativity

Horatio Nelson Fiction Prize at Black Balloon Publishing

The Other Face of Rejection

The 9 Ingredients of Character Development

LTUE: First person POV

How can story writers and book authors hook their readers?

Very fascinating and a little spooky: Where No Search Engine Has Gone Before


Progress on my Magic Muse writing workbench application is coming along rather nicely thus far.  I'm still dealing primarily with interface design, trying to determine what features to implement and how they best function.

I'm sure the appearance will change as development continues, but here is a screenshot of how some of the windows look now.

Click image for larger size display

Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sunday Surfing

Blog Blitz: A cool idea that DL Hammons over at Cruising Altitude had.

Amazon.com to Acquire Goodreads

Is it Really Time for Authors to Stop Blogging?

Dontcha Know How Ter Write Dialects, Y'all?

7 Reasons Agents Stop Reading Your First Chapter

Being Enneagrammatically Correct Part 1 and Part 2

Don't forget the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. It begins on April 1 (tomorrow!)  My theme will be "I Love Sci-Fi/Fantasy Because..." I look forward to reading your posts!

And finally, check out this monster wave off the coast of Portugal. It was estimated to be 100 feet high! And someone is surfing it!

If you encounter a post or article that you believe would be of benefit or interest to other writers, let me know.  Leave a comment. Send me an email. Catch me on Facebook or tweet the link to me on Twitter including the hashtag #SundaySurfing and I'll check it out.  As most of you know, my schedule is always a crap shoot and I undoubtedly miss some great links.  I'd hate for others to miss out too!

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sunday Surfing (And a Status Update)

Probably everyone but the cave-dwelling hermit living in the canyon over yonder knows this, but the Blogging from A to Z Challenge is drawing nigh.  Many are participating this year.  Be sure to sign up if you're interested.  You will be welcomed.

One Simple Trick That Makes Editing Less Painful

Juggling Genres...Brilliance or Pure Folly?

So You Want to Use Song Lyrics in Your Novel? 5 Steps to Getting Rights to Lyrics

Honorary Geekdom membership requires that you view the new Star Trek Into Darkness trailer. (Platinum-level membership requires you to view it at least twice.)

And although I haven't written much prose lately, I have been writing a good deal of code.  Below is a screenshot of Magic Muse's current state of development.  I have much more to do before I can switch to it as my primary writing workbench, but I am making progress.

The DotNet version of Magic Muse

I'm still working on interface issues rather than the actual text editing and formatting functionality.  After all, the structure must be constructed before running the wiring and plumbing.

I'm hoping to have it ready for some initial testing within a few months, should anyone be interested in test driving it.

So, what have you been doing lately?

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Surfing

21 Rhetorical Devices, and their tricky names

Author Crit Partner Connection

5 Tax Tips for Authors

Somehow, I kinda suspected most of this: Procrastination Nation

One example of what makes this community great.  And another.  And Elizabeth summed it up nicely here.

What being published has taught me

Maybe one day I can put this advice to good use: Book Signings That WOW

Sara linked to Pixar's 22 Rules of Phenomenal Storytelling on Friday. I've seen it debated in places, but it's definitely worth the read.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sunday Surfing

Peggy Eddleman talks turkey: Pub Talk: Of Money and Book Deals

Jolly Fish Press reveals What We're NOT Looking for in a Manuscript and tips on Writing the Ultimate Query Letter

The YA's Dogtown is compiling The Ongoing List of Writing Round-ups which lists blogs that regularly link to other blogs' writing-related articles. (And yes, Sunday Surfing is included! Am I blushing?)

Short Fiction contest at The Kenyon Review (1,200 words max)

The One Thing An Author Should Never Do On Social Media...



A Special Thanks and Final Call:
I want to extend a most special thank-you to Lauren, Laura, Al and Liz. You read the initial version of The Bonding and provided valuable feedback.

I had planned to begin querying or submitting The Bonding by the end of January.  However, I feel a final round of proofing and critiquing is in order before I do so.  So, if you're interested in beta-reading The Bonding and providing honest feedback, please let me know.  (And I am happy to reciprocate.)

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Sunday Surfing

Let me begin this week's list of links by apologizing for my lack of presence in Bloggyland lately. The past fortnight has been grueling at work with little letup in sight for the coming week.  I have managed to visit a bit here and there and save some links to posts I want to revisit. And somewhere in all the hustle and bustle I managed to add about twenty words to my WIP! (hanging head in shame.)

Book Trailer for Spells: Ten Tales of Magic

We snow-covered folks can dream, right?
Progressive Book Club

The Worldbuilding Blogfest

About That Book Advance...

Photo Pin (Photo resource for bloggers)

freepixels (another photo resource)

5 Ways to Act Like a Pro (& 15 Grammar Goofs)

WordNet Search (Online) (A lexical database for English)

Show Versus Tell (A different perspective)

What do tradpubs do…and can you do it?