Neil Gaiman on second drafts
In a recent blog post, Neil Gaiman discusses the topic of second drafts: The second draft is where the fun is. In a first draft, you get to explode. The objective (at least for me) is to get it down on paper, somehow. Battle through the laziness and the not-enough-time and the this-is-rubbish and everything [...]
Simon Willison on vim
Here: I’d use these [tips on using Python with vim] if I wasn’t still scarred from the time vim encrypted my file instead of saving it because I had caps lock on by mistake. Bless.
To be filed under WTF
From BBC news (link): A British teacher has been found guilty in Sudan of insulting religion after she allowed her primary school class to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Gillian Gibbons, 54, from Liverpool, has been sentenced to 15 days in prison and will then be deported. Which is bad enough. I mean it's a [...]
A nice summary
I've seen posts hovering around the place about Atheism and how we Atheists (or Brights, if you prefer, though I can't say it sits right with me as a label) should or shouldn't try to convert people to our way of thinking. I came across this comment on, of all places, Facebook, and I think [...]
A Muslim view on the whole Rushdie thing
Irshad Manji, a self-titled "Muslim Refusenik" gives her reaction to the whole furore that has exploded over the decision to make Salman Rushdie a Knight of the realm over at the Religion News Blog. Salman Rushdie is not the problem. Muslims are: Above all, I am offended that so many other Muslims are not offended [...]
The first step
Seth Godin sums up the starting-a-story problem perfectly: That Moment When you are sitting right on the edge of something daring and scary and creative and powerful and perhaps wonderful… and you blink and take a step back. That's the moment. The moment between you and remarkable. Most people blink. Most people get stuck. All [...]
For the Fallen
They shall not grow old as we that are left grow old; Age will not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning We will remember them. I stood in Market Square, outside the old Lancaster Town Hall, and I bowed my head as the clock [...]
Wind in my Espresso
As I posted earlier Terry Pratchett has written a letter to The Times which, at base, asks a very simple question: Why is it that there are so many good fantasy authors and yet the only one that the media seems to think is worth paying attention to is a Ms J.K. Rowling? And while [...]
A Master Speaks
I was supposed to be finishing up a short story right now before going to spend a nice afternoon watching wonderfully over-the-top musicals with Sarah, but this caught my eye whilst browsing the BBC News feed and I thought I’d share it with you: The Times: Fantasy’s dark arts make for a bestseller Why is [...]
Thought For Life, Courtesy of Alistair Cooke
Letter From America: A session with The Duke To be the best – and it’s a sad truth most of us amateurs shrink from admitting – you have to run, fight, golf, write, or play the piano every day. Normal service will resume shortly – I have much to talk about. But for now I’ll [...]
Quoth
I don’t have time for serious (or even marginally funny) blogging right now, but I did come across this the other day and thought it would be worth sharing. It explains almost perfectly my state of mind when I’m trying to write: …I hardly ever finish an SF book (including ones I write.) The way [...]
