Kelly Link continues her blog tour around the paperback release of Pretty Monsters with a post about ideas, where they come from and why we have them. (Kind of.) (Kelly was our Week One instructor at Clarion ’08. She is a brilliant writer, an evil Mafia player and I can’t think of her without thinkingContinue reading “Too many ideas..ah..ah..stop them!”
Category Archives: Writing & Publishing
Thought and Dream
Spent the day at a Writing and Meditation retreat on Queens Road in Leicester. The area seems to be a hot bed of Buddhist activity, with at least half a dozen different meditation groups around and about. The day has left me thinking about how writing and meditation combine. I’ve always made relaxation and visualisationContinue reading “Thought and Dream”
Entities underrepresented in weird fiction
So weird fiction has developed a fondness for certain..things, bordering on the fetishistic. Fungus and squid feature prominently. Insects, arachnids and beetles are also reasonably common place. For which we have Vandermeer and Mieville to blame. Thank. Blame. Thank. But there are so many other weird forms of life that deserve representation! For example, whichContinue reading “Entities underrepresented in weird fiction”
Is there any decent Bizarro fiction out there?
So the term Bizarro fiction has crossed my path three times in as many days. That trips my curiosity circuits, which in turn activate my data collection probes, which tell me that I need to read some of this stuff. Bizarro fiction styles itself as ‘literature’s equivalent to the cult section at the video store’.Continue reading “Is there any decent Bizarro fiction out there?”
The Internal Editor
One of the things about reviewing (and blogging, and developing literature) is that it determines your reading. At any given time I can have a dozen or more books being read in one professional context or another. And while many of the books are wonderful, its always a joy when you get the opportunity toContinue reading “The Internal Editor”
Tell the Truth
Two things happened over my Easter weekend. I went to Eastercon and had a bloody good time with members of The Speculators writing group as well as a number of friends old and new. And I read On Writing by Stephen King. I don’t think On Writing is a flawless essay on the art andContinue reading “Tell the Truth”
Where can I get more Chinese spec.fic?
Prompted by the news that leading Chinese authors of science fiction are demanding new leadership for Science Fiction World, the countries biggest publication, I went looking for stories by Chinese SF authors. (Will this rebellion, I wonder, incite similar Coup d’Etat in Western SF publications?) (Unlikely, as Western editors are not government appointed.Imagine if theyContinue reading “Where can I get more Chinese spec.fic?”
The Hate Barrier at the End of the Universe
You can’t be all things to all people. A strength in one area becomes, almost by default, a weakness in another. So it is with stories. The great guru of story, Robert McKee, talks about the story triangle. The relationship between plot, character and idea which means that the more you have of any twoContinue reading “The Hate Barrier at the End of the Universe”
In the Evening
I have been for some time now been collecting translations of the poem ‘Im Abendrot’ by Joseph von Eichendorff. I discovered the poem through the Four Songs of Richard Strauss (of which it is the basis for the last and greatest) and it has been a constant source of inspiration for my growing interest inContinue reading “In the Evening”
Independent and happy that way
Today was spent at States of Independence, a gathering of independent publishers organised by Five Leaves press and De Montfort University. Great to see so many independent publishers under one roof, and I had a great day talking with many old friends. It was also good to see both speculative fiction and comics represented byContinue reading “Independent and happy that way”
Poetry is perfect for social media
Carol Ann Duffy’s ode to David Beckham is a perfect illustration of why poetry is experiencing a tremendous revival in the age of Twitter and social networks. Achilles (for David Beckham) Myth’s river- where his mother dipped him, fished him, a slippery golden boyflowed on, his name on its lips. Without him, it was prophesised,Continue reading “Poetry is perfect for social media”
Have we made writing too easy?
A good friend drew my attention to the disappearing act of calligraphy this week, and the beautiful work of master calligrapher Paul Antonio captured by The Guardian. Coincidentally, I am part way through reading The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Mushashi, a martial text from circa 17th Century Japan, an era and a cultureContinue reading “Have we made writing too easy?”
Damien Walter 