A Wilderness of Thought

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-387275622011-09-19T21:31:26.161-07:00A Wilderness of ThoughtFollow me into the wilderness.alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.comBlogger121100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-32895312611298816722009-12-11T15:52:00.000-08:002009-12-11T16:15:39.654-08:00The Police State and the Writer

Dr. Peter Watts, a Canadian native and excellent SF writer, was returning to Canada after helping a friend in the U.S. move. He was driving a rental car and got stopped by U.S. Border Guards who, after being asked why his car was being searched, beat him, pepper-sprayed him, and arrested him. He's now facing felony charges for 'assaulting a federal officer'. Peter's take is here.There is no '

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-49634448281093292882009-10-19T15:17:00.000-07:002009-10-19T15:29:48.207-07:00Fond Bookstore Memories

A link sent out by Tobias Buckell on his Twitter feed talked about B&N closing the last of their B. Dalton bookstores. As a kid I was an avid reader going through a book a day, sometimes. The summer I turned 11 we moved and I was allowed two new books with the assurance I could unpack my books in a couple of days after the move. I chose two Nancy Drews, promising myself I'd make them last. A week

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-57032296789013958862009-09-30T16:47:00.000-07:002009-09-30T17:14:08.391-07:00Writer's Indecision

Recently, I struggled with a piece that was meant to be a short story. My normal practice is to journal ideas before I write a new story. This time I dived in with an ending and no other plan in mind. About 3,000 words in I realized the story had to do something different, cut out most of what I'd written, started again. 2,500 words later, I still couldn't get my characters to the end within a

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-52817554152671616762009-09-05T12:24:00.000-07:002009-09-05T12:27:19.051-07:00When Do Writers Get Their Ideas

There are myriad blog posts about where writers get their ideas. For me, I think it's equally important to understand when the ideas happen. When I first started writing I’d get an idea or I’d see a scene in my head, or hear a character, or a think of a turn of phrase that interested me. I’d put each one in a separate computer file, hording these bits and pieces like a kid with a memento box.

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-81691944998111194542009-09-02T17:13:00.000-07:002009-09-02T17:20:15.653-07:00Critique - It's Not All About You

A good friend recently critiqued a short story I'd given her. The short story is about a young lady who has been raised by a family of criminals and is now on her own, making her way in the world the only way she knows how, by committing crimes.My friend is honest and she can say the hard things that others will hesitate to say. She's also good at spotting the weaknesses of a story. I value that

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-11781179614984662642009-07-30T14:25:00.000-07:002009-07-30T14:32:59.529-07:00Process Is Not Content

I'm the sort of person who plans out my errands based on distance from home. I go to the farthest point and work my way back. One of my prouder moments of efficiency comes from a Christmas shopping expedition where I went to two malls and two big box stores a week before Christmas, got everything I wanted on a long list of gifts, and did it in under 3 hours including parking. Each gift had a note

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-77099023269765744262009-07-09T13:22:00.000-07:002009-07-09T14:12:58.893-07:00Star Trek: Now With More Tired Gender Roles

Open Letter to Roberto Orci and Alex KurtzmanA word of warning, there are spoilers in this post. At this point, though, it probably doesn't matter.Dear Messrs. Orci and Kurtzman,I remember when I got to watch my first Star Trek episode. It was the summer of 1970 and it was already in lucrative reruns, broadcast at a time when I was awake. I was fascinated by the idea of flying around in space and

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-14691125448975735632009-06-25T01:02:00.000-07:002009-06-25T01:13:52.846-07:00Dreams of Childhood Fanfic

A post by Justine Larbalestier reminded me of my own first attempts at writing.It was the summer of 1976, our second summer in the new house. I was 12 and I discovered the TV show 'The Magician' in late night re-runs. I was instantly hooked and made a deal with my parents; if I went to bed extra early I could get up at 11:30 p.m. to watch it then go straight back to bed. I can't say what it was

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-67316989065383720732009-06-18T00:46:00.000-07:002009-06-18T00:51:56.959-07:00The Confidence of Night

It's gone midnight. The heat is bleeding off, finally. Much as I love the summer heat and sun, I love summer nights, too. There is a cool confidence to the night I find soothing. Standing on the porch, gazing at the night sky I feel more at home within myself. It isn't a matter of darkness hiding me. It's a matter of possibility stretching out like the barely visible arm of the Milky Way. Each

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-1674071795696468192008-11-10T10:25:00.000-08:002008-11-10T10:30:12.242-08:00The Beginning is a Very Fine Place to Start

Everyone has a process for writing. There are the rituals they perform before sitting down at the pad or keyboard. They may write in certain places because they feel the most productive there. There are mojo tchotchkes they keep around them while they write. There are soundtracks they've created as background. That's just getting ready to write, setting the atmosphere. Some writers agonize over

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-81071146775109756662008-11-07T09:59:00.000-08:002008-11-11T19:32:56.081-08:00A little fertilizer is good for the roses

NaNoWriMo started last Saturday. I was at the first minute write-in for the South Bay and got 844 words done. I was at a write in early the next morning in Scotts Valley and got another 2000 words. Other than Tuesday (spent the evening watching election returns on six different websites at one point) and Wednesday (I have no excuse for that), I've been writing steadily. As of last night I have

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38727562.post-18137323399675753702008-10-17T19:23:00.000-07:002008-10-17T19:35:43.689-07:00Blog Reboot 2.0

"Don't be afraid. That simple; don't let them scare you. There's nothing they can do to you . . . a writer always writes. That's what he's for. And if they won't let you write one kind of thing, if they chop you off at the pockets in the market place, then go to another market place. And if they close off all the bazaars then by God go and work with your hands till you can write, because the

alleahnahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05439228931616904879noreply@blogger.com0