Epi-soda 16 A Magical Split “It seems we’ve been carting around in the double-decker deathtrap for months,” said Der Weasel. Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. “Look, I told you about the ‘bookmark spell’ didn’t I?” she asked exasperatedly. She opened The Year of Magical Thinking at the place that she had bookmarked previously. “Actually,”Continue reading “Harry Splutter & the Lure of Hollyweird”
Author Archives: Norm Benson
Harry Splutter & the Lure of Hollyweird
A Brief Retread, er, Recap As you may recall (and simply not care, you can be that way, if you like), Harry Splutter and his friends, Hermione and Der Weasel, are on a quest to find and then destroy Horcruxes (or Horcruxii in Latinate) in order to defeat the e-vile Count Wal D’Mart. While tryingContinue reading “Harry Splutter & the Lure of Hollyweird”
Vancouver Writers
Carolyn Rose has announced the scheduled speakers for Vancouver Writers’ Mixer at Cover to Cover Bookstore. Here’s what’s coming up at Cover to Cover Books, 1817 Main Street, Vancouver, Washington (not Vancouver, BC a/k/a Vansterdam or Brollywood) : Saturday, October 4, 5:00 – 6:30 PM Blending the actual and the fictional. Vancouver mystery author SheilaContinue reading “Vancouver Writers”
Jury Duty
Tuesday, 26 Aug 2008 (less than a week until Labor Day Weekend) was Jury Duty Day. Oh, joy. Still, considering that I’m a writer, it’s a great time for people watching and gathering names, faces, clothing and hair styles, body shapes. It started a few weeks ago when the jury summons came in one ofContinue reading “Jury Duty”
Holy Snapping Duck Do!
Holy Snapping Duck Do! I just climbed out from under my rock and realized I have not updated this since Hammertime was in the charts… You would not believe how terribly tardy the horsedrawn Victorian Internet can be. Apologies to my regular readers, even the little blue ones! I have become lost in a seaContinue reading “Holy Snapping Duck Do!”
Book Help Desk
The Medieval Tech Support skit taken from the show “Øystein og jeg” on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)in 2001. It is in Norwegian with English subtitles. It remains my favorite YouTube video. According to the notes it features Øystein Backe (helper)and Rune Gokstad (desperate monk) and ws written by Knut Nærum. With Kindles, E-Readers and other DigitalContinue reading “Book Help Desk”
Ten Words You Don't Want Used to Describe Your Story
Starting with “pretentious,” the Mysterious Matters blog lists “[T]he 10 worst words we can use to describe a manuscript.” I scanned the list and think my ts fits, eight out of ten. Ouch. I’ll keep at it. My story is simply waiting for a writer to appear to let it out.
Ten Words You Don’t Want Used to Describe Your Story
Starting with “pretentious,” the Mysterious Matters blog lists “[T]he 10 worst words we can use to describe a manuscript.” I scanned the list and think my ts fits, eight out of ten. Ouch. I’ll keep at it. My story is simply waiting for a writer to appear to let it out.
My Dana by AlphaSmart, One Year In
I got my Dana wireless by AlphaSmart about thirteen months ago so it feels like a good time to comment on how well I like the electronic critter. I do this partly because last week I attended the Willamette (rhymes with dammit) Writers’ Conference a week ago. People saw me using my Dana to takeContinue reading “My Dana by AlphaSmart, One Year In”
Elizabeth Lyon on Style and Voice
A few months back Elizabeth Lyon gave a talk about Style and Voice from her book Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford To Ignore. She says that she put style first in her book because style (words used to create a desired effect to fit genre and character),voice (“…the author’s natural useContinue reading “Elizabeth Lyon on Style and Voice”
Nullius in Verba 