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Category: Process

Write-a-thon, THINGS, and I do mean things.

Write-a-thon, THINGS, and I do mean things.

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Picture of a shocked child
Photo by Alex Schweigert on flickr.com

What? What? It’s the Clarion Write-a-thon already? Didn’t I just do that? Wasn’t I going to write a blog post about what I was going to do before it began? Clearly not.

Anyhow, I am creating for the write-a-thon. I have set myself several juicy challenges and shall report upon my progress with as much regularity as I can muster.

Today was a day of Roller Derby and recovering from yesterday’s Roller Derby. But I wanted to tick the cool box on my writer page that says YES I HAVE WRITTEN TODAY, WORSHIP ME FOR I AM LIKE UNTO A GOD. So started work on the ‘things without arms and without legs’ website – it’s a brand spanking new comic I’ve been creating (I’m drawing it, really and truly). It’s not ready to reveal yet and I wonder if wordpress really was the right choice for a visual project like this, but tis work done and on its way. Two pages of content, telling you a little bit about the things.

I love the things, they are my favorite things of thingness (as opposed to other things, which I’m really fond of too, but these things are particularly thingey).

 

Writer’s Block, Shovels, Ignite!

Writer’s Block, Shovels, Ignite!

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It’s 2am. In a little over 16 hours I will be presenting my first Ignite Portland Talk, How to Hit Writer’s Block in the Face with a Shovel. I love the Ignite format – 20 slides, 15 seconds a slide. It’s really challenging and it has been an interesting process winnowing my profusion of thoughts down into such a concise format.

Given the restrictions here’s some further reading. Some of these I encountered while I was preparing my talk and was sad not to be able to include them.

Creative Process

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Clarion collection of posts have been updated

Clarion collection of posts have been updated

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I try to update the collection every month with a slow, catchemall plan (sustainability is crucial). This month my new catch, harking back to 1985, is from The Ferret. Thanks for flinging them my way dude.

William Shunn and Geoffrey A. Landis have been added to the collection.

Other news

The skribit question (see right hand side of the webpage): How to find a comics artist? has been buzzing around in my head a lot. I’ve composed about 20 zillion answers, generally while trying to fall asleep or not wanting to get out of bed. I have finally found an approach that pleases me and a very rough draft has been written longhand (yep, I’m old school). I have a few other things I have to write before I’m allowed to indulge in finishing it off, but it is coming.

Six Memos for the Next Millennium – words, concepts that unlock new layers

Six Memos for the Next Millennium – words, concepts that unlock new layers

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I’ve just finished reading Six Memos for the Next Millennium, the last work by Italo Calvino, a series of lectures on writing he was to deliver in 1985. Much is said about the hows of writing, tricks of the trade and so on, even more so now that there are more writers (emerging and established) talking about their process than ever before. Italo Calvino does something different.

Italo Calvino talks engages with writing on a higher (and fundamental) level and writes about Lightness, Quickness, Exactitude, Visibility and Multiplicity. He died before he was able to write the final memo, Consistency.

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