What did you blog about today?

[The Big Peat]

My latest reading round-up with mini reviews... With a shout out to Knife Edge and Small Bones by @Kerrybuchanan.
Have Book, Will Read #26

Got a lot of friends hyping Last Sun now. Maybe I should read it one of these days...

 

[Biskit]

A ramble about names. Names Ache.

 

[LeonStevens]

I did my weekly wrap up and included a post about my first 1-Star review.
Weekend Wrap-up: My first 1-Star review!

 

[The Big Peat]

In Tribute: David Gemmell

Fifteen years ago, the world of fantasy lost one of its greats tragically early. David Gemmell’s career as a published author lasted over thirty years with more than a million copies sold; fo…

peatlong.wordpress.com

 

[J-WO]

So Titan Books have revealed the cover of my novel the other day. Over on my blog I tell the story of the road to getting there and how random and unexpected that road was. If you like stories of how novels get written you may like it.

 

[Juliana]

I tell the story of the road to getting there and how random and unexpected that road was

Fantastic story, Jim! And once again, congratulations.

 

[J-WO]

Fantastic story, Jim! And once again, congratulations.

Thank you!

 

[alexvss]

I ranted on online writing courses (they suck).

 

[Juliana]

@alexvss Interesting post! And to some extent, I agree. (Usually, I dislike this sort of lecture/course. I can do my own research, I don't need the same stuff broken down for me over and over. I've been in too many workshops that say the same thing as the previous ones!)

However, I'm doing an online course right now with YA author Maggie Stiefvater. It was on sale, and I figured $25 was a great deal and I love her work, so why not? And I'm loving it. But part of why I'm loving it, I think, is that right from the start she says something along the lines of: 'I'm not going to teach you how to write. I can't do that. I can only teach you how I write. And you can take as much or as little from that as you want.' I think this is a great approach. It's certainly been inspiring so far. Sure, some of it isn't new, but at the same time it is new because she's applying it to how she writes her own books, instead of telling us how to apply it ourselves, if that makes sense...

 

[alexvss]

@alexvss Interesting post! And to some extent, I agree. (Usually, I dislike this sort of lecture/course. I can do my own research, I don't need the same stuff broken down for me over and over. I've been in too many workshops that say the same thing as the previous ones!)

However, I'm doing an online course right now with YA author Maggie Stiefvater. It was on sale, and I figured $25 was a great deal and I love her work, so why not? And I'm loving it. But part of why I'm loving it, I think, is that right from the start she says something along the lines of: 'I'm not going to teach you how to write. I can't do that. I can only teach you how I write. And you can take as much or as little from that as you want.' I think this is a great approach. It's certainly been inspiring so far. Sure, some of it isn't new, but at the same time it is new because she's applying it to how she writes her own books, instead of telling us how to apply it ourselves, if that makes sense...

Faz todo sentido, minha amiga!

The classes from MasterClass® are all about that. The author teaches his or her way and talks about his or her experiences. It's more motivational than anything. What I was arguing is that, most of the times, it's not worth your time and money. (MasterClass® is certainly NOT worthy--U$ 90 per class??? Come on!). But I'd certainly pay 25 bucks for classes with my favorite author.

 

[Juliana]

U$ 90 per class

Wow!!!

yeah, hers was 25 for around 8hrs worth of videos plus notes. Not bad.

 

[AlexH]

I ranted on online writing courses (they suck).

I think some are good but I understand your points. The best value to me tend to be one-off workshops where the tutor delves deeper into a writing aspect. I attended Fyrecon online last year (I think it was about US$50 for 3 days), and there were some excellent workshops that got me thinking in different ways and gave me insights I was able to apply to stories I was working on. I attended an online workshop with Christopher Allen (Smokelong Quarterly editor) last weekend, and it was excellent.

There are also some good value writing courses online here and there, but they're not always the easiest to find.

 

[The Big Peat]

The Deep by John Crowley

Friday Five

 

[Bick]

Website update here on Foster's A Call to Arms, and my read-through of Astounding in 1958.

 

[HareBrain]

The Deep by John Crowley

Why, pray? Is posting a review from 2019 without explanation a coded signal whose meaning we've been too lazy to remember? Are you being held captive? Or is it just to check someone's paying attention?

Anyway, it sounds an intriguing read.

 

[The Big Peat]

Why, pray? Is posting a review from 2019 without explanation a coded signal whose meaning we've been too lazy to remember? Are you being held captive? Or is it just to check someone's paying attention?

Anyway, it sounds an intriguing read.

Well that's bizarre. WordPress told me it was a draft so I brushed up and hit publish yesterday. It having a publication date of 2019 is pretty weird...

WordPress really is being dire these days.

 

[J-WO]

WordPress really is being dire these days.

I'm having little joy with Wordpress these days. That new system where you have to use 'blocks' is particularly annoying.

 

[Juliana]

That new system where you have to use 'blocks' is particularly annoying.

Even more annoying is when you want to update a page that was done pre-blocks and you end up having to redo the entire page!

 

[J-WO]

Even more annoying is when you want to update a page that was done pre-blocks and you end up having to redo the entire page!

Why did they think it was a good idea? What's the point? It's like it was invented by people who neither keep a blog nor even particularly write.

 

[Dan Jones]

I'm having little joy with Wordpress these days. That new system where you have to use 'blocks' is particularly annoying.

It took me a good few months to get used to using that particular system, but now I really do like it, and wouldn't go back to the old ways now (which means it will probably happen). There definitely is a trick to using the new system, but once it clicks, it is pretty good.

Also, @The Big Peat advised me that I should post here that I'm publishing my urban fantasy novella "Resurgam" on my blog in a weekly serial format, so here it is.