2 Superb Blogs for Writers

These are the two best blogs-of-writing-tips that I've found yet. I hope they're as helpful to you as they have been to me. ^_^

- - - - - - - - -

Superhero Nation

http://www.superheronation.com/

This site is for writers of superhero stories/comicbooks/adventure/fantasy/scifi/etc. There are a few words of second-degree naughty language, but if you get past that, you'll find plenty of splendid tips. Though you could spend hours browsing, here's a few articles I found particularly useful, to get you started:

Exam for Novelists

Characters Without Color

How to Make Travel Scenes Interesting

Covering Plot Holes

Why Secret Origins are Usually Awful

How to Save Mary-Sues

Title Wins (and Fails) Part 1

Wordplay

http://wordplay-kmweiland.blogspot.com/

The squeaky-clean blog of author K. M. Weiland (by the by, her Medieval novel Behold the Dawn is a splendid, albeit mature, epic tale). Years of posts on writing, with tips both practical (5 Ways to Pace Your Story) and general.

9 Ways to Strengthen Your Beginning

Are Happy Endings a Must?

How to Kill A Character and Avoid Hate Mail

Why Your Character Must Pet A Dog

The Myth of Originality

The Art of Frustration

Showing VS Telling

typing like unto a hurricane of rabid wombats,

-whisper

The House of Shelves

There is a house in Japan.

And it is a house of shelves.

AND I WANT IT.

I read an article about an absolutely glorious structure comprised entirely of shelves. Thousands and thousands of wooden nooks to be filled with everything under the sun! It's... breathtaking in possibilities... gloriously wonderful.



The house of shelves.
^ more pictures!

The house of shelves II
^even MORE joysome pictures!


It's beautiful.

dying of envy,
- whisper

Politics Explained

a practical explanation of various forms of government. found here.
enjoy.

- - - - -

Politics Explained

FEUDALISM: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.

PURE SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and puts them in a barn with everyone else's cows. You have to take care of all of the cows. The government gives you as much milk as you need.

BUREAUCRATIC SOCIALISM: You have two cows. The government takes them and put them in a barn with everyone else's cows. They are cared for by ex-chicken farmers. You have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. The government gives you as much milk and eggs as the regulations say you need.
FASCISM: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.

PURE COMMUNISM: You have two cows. Your neighbors help you take care of them, and you all share the milk.

RUSSIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. You have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.

CAMBODIAN COMMUNISM: You have two cows. The government takes both of them and shoots you.
DICTATORSHIP: You have two cows. The government takes both and drafts you.

PURE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors decide who gets the milk.

REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY: You have two cows. Your neighbors pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
BUREAUCRACY: You have two cows. At first the government regulates what you can feed them and when you can milk them. Then it pays you not to milk them. Then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other and pours the milk down the drain. Then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cows.

PURE ANARCHY: You have two cows. Either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbors try to take the cows and kill you.
LIBERTARIAN/ANARCHO-CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull.

SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

(Original source unknown . . . this version expanded and Illuminated by Steve Jackson.)

They all sound pretty grim. (OO)

Having two cows,
And intending to keep them,

-whisper

Save the Trees

Something to consider.

A few weeks ago The New York Times published an article about two 130-year old oak trees in Auburn, Alabama. For years they were the good-natured victims of a historic rivalry between two local football teams. The oaks were liberally decked in toilet paper in celebration of various victories, but they came to public notice when they were poisoned with herbicide. This action aroused an outcry that made it into the New York Times. Several Alabama citizens launched a campaign to raise "donations and awareness" for the ill trees.

The campaign has garnered nearly $50,000 and 60,000 supporters. Somehow this struck me as odd. Disturbing, even. It is not the anti-environmentalist poisoning of the trees that has alarmed me; rather I marvel at the irony of American priorities.

Here stands the situation: two old trees are imperiled – grand old trees and worth preserving, I'm sure. So a fund is created to “raise donations for and awareness of the trees,” and said fund swells to nearly $50,000.

Fifty thousand dollars. For two trees! Think of the meals, the clothing, the water, the shelter, the schooling, and the medicine that money could provide for human beings, millions of which happen to be living in abysmal poverty.

$50,000 could provide a year of food, clothing, shelter and education to 120 kids in Africa. Instead it's spent to 'raise awareness' for two sick trees.

A verse from the Casting Crowns song While You Were Sleeping keeps ringing through my mind.

“United States of America,
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children.”

The 5 Best Toys of All Time

I have discovered an excellent article; a refreshing reminder of happy summer days. 'Tis written by Jonathan Liu and entitled "The 5 Best Toys of All Time." I tried to put the article directly in this post, but the formatting didn't work, so you'll just have to read it here. For best effect, read it while sitting by an open window, where you can inhale the spring.

Outdoors for President!
-whisper

"Treasure Box" photo by Flickr user Evelyn Giggles. Used under Creative Commons License.