Monthly Archives: March 2014

March 23, 2014 · 9:02 pm

The 101 Most Insane Things That Have Ever Happened In Florida

The 101 Most Insane Things That Have Ever Happened In Florida.

Need inspiration for your next story or novel. Take a look at the link above.

Sample:

1. Accused Florida man says his cat downloaded child porn, not him.
2. Florida man calls 911 80 times to demand Kool-Aid, hamburgers, and weed
3. Man says cocaine in his buttocks isn’t his
4. Man stabbed in confusion over harmonicas
5. Drunk woman calls 911 to say she was lost in woods, did not know where to urinate
6. Trapper trying to catch elusive loose monkey gets death threats
7. Sex-doll threesome man gets off
8. Florida man has sex with pit bull in his yard as neighbors beg him to stop

And each entry on the buzz feed page is linked to an article with more information.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-101-most-insane-things-that-have-ever-happened-in-florid

Leave a comment

Filed under true life humor

Tagged as , , ,

March 23, 2014 · 5:26 pm

AP removes distinction between ‘over’ and ‘more than’ | Poynter.

AP removes distinction between ‘over’ and ‘more than’ | Poynter..

Sample:

Poynter’s Vicki Krueger shares some news from the American Copy Editors Society conference that will rock copy editors to their very cores: AP Stylebook editors said at a session Thursday that “Over” is fine when referring to a quantity; you don’t have to change it to “more than.”

The news elicited a gasp, Krueger reports.

[Editor’s note: Unlike the Onion article, this one is true.]

Related article at: http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/244265/more-than-my-dead-body-journalists-react-to-aps-overmore-than-change/

Leave a comment

Filed under AP, style guide

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 23, 2014 · 11:57 am

4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence | The Onion – America’s Finest News Source

4 Copy Editors Killed In Ongoing AP Style, Chicago Manual Gang Violence | The Onion – America's Finest News Source.

Sample:

NEW YORK—Law enforcement officials confirmed Friday that four more copy editors were killed this week amid ongoing violence between two rival gangs divided by their loyalties to the The Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Manual Of Style.

[Editor’s note: this is humor. It is on the Onion. Click on the link above for the rest of the story.]

Leave a comment

Filed under writing humor

Tagged as , , , , ,

March 22, 2014 · 5:36 pm

Sting tells TED audience of the only way he could overcome writer’s block – The Globe and Mail

Sting tells TED audience of the only way he could overcome writer’s block – The Globe and Mail.

Sample:

Sting is a prolific songwriter, author of a decades-long career first with the Police and then on his own, filled with pop-chart toppers, platinum records and music industry trophies to show for it.

Then came the drought.

Sting explained at the TED Conference in Vancouver how he fought his way back to his art after a prolonged period of creative darkness, when the songs stopped coming. Hint: it took him back to his hometown, and ends where the neon lights are bright.

Leave a comment

Filed under TED talks, writing tip, writing tips

Tagged as , , , , , ,

March 22, 2014 · 9:44 am

4 Things Science Fiction Needs to Bring Back | Cracked.com

4 Things Science Fiction Needs to Bring Back | Cracked.com.

Sample:
It’s tempting to look around at today’s literary scene, with its Twilight and its Fifty Shades of Grey, and wonder if we shouldn’t just flush the whole goddamn concept of written language down the toilet — maybe start again with some sort of hybrid colorwheel/odor system for communicating thoughts. Strangely, the one genre thriving in the swamp of modern literature seems to be science fiction. It’s kind of appropriate, actually: All of our crazy high technology has made publishing and distributing books about crazy high technology much more approachable and widespread than ever. But even the best works could stand to learn a little something from the past, so here are a few things that I miss about old science fiction, and would like to see come back.

Read more: http://www.cracked.com/blog/4-things-science-fiction-needs-to-bring-back/#ixzz2whMw9XfP

Leave a comment

Filed under science fiction, writing tip, writing tips

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

March 21, 2014 · 9:54 pm

Photo finish Friday: “Symbolic”

Buddha on a plate.

Buddha on a plate.

There is a Buddhist saying that if you are a Buddhist and you are you meet Buddha on the road, kill him. This is an old koan (Buddhist parable) is attributed to Zen Master Linji, (the founder of the Rinzai sect).

It is not to be taken literally. The three elements: road, killing, and Buddha are symbolic. The road is the road the Buddhist is traveling toward enlightenment. The Buddha is whatever concept of Buddha he or she might be carrying. That concept is wrong, a false idol, if you will, and to kill it is to ditch (by the symbolic roadside) that false concept as part of the road to enlightenment.

But it does bring up an interesting corollary. To wit: if you find Buddha sitting on your plate, are you supposed to (symbolically) eat him?

Leave a comment

Filed under Photo by author, Photo Finish Friday

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,

March 20, 2014 · 5:05 pm

Haiku to you Thursday: “Cold love”

Revenge is a dish /

best served cold. May God serve yours /

on a plate of love.

Leave a comment

Filed under Haiku to You Thursday, poetry by author

Tagged as , , , , , ,

March 19, 2014 · 6:37 pm

Writing tip Wednesday: “Who are you?”

On Saturday, February 1, 2014, I took a workshop sponsored by the Knoxville Writers’ Guild (www.knoxvillewritersguild.org) and led by nationally published author Pamela Schoenewaldt (www.PamelaSchoenewaldt.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pamela-Schoenewaldt/158580547517755?ref=tn_tnmn).

The workshop was on character development. What you have below is one of the three handout exercises from the workshop. I will be posting the others over time. Each handout can be done in ten minutes or less, and oftentimes not pondering too long is best. The first exercise is called “Who are you?” The you refers to the character. This worksheet can be used for the both the protagonist and antagonist of the story or novel you are working on, or just about any character you want to use it on. It might even be helpful if writing a memoir or biography.

WHO ARE YOU?

Your name is . . .

Your age is . . .

I can see that you are . . . (location)

And you’re looking at . . .

And you’re feeling . . . .

Your great strength is . . . .

Your fear or weakness is . . . .

It’s too bad that . . . .

You’d really laugh if . . . .

Most people don’t know that you . . .

Very soon you must . . . .

The challenge will be . . . .

You will get strength from . . . .

Looking in your eyes, I know that . . .

Leave a comment

Filed under writing tip, Writing Tip Wednesday

Tagged as , , , , , , , , ,

March 18, 2014 · 4:44 pm

cARtOONSDAY: “tHE hOLE sTORY”

Some holes are harder to dig out of than others.

Some holes are harder to dig out of than others.

Leave a comment

Filed under cartoon by author, CarToonsday

Tagged as , , , ,

March 17, 2014 · 8:01 pm

Monday (morning) writing joke: “Hair Raising”

Finn McCool, the Irish writer, was out drinking to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, when he decided, at the first ribbon of morning light, to return home. He stumbled into the kitchen to find his dog sitting at his chair, eating his morning meal. He cursed the dog and tried shoving him off the chair, to which the dog muttered something, bit him on the arm, and left.

The next day, his arm was so swollen and painful, he couldn’t write, so the Irish writer decided to go drinking again to deaden the pain. The next morning, he stumbled home, his arm throbbing and found a hare sitting at his place eating his breakfast.

“Who are you,” the writer bellowed, weaving his way toward the table. “Who the hell are you?”

The hare ignored him.

The writer drew closer. I said, “Who the hell are you?!”

This time the hare looked at him, dabbed a napkin at his split upper lip and said, “If you must know, I am the hare of the hound that bit you.”

Leave a comment

Filed under Monday morning writing joke

Tagged as , , , , , ,