http://johndbrown.com Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:49:45 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en To allow my inner Swedish svelteness to manifest itself I've been doing some hiking and biking. I do my own Elmer Fudd biathalon in which I bike for a mighty 3 miles. Hike a hill interval style that I swear rises up at 90 degrees. Then go back to the bike and ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/07/hawk-games/ Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells are doing a series of podcasts on writing called Writing Excuses. The have two podcasts on magic: http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/05/12/writing-excuses-episode-14-magic-systems-and-their-rules/ http://www.writingexcuses.com/2008/05/18/writing-excuses-episode-15-costs-and-ramifications-of-magic/ I found these two interesting, and, as always, entertaining to listen to. However, while their focus on limitations and ramifications is excellent, I’ve found asking "what does the magic cost" to ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/07/inventing-magic/ I don't like anti-perspirants because they gob up in the underarms of my undershirts. Which means I eventually go walking about with pebbles in my pits. And, yes, we do have a washing machine and use it regularly. There's something in there that defies anything less than hydro-chloric acid. I don't like deodorants because they wimp ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/07/thai-crystal-rothfuss-daily-life-in-the-middle-ages-perot-charts/ I voiced my opinions on the TC Boyle message board. Needless to say, I'm probably too aggressive in my stance. But a guy over there said: "(easy,chewable,harmless pages) shouldn't be the goal of any writer with even the tiniest self-respect." Here's my response. ---- I don't know any of these successful authors who ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/06/why-you-cant-popularize-literary-fiction-part-2/ T.C. Boyle is one of my favorite writers. He saved me in my undergraduate program. I was buying the The Best American Short Story, Pushcart, and O'Henry anthologies. I was reading for my coursework. And so much of it bored me to death. And then one day I began reading "The ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/06/why-you-cant-popularize-literary-fiction/ For many years people have been predicting the death of literature because the stats on the reading public  show fewer and fewer books are being sold because fewer people are reading. For an author it's a bit depressing. However, you might find this article provides some hope: http://www.newsweek.com/id/136961. Generation R (R ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/06/will-readers-completely-die-off/ So to save on taxes I've incorporated. The name of the LLC will be Blacksword Enterprises. I'm happy with it. And probably nobody but me will ever see it. I was going to go with Billy Bob's Story Shack, but felt it was too high brow. http://johndbrown.com/2008/06/business-name/ Just a reminder. The CONduit convention begins on Friday. I'll be holding a 2-hour workshop on Saturday titled "The 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories" from 2 PM - 4 PM. The rest of the day on Saturday is loaded with a number of great panels featuring authors such as: Michael Stackpole Brandon Sanderson L.E. ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/05/conduit-salt-lake-city-science-fiction-and-fantasy/ I've posted two new writer's lessons that discuss how emotion works and the essential parts of story. http://johndbrown.com/2008/05/2-new-writers-lessons/ If you've read my article on the Teachers section, you know I think a good portion of what we do in our public schools is a waste of time because it's not driven by any natural motivation. The result is that  students are bored more than they need to be. They ... http://johndbrown.com/2008/05/nancie-atwell/