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The Trouble With STEM – 7
My latest Substack post. This one is controversial. Click here to subscribe.
read moreHow to Write Sci-Fi – 8
My latest on How to Write Sci-Fi – 8. – – – Continuing my series of posts on how to write fiction with special emphasis on science fiction since that is what I write. TROPES. Good writers don’t use tropes. These are off-the-shelf situations or characters that have been so overused that they have become unbelievable or tiresome to most readers. If you have seen it more than once before, it probably qualifies as a trope. TV commercials are awash in tropes, as are most Hollywood movies because it is easier to sell...
read moreMy Latest Substack post: The Trouble with STEM – 6
To recap: I recently ran across an online post by a person trained in STEM, calling for colleges to no longer teach any subject except Science, Technology, Engineering, n Math. Others asked if he were serious n he said he was. Many people tried to get him to modify his position but he insisted that only STEM should ever be taught in colleges. IMO, this has led to serious mistakes n misunderstandings by this person, n by other persons, especially engineers in my experience, when they stray from their fields of expertise n decide they know...
read moreSubstack posts
I am continuing my series of posts on Substack on How to Write Sci-fi. I am not entirely sure if I am handling Substack correctly. I guess I’ll find out soon. On the way: more articles on how to write. And more articles in my series on The Trouble with STEM. Not to neglect my posts on myth, religion, n the Cult of Wokism. [For the full post, please subscribe via the Substack link on the Landing page]
read moreMore Writing Tips: How to Write Science Fiction – 5
When I worked for a publishing house, I edited dozens of manuscripts. In How to Write Science Fiction – 5, I discuss more common mistakes made by beginners. Please subscribe to my Substack to view the entire post. I have lots more coming. I’ll post more on this and similar topics soon.
read moreHow to Write Science Fiction, from my Substack
Not to imply that there is something democratic about writing, with number of sales having something to do with quality, which it does not. Or to imply that some advanced degree might confer writing talent, which it does not if such talent doesn’t already exist. There is no such thing as a PhD in creativity. Rather, I will simply report my experiences in running a writers’ critique group in my home for several years, devoted to developing the craft of writing fiction, in particular, science fiction, and my conclusions on how beginning writers...
read moreDark Lotus Books entry from Substack
Back in the day, IOW when I was a raw kid of 20, I took a short break from college and decided to attempt to write a novel. In six weeks through a mist of cigarette smoke and a concoction of caffeine and canned chili, I cranked out a science fiction story of 80,000 words. The first few pages were not bad, I thought and I still think, which was good news since I had never written any fiction before that in my short life. I called it Maalstrom, deliberately misspelling maelstrom while imparting the same meaning of that word. I think I stumbled...
read moreJust Woo is Marginalised?
The Vanishing White Male Writer SFWA / Worldcon Banning White Male authors Click here for Jon Del Arroz’s active take on the spread of the Woke Plague in sci-fi publishing Click to see my email exchange with a Woke publishing insider who defends NY publishers’ policy of banning white male writers.
read moreWho Needs Woo?
I have decided as an experiment to remove all payment systems from Equus due to being more trouble than they are worth, especially in view of the fact that all Equus books are listed for sale on Amazon n Ingram. So why should I keep bothering to maintain the Woo installations? They are unnecessary n just make this site vulnerable to bots that seek out Woo plugins. Whoever wants to buy an Equus book will have to go to Amazon and buy them there.
read moreSkills from former times that youth would do well to acquire
Skills I have that people born after 1990 may not have: Thinking n studying before embracing an opinion. Memorization techniques. Longhand. Shorthand. Typing. Reading at least one foreign language – n I don’t mean Spanish. Reading a book a week. Reading from an actual paper book instead of a screen (I can tear them, write in them, even drop them in water n they’re still good). Being patient, not reacting with anger when not happy with events. Being polite to cops. Acknowledging the existence of Other People n their...
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