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Topics - Shrain

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31
Writing Group / Dreading My New Writing Group
« on: February 08, 2006, 04:49:52 PM »
Okay, so I am rather uneasy and apprehensive right now. I've got my Novel in Progress class tonight and my new classmates ("mainstream" fic writers) will be having a go at my writing for the first time. I wouldn't be so freaked if it weren't for the fact that, like last semester's writing class, not a one of them reads SF regularly. :( That can be a problem, I've found. *sigh*

Yes, I know, good fiction of many genres can have a lot in common. So I'm sure I'll get some helpful feedback. But I wish I could have a class here where a couple classmates were totally excited about SF and knew the conventions and stuff.

That's what I love about TWG, and what makes me brave enough to finally ask what I've gotta do to persuade you all to let me join your cool Abridge Speculists group. I emailed Nessa (after being too cowardly to do so months ago). Um, maybe I need to email you, too, SE, with a writing sample? Just let me know. Thanks!

32
Rants and Stuff / Hey, Brenna!
« on: February 06, 2006, 06:15:55 PM »
Hey, Brenna,

Fish told me I should ask your personal opinion on Ginger Ale since I'm putting together a bunch of food aversion stories. So now I'm really curious.

Anyway, I thought this might be a good way to catch your attention. (I know that little Brenna is keeping you very busy!) :) But, if you are so inclined and have a minute, I'd love to hear your cautionary tale of Ginger Ale. (Cool, that rhymed internally...) That's all. Thanks!

33
Rants and Stuff / What won't you eat?
« on: February 02, 2006, 06:30:35 PM »
"Eat! Eat! May you be destroyed if you don't eat! What sin have I committed that God should punish me with you! Eat! What will become of you if you don't eat! Imp of darkness, may you sink ten fathoms into the earth if you don't eat! Eat!"
--Alfred Kazin's mom (Alfred Kazin, A Walker in the City)

Okay, I'm hoping to enlist all you savvy, fabulously talkative TWGers in a class project of mine. Here's the scoop: I'm working on writing some content for a book tentatively entitled Beyond the Peel. My Book Design and Production class is going to publish this book, and we're focusing on all sorts of cool food-related projects.

What I'd really like to do is put together an awesome paper on people's funny/gross/weird/cheesy food aversions. So,*not* stuff you just don't like to eat, but food that you developed a psychological aversion to b/c of a bad experience.

For instance, I won't eat regular Cheerios anymore because I once ate a moth that had gotten in my Cheerios and drowned... ick. Guess I shouldn't have tried to watch cartoons and eat cereal at the same time... :P

So I'd love it if you guys could help me out. Tell me what you won't eat and why. Please be sure to include all the delicious details you can think of. Thanks! I can't wait to hear your stories. :D

34
Brandon Sanderson / Elantris & Emerson
« on: January 23, 2006, 08:42:53 PM »
So, I'm all excited for my Book Design and Production class tomorrow night because I get to plug Elantris shamelessly for my Emerson classmates. Okay, okay, I -will- be talking about the design of the book more than the actual content, as per the assignment dictates.

But, let's see . . . I plan to discuss the awesome cover art, the prologue on the back cover, the blurbs, the map, font choices, running headers and footers, section dividers, the Aons that serve as the chapter heads (and which form some kind of meaningful pattern linked to the story, or so I was told on good authority ;)), and, of course, the Glossary of Aons (very cool).

Even so, I shall definitely begin with a succint but enthusiastic synopsis of the plot. After all, I kinda have to if I'm going to talk about how well the design fits the spirit of the novel. Who knows, maybe I'll convince one or two fellow Emersonians to buy it. ;D (I think I've got a good shot with the gal I saw reading Terry Pratchett's Going Postal. Bwa-ha-ha-ha.)

But if anyone thinks of anything else I might want to mention, I'd be glad to hear it. Should be fun.

35
Everything Else / Let the Road Trip Begin
« on: January 07, 2006, 08:35:12 PM »
Hey everyone,
I'll be off the grid while I'm road trippin' off to Missouri, DC, and Boston. (My bro and I are leaving Sunday at 6am. Yipes.)

Thanks Jeffe, e, Nessa, and everyone else for the traveling/touristy tips on NY vs. DC. We've got loads and loads of great stuff lined up.

Some time when I'm not in such a rush, I'd like to meet you D.C. area guys. At any rate, I sure appreciated the decision-making help. :)

Anyway, for the UT TWGers, I hope the 2nd "New Year's" party is lots of fun. Sorry I won't be able to meet more of you all. But at least I'll have over a week's worth of TWG posts to glut myself with once I'm back in Boston tackling my new classes. Hooray. :D

And now, let the road trip begin . . .

36
Everything Else / What'll it be--NY or D.C.?
« on: January 03, 2006, 03:30:40 PM »
Okay, as some of you guys know, I'm driving all the way back to Boston next week. (I sure wish I had cruise control . . .) Luckily, my younger bro is coming w/ me. We're stopping in MO to visit family for a little bit.

But, at this point in our plan, we're kinda vaciliating on where we'll go next and spend a day doing touristy stuff. We've narrowed it down to DC or NY. It's so hard to decide, though!

They both have lots of stuff to do and see. Sure, NY has the rep for being more "exciting," I suppose. Of course, DC's public transportation is reportably -much- cleaner, more efficient, and safer than NY's. It seems like getting around in DC is just easier in general--esp. during the winter. Plus, driving from St. Louis to DC is more doable in a day than St. Louis to NY. As for lodging, I figure we'd be spending probably about the same amount in either city. (Not exactly sure about the comparative price of admission to various museums/attractions.)

So . . . I dunno. What do you guys think? ???
Jeffe, you're stationed in DC, right? Any words of wisdom? I'd definitely like to hear 'em.

37
Music / Find the Bands Brain Teaser
« on: December 03, 2005, 06:44:07 PM »
If you like brain teasers, try this one out. I really had fun with it. The object is to find as many pictoral representations of different music bands as you can--75 in all! Lots and lots of timewasting potential here, guys! :D

http://www.chinternet.co.uk/75bands.jpg

38
Everything Else / Firefly/Serenity Con in CA
« on: November 28, 2005, 11:20:59 AM »
Hey. A friend of mine in CA just told me that a Firefly/Serenity con is headed his way. So I thought I'd post the link and dates for any fellow TWG Browncoats in that area.  :)

Burbank, CA from Dec. 9-11

http://www.boosterevents.com/Home/tabid/1/Default.aspx

39
Rants and Stuff / Hey, Chimera!!
« on: November 18, 2005, 03:42:53 PM »
Quote
(like the link to the interview with the Tor editor--that was good).


Hey! I don't know how often you check your PMs, so I thought I'd start this   new thread on here. See, I'm profiling Tor as a research project for my Book Publing Overview class, and I'm struggling to get more info. :-[ I had been researching the trends in fantasy adult trade fiction until just recently when our prof gave us the option of profiling a publisher. So I leaped on that idea and decided on Tor.

I've combed through Tor's website and downloaded their '06 catalogue from Holzbrinck yet I could really, really use more stuff to work with! (I emailed EUOL, too, about possibly e-interviewing him and/or Moshe, but the time crunch and other constraints might veto those possibilities).

Anyhow, I noticed that you mentioned some kinda interview that EUOL did with Moshe so I'm incredibly curious about it. I know about the EUOLogy he did about visiting Tor (http://www.brandonsanderson.com/article.php?id=2) but what you're talking about sounds like something else. If so, that'd make my day!

Would you be so awesome as to send me that link if you have it? Or if you know how I can get ahold of the link, I'd be super grateful to find out. Any other suggestions (from you or anyone who happens to read this) would be welcome as well. Thanks!!  

40
Rants and Stuff / Gotta Love These "Author Signing" Guidelines
« on: November 14, 2005, 12:08:55 PM »
Okay, so I've been doing the assigned reading for my book pub overview class. My prof sent us a bunch of PDF articles, one of which was written by an old student of his as a directed study project. ("Book Marketing & Promotion: Reinventing the Wheel Every Time
How Publishers Market Adult Trade Fiction
by Shannon Edwards)
It's been MUCH more interesting, actually, than a lot of the other marketing stuff he's "blessed" us with. (Sheesh, I'm bad with numbers!) Then I ran into this lovely set of guidelines for authors who are making an appearance at a bookstore. They gave me a chuckle, particularly #2, 7, and 10. So, I thought I might as well share the mirth. Enjoy.

Bookstore Signing/Appearance (Author Rules)
1. Make eye contact with all visitors
2. Be happy if no one shows, show enthusiasm for it
3. If booksellers like you, they will sell your books in the future
4. When reading from your work, pick an entertaining passage and practice
beforehand
5. Small groups – sit and chat about writing!
6. Be honest about being nervous!
7. Don’t drink alcohol
8. Invite sales reps or other publisher reps for a drink or snack afterwards
9. Send thank you notes to those who coordinated signing
10. If the bookstore offers you a free book, don’t pick the most expensive book in the store!

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