Monthly Archives: March 2012

This Week’s Writing Links

This week’s writing links feature the finalists for the 2012 Arthur C. Clark awards, the return of Game of Thrones this weekend on HBO, new agents on the literary scene, a kickstarter project that could use your help and tips on how to create great secondary characters.

Game of Thrones will start up its second season this Sunday (4/1) on HBO and for those of you that have read ‘A Clash of Kings‘, you know that it should be a good season of television. There is plenty of madness and surprise in store for the poor inhabitants of Westeros. The first season was brutal (poor little Arry) but really well done, so hopefully that trend will continue (not the brutality part, although that will continue, but the relative quality of the show). I’m really hoping that this series will continue to set the standard for literary adaptations and elevate what is expected of them in the future.

In other news, after a long hiatus from John Steinbeck, I started reading ‘East of Eden‘ for the first time and was quickly reminded how much I enjoy his writing. Sure, some people can find his stuff a little dry and all his author photos may look like cigarette ads from the 1930s, but there’s a reason that people still read his books today. His work was just that good. If you forgotten his body of work, why not go back and revisit some of it today? Or if not Steinbeck, one of your favorite authors that you haven’t revisited in awhile. If it’s truly great work, you will quickly remember why you liked it in the first place and what it brings out of you either as a reader or writer.

Links:

– Game of Thrones: Introduction to Season 2’s New Characters (io9)

– Five (spoilerish) Things I Can’t Wait To See In Game of Thrones Season 2 (tor)

– Flavorpill’s March Staff Reading Picks (flavorpill)

– Everything The Hunger Games Movie Left Out (io9)

– Kickstarter Projects That Need Help: Best Friends Forever (kickstarter)

– AV Club Reviews Heidi Julavits’ The Vanishers (avclub)

– Why Literary Fiction Isn’t Boring (writersdigest)

– Creating Great Secondary Characters (io9)

– New Agent Alert: Paula Munier Of Talcott Notch Literary (guidetoliteraryagents)

– How To Find Rather Than Make Time To Write (writersdigest)

– 3 Worst Blog Writing Blunders (makealivingwriting)

– Universal Pictures Acquire Rights For E.L. James’ 50 Shades (usatoday)

This Week’s Writing Links

This Week’s Writing Links chronicle life being breathed back into the stalled Y:The Last Man movie project, how to end a novel with a punch, a literary map of the US and Jeff Bridges’ soon-to-come book of Zen musings.

I wouldn’t mind seeing a Y:The Last Man movie, if not just for the possibility that it would expose the graphic novel to a new audience. I feel like that would be worth the price of a movie adaptation, even a bad one, if it exposes the book to new people. I certainly know there will be some people who disagree with me on that, especially since the early rumor was that Indy ruiner Shia LaBeouf would star in the lead role as Y. Ultimately, I think Y is a very difficult book to adapt to the screen, but if done correctly, it could be a really good film with the source material they have at their disposal. Although I would argue that it stands a better chance at succeeding if it maintained its serialized form ala The Walking Dead in a tv adaptation, a couple of movies could probably do it justice. I suppose we’ll have to wait and see.

Otherwise, I hope everyone’s writing is going well and expect that goals are being met, revisions being made confidently and new chapters being spawned as we speak. I am personally achieving none of the previously mentioned things this week, but I am taking a break to read more, watch lots of college basketball and enjoy the unusually (and somewhat suspicious) nice March weather in Chicago. And truthfully, I do not feel bad at all for taking this time off. Sometimes you just have to take a break. And now, as promised, links!

Links:

– Screenwriters Close To Signing On For Y:The Last Man Adaptation (comingsoon)

– How To End A Novel With A Punch (writersdigest)

– 12 Great Articles That Inspired Films (tetw)

– Neil DeGrasse Tyson ‘We Stopped Dreaming’ (liveleak)

– Literary Map Of The United States (petchmo)

– SAT Vocabulary From The Hunger Games (dictionary)

– Teacher’s Job In Jeopardy For Reading To Kids From Enders Game (io9)

– Star Wars Craft Book On Amazon (amazon)

– Short Film: Robots Of Brixton (sfsignal)

– AV Club Reviews Josh Bazell’s Wild Thing (avclub)

– Author Friday: Barry Eisler (catherineryanhyde)

– Jeff Bridges To Publish Book Of Zen Teachings (flavorwire)

‘The Exiles Of The New World’ Release Update

So, my book finally received a launch date for April 20th, with the release/signing happening here in Chicago at Open Books from 6:30pm-8pm that day. Stop by if you’re in the city and free. Despite the release date being over a month away, as part of a staggered release schedule, the kindle version is actually available now on Amazon. It will be on sale for a couple of days before reverting to its normal price. There is also a listing up for the book on Goodreads.