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Monthly Archives: December 2011
Weekly Writer’s Round-Up: Week of 12/25/11
Publishing Nate Hoffelder, on The Digital Reader, giving up on defending Amazon’s business practices: Amazon Caught Bullying Suppliers (Again). (via Jackie Blem on Facebook.) Sarah Green, Harvard Business Review: Amazon Should Partner With Independent Bookstores. Writer LJ Sellers on the … Continue reading
Movie Review: The Artist
“A hit in Cannes” doesn’t always translate to the Midwest. The Artist, looking and sounding all artsy, has quietly been collecting accolades and racking up award nominations. Yes, it’s mostly silent. Yes, it’s shot in art deco black-and-white. Get over … Continue reading
Does Estrogen Cancel Out Your Critical Faculties?
Talking movies with a guy friend the other day and I mentioned my dislike of the movie 300. He sighed and said, “Testosterone. You just don’t have enough of it. 300 was awesome.” Never mind that I have a … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, Critiques, Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Writing Craft
Tagged 300, critiques, Fight Club, Freud, Laura Klein, Roger Ebert, Sin City, Testosterone, writing group, Zack Snyder
20 Comments
What Novelists Can Learn From the Oscars
I’ve recently torn apart my urban fantasy novel and tried to put it back together better, stronger, faster. The main character, our hero, had way too much support going into his final confrontation with the Big Bad. I’ve always loved … Continue reading
Posted in Characterization, Fiction, Plot, Reviews, Revision, Scenecraft, Writing Craft
Tagged Gladiator, Oscars, Rocky, Titanic
6 Comments
Sappy Holiday Movies on Basic Cable: A User’s Guide
As unavoidable as Christmas music, you can find them on Lifetime, Hallmark, ABC Family, Ion and other basic cable stations. It’s the Made-For-TV Holiday movie, a unique artform unto itself. Okay, so I might have watched a few, you know, … Continue reading
Posted in Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews
Tagged 12 Men of Christmas, A Season For Miracles, Anne Heche, Cancel Christmas, Clark Gregg, Debbie Macomber's Mrs. Miracle, Finding John Christmas, Holiday in Handcuffs, holiday movies, James Van Der Beek, Jami Gertz, Jennifer Grey, Judd Nelson, Kevin Sorbo, Kristin Chenoweth, Mark Ruffalo, naked Josh Hopkins, On the Second Day of Christmas, Penelope Ann Miller, shirtless Mario Lopez, Silver Bells, Tate Donovan, The Road to Christmas, The Santa Suit, Tyne Daly, Undercover Christmas
5 Comments
Weekly Writer’s Round-Up: Week of December 4, 2011
From Madeline Claire Franklin, on keeping a balanced life even if you’re a writer. (via twitter.) Social Media Douglas Idugboe, new media marketing guru, on twitter and why it’s relevant. (Neal Schaffer via twitter.) Self-publishing Writer Mario Acevedo … Continue reading
Posted in Commentary, E-Publishing, Marketing, New Media, Pop Culture, Self-Promotion
Tagged American Booksellers Association, Darcie Chan, David Gaughran, Douglas Idugboe, Jarek Steele, Kait Nolan, Left Bank Books, Madeline Claire Franklin, Mario Acevedo, Neal Schaffer, The Tattered Cover, The Wall Street Journal
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Amazon’s Predatory Business Moves: Object While You Still Can
Amazon continues its bid to become the evil overlord of the world this week with KDP Select and the breathtakingly cutthroat move of paying bookbuyers not to buy from local stores. Kindle Direct Publishing Select is a lending library of … Continue reading
Five Great Scrooges
There are new versions coming out all the time of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It’s hard to screw up that great story. Here are a few who didn’t. Alastair Sim–A Christmas Carol (1951) This is one of the old … Continue reading
Weekly Writer’s Round-Up: Week of 12/18/11
Publishing Writer Kait Nolan, feeling grinchy about Kindle’s exclusive program. Writer Chuck Wendig and his usual insightful, down-and-dirty thoughts, this time on the perils of self-publishing. (via twitter.) Deep thoughts on the publishing industry from Mike Shatzkin. (via twitter.) Social … Continue reading →