Published on Monday, February 22, 2010 by admin Many say that maps are purely a device of fantasy novels, and an overused one at that. I don't agree with them.  A little bit of cartography has helped me many times in my writing, from inspiration, to finding direction in my plot. Charting out the world your characters live in can give you a more literal impression of the scenes swimming around in your head, and hel...

Published on Monday, February 1, 2010 by Optrix Xaris Perhaps I should have written to be continued with my last entry, for Rae’s workshop is exactly where I found my next writing challenge. I was sitting by the fire, watching a fellow writer dance with a laptop and talking to other fellow writers when suddenly Rae piped up 'so how far has everyone got with their novels'? For a moment there I froze wondering whe...

Published on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 by Huckleberry Hax It's probably pretty clear by now that I quite like writing about Second Life®.  Mostly, my writing concentrates on the behaviour of people in virtual environments, since it's this that fascinates me most of all.  Occasionally, however, I do stray into descriptions of virtual scenery.  The extract below is adapted from my SL novel 'Be Right Back' (which - you gue...

Published on Wednesday, January 20, 2010 by Optrix Xaris So do you think you can write a novel? That is the very question I ask myself as I sit by the fire surrounded by fellow writers at Cookie. My real life family certainly believes that I have a story within me that is eager to get out and be unleashed on the page. In fact they have said it many times, but I haven’t let myself believe them tending to think my English s...

Published on Monday, January 18, 2010 by Jaen Wirefly “Wherever you go—there you are” Fumbling and stumblingly around the grid of my muddled mind I realize that hiding in Second Life® is useless and ultimately, impossible, once you have spent a certain amount of time in-world. Recently, I became very brave and revealed myself to Second Life® via posting my real life picture; but that is surface exposure. U...

Published on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by Harriet Gausman My choice of topic this week was developed purely from my own maneuverings into novelhood. Whenever I read great stories, like those written by Albert Camus, or Charles Dickens, for example, I find characters whole; dripping in pathos and determination. They resonate from the page and make me want to love them wholeheartedly or loathe them. There is no half ground. Bu...

Published on Saturday, January 16, 2010 by Rosemary Serenity Muse. Many sit down and wait for them to fall from the sky and land on their lap. Many pack their things and go around the world looking for them. Many hold onto them with so much strength they end up suffocating them. Many name them and put them on a pedestal. Muse. Inspiration. At least once in life we have sat down in front of a white page without know...

Published on Friday, January 15, 2010 by Jaen Wirefly "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." — Dr. Seuss [Writing Reveals] Revealing has been a HUGE trend in America for the past 20 years with Reality TV programs, talk shows and game shows taking center stage. People have become very comfortable humiliating themselves in front of large, en...

Published on Friday, January 15, 2010 by Jaen Wirefly Is “Writer’s Block” a terrifying moment, or a hateful disease that doesn’t discriminate between new and seasoned writers? Whatever it is, when it happens, the best thing to do is to figure how to overcome it, quickly. When I am writing about a subject often it helps to put myself in the subject's environment; hence, go where your book takes you; often, t...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt Certainty? In this world nothing is certain, except death and taxes. (Ben Franklin) Ms Flawnt is reading Sexual Personae by Camille Paglia, a controversial thinker and scholar, who writes about the difference between the Apollonian elements of our lives (anything related to the mind and air) and the Chthonic (or Dionysian) elements (related to the body and the Ea...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt The miracle in question was only performed to hasten the operation, under circumstances of present necessity, which required it. -Ben Franklin Finished that belated, beloved, beleaguering NaNoWriMo contest at 50,267 words. What can I say: thanks to the divine. Amen to my mom and dad. Blessings to the organisers. Yiiipppeeehs and Yaya-cries to the other writers and ...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt "Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment." - Ben Franklin Some people think that ff, Flawnt’s signature, stands for “fearless Finn”. This week, Virtual Writers, Inc. sent ff as a correspondent into the thick of the NaNoWriMo battle, which is waged all over ...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt “That Quantity that is sufficient, the Stomach can perfectly concoct and digest, and it sufficeth the due Nourishment of the Body.” - Ben Franklin Quantity. Oh my, my first week of NaNoWriMo comes to a creaking close. I open my browser in the morning to check last night’s word count: I haven’t been dreaming it - it stands solidly at 16,595 words. When ...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt “You may delay but time will not.” (Ben Franklin) I’m sitting outside in front of our weekend house, and it is freezing cold. I wear four layers: undershirt, shirt, sweater, jacket, and I have slung a blanket around my legs. I look like I ought to look like: sitting in front of a lifeless piece of electronic editing equipment, staring at the blank screen. I s...

Published on Thursday, January 14, 2010 by Flawnt "Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others." Benjamin Franklin Folxs, I'm going to get deep on you today. Why? 'Cause I feel like it. 'Cause I've been ill lately and illness deepens the man: in his pajamas, he circles the world lightning-fast, setting fire to unbuilt houses, tearing down edifices held high in everybody's mind. My topic today: identity. a...