Writtenwyrdd

Puppy update

A few cute pictures from week (I think) 15.

Here are my two clowns acting all innocent and stuff.

Here's Chance being coy. 

Wish I could get the demonic flash gleam from happening!

 

They are doing very well, except that they cannot yet resist chasing the cats.  I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can take them for morning walks.  But that will also entail having to train them to walk on leash properly, too.  Ack.  But I'm getting them to listen more with liberal application of food rewards.  They're easy in that regard:  their kibble is sufficient!  How many of your children would do tricks for the reward of a cracker?

First impressions

"While first impressions are useful, there is a risk of creating two-dimensional characters if you stick only to the first impression. Nobody behaves the same way all the time. Sometimes having a character act completely opposite to a reader’s initial impression can create powerful dramatic effect." from A Brain Scientist's Take on Writing blog.

The blog author further talks about when having the first impression be much different than the initial impression is valuable, and how to decide if the character reveal is done for a reason which you the writer can articulate:

Of course, it won't work to have characters acting counter to a reader’s initial impression just for the heck of it. That would seem contrived. But when you're building your characters, you may want to ask the following questions.

1. What kind of first impression does does the character create? How would casual acquaintances describe him?

2. What type of circumstance would make him act contrary to that first impression? If he is normally even-tempered, what would make him blow up? If he usually loves people, in what circumstance would he withdraw?

The answers may bring both you and your readers closer to that character.

Cool site for Lovecraftian trinkets.

Let's put it to a sort-of vote:  All in favor of prizes for my next contest from here, let me know.  I particularly like the Chthulu Tiki statue. 

Feeding Large Breed puppies

I've been educating myself (really, updating, there's so much new info out there due to the internet and the passage of time) about the care and feeding of puppies.  Particularly the feeding of larger breed puppies, as I had heard that too fast growth can lead to malformation or malfunction of joints, including hip dysplasia.  And the thought that I could cause my dogs to suffer problems that could cause their early demise or long term pain was rather upsetting!

So I looked up dog food and problems for puppies.  Three nutrients are generally listed as potentially problematic in too large doses:  Calcium, Energy (generally deduced by the fat content), and Protein.

A very nice site on the issue is here, and I quote the relevant bits below. 

The most significant problems appear to be related to the following, in order of decreasing importance: 1. Calcium, 2. Energy, and 3. Protein .

1. Calcium: The ideal calcium content, on a dry weight basis is 0.7%-1.2%-. AAFCO recommendation is 1%-2.5% which is generally acceptable though not ideal; however, for giant breeds, such as the Great Dane, the lower end of this range is especially recommended. It is believed that calcium in excess of 3% on a dry weight basis can predispose to significant skeletal abnormalities, such as those mentioned above. Keep in mind, also, that adding of vitamins, particularly Vitamin D, will also increase absorption of dietary calcium (to possibly excessive levels).

 2. Energy: If too many calories are supplied and consumed on a daily basis, too rapid growth results and the excess mass that must be supported on an immature skeleton can result in microscopic damage to skeletal tissue, with subsequent malformation and/or malarticulation of joints, degenerative changes and potentially chronic pain. For most practical purposes, energy levels in food can be extrapolated principally from dietary fat, which should be no less than 9% (AAFCO recommendation) to maximum of 12% on a dry weight basis. Total kcal/kg of food should remain in the 3.2 to 3.8 range

 3. Protein: As a percent of diet on a dry weight basis should range between 15%- 27% (AAFCO recommends minumum of 22%). The ideal protein concentration is difficult to specify, since it is, in part dependent upon biological value of the protein source; (i.e. if of high biological value, then less is needed {more is assimilated} and the lower end of the range is desired). Protein markedly above the upper limit described here will be converted to energy, rather then incorporated into protein tissue. This will, therefore, add to the energy burden, and potentiate the problems associated with excess energy consumption, as described above

Check out the AAFCO (Assn of American Feed Control Officials) page for information on your dog's nutritional needs.

Another issue that came up, as Luger is showing signs of food sensitivities, is that both corn and wheat are not particularly digestible for dogs, and they often show up in the first 5 ingredients in dog food--including expensive, supposedly excellent brands.  The Iams weight control formula we've been giving the Pug has corn as the first ingredient and more grains among the first five.  This is not the best nutrition, as corn is poorly digested and just passes through the dogs' bowels without giving up as much nutrition as you would expect. 

So I looked up grain free foods (there are a lot of options out there these days) and settled on one that isn't necessarily for puppies but which has for the first 10 ingredients various types of meat and for carbs ground peas and sweet potato.  There are also fruits and some fat, but not that much.  I will have to be careful the pups don't get too much energy but have enough calories, but overall the grain free stuff looks to be a good option for my boys.  The Pug gets a substantial portion of people food so I know he's not lacking in meat and veggies. 

The cost difference is substantial, working out (as I ballparked it) to about 20%-35% difference in cost, depending on the volume purchased.  And I'm figuring it from the Max puppy chow and the Iams chow that I had been using.  But if you can afford it, your dogs will do best on a diet that supports their growth and consists of foods that they can properly digest. 

Puppy update

Wow, I've had the boys for 2 weeks now.  They have grown and changed so much already, there's barely any comparison.  They have gained several pounds and are quite a bit bigger.  They no longer look quite to gangly and coltish, either, and their coordination is vastly improved.  The paws are huge now, but don't look so oversized in proportion as they did. 

These dogs respond extremely well to positive reinforcement versus correction.  They do get corrected, but I immediately follow it up by giving them something for them to do where I can reward them, such as come and sit.  They get a treat for doing something right and soon realize that Mom gets unhappy if they do certain things, but she gives them food if they do others.  It worked well for potty training too, although they are unreliable on that front unless you watch them.  I did smack Chance's butt yesterday morning when he stood next to me and started to pee, but not hard.  A tap is all it takes with these sensitive boys.

I was a bit surprized that the English Setter breed is as energetic as the boys are proving to be, but I'm going to install a dog run in the back for the summer so they can run amok and work the squirrels out of their system.  Chasing their rubber ducky around the house won't be enough for long, and neither will be the walks they will be going on every day.  My lab and my golden retriever were not this bouncy! 

This morning the boys were too sweet, tails wagging and licking me when I let them out of the crate.  That adorableness is what lets them live when they really gnaw on your last nerve, lol.  Seriously, though, they are maturing quite a bit already. 

Kick-butt first line contest reminder

Kick butt first line contest at the blog of Jamie Rush.  She does this annually, and it starts February 1st.  So check back for the details as to how you may enter.  Currently, the link takes you to the winners and entries from 2010.  Keep checking back to see this year's entry page.

Writing by the Snowflake method

found an excellent article on Writing by the Snowflake Method by the Write Strong blog.  While I've seen a lot of this information before, and likely so have you, the description of how the author plots out a novel idea is very lucid and simple to follow.  So I thought some of you might want to print it out for quick reference. 

The great thing about the Snowflake Method is it doesn’t force you to SIT DOWN AND FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT RIGHT NOW! That kind of pressure doesn’t usually help the creative process. Instead, with this method, you gradually evolve from a single core idea into a fully fleshed-out novel structure, complete with characters, plot pacing, and so on. It teases the story out of you, bit by bit, and by the end, I’m often surprised by how much detail I’ve infused the story with before I’ve even begun writing.

That there is the reason this sort of method works for me.  I'm a gal who likes to let the muse out while I write.  The surprises that come along are often the best bits of writing or the best ideas or characters you come up with.  Stifling that good stuff with the gag of a rigid plot doesn't work for me.

Hope this is useful to you.  Happy writing!

Plot in the Bible

Susannah Rickards at Strictly Writing has a great article about finding plot in a place I bet few of us have considered:  In the Bible.  Basically, she noticed that the Christmas story is an excellent example of plot.  You can check out her article here.  It's worth reading, as she has some excellent points about how the plot of the story works and why.

It struck me while reading that article that most religious and mythological tales were originally told, not written.  And as they were part of an oral tradition, they had to function as tales that would keep a reader's attention and stick in their brains.  They had to entertain, not just function as cautionary tales.  So it makes sense that many of the ancient texts have definable plots that exemplify what we consider good plotting techniques today.

You could take Susannah's breakdown of The Greatest Story Ever Told and create an entirely different one that no one would recognize as christian...Oh.  Wait.  C.S. Lewis did that, and nobody was fooled!  Well, it would be a challenge to try and create a story around that plot breakdown, anyhow.

The boys at 14 weeks

The picture of innocence.  But do NOT believe it!  Overall, though, these two clowns are really well behaved, considering their age.  I have to constantly correct them, but they do learn.  They are even getting better about not chasing the cats.  Claws slapping their muzzles has certainly helped, though. 

Small structure for paragraphs and scenes

I was reading blogs the other day, and ran across Tia Nevitt's post about structure for paragraphs and scenes.  It's a great post full of examples wherein she talks about paragraph structure.  Essentially, even a small paragraph should foreshadow the next paragraph, and should also leave the readers wanting more. 

It's been my observation that small plot structure--paragraph and scene--is basically the same as the large structure of chapter and arc.  Each needs to inform the reader, engage the reader's interest, leave the reader wanting to know more, and having some element that transitions/leads logically to the next paragraph or scene.  Chapters lead to the next chapter; books lead to the potential sequel.  Just so do paragraphs and scenes work. 

Some of this stuff is very subtle, and sometimes it's quite blatant.  In one story I've had hanging about for a while, I have a gal jumping off a cliff into the sea.  That's the logical chapter ending, as it has a dramatic cliff hangar (literally), and it naturally leads to the next scene/chapter, where the characters end up on the beach. 

That seems simple enough.  But where the writer can fail themselves is overlooking the need for foreshadowing and cliff hangar in small ways, i.e. in paragraphs and scenes.  The small size of a paragraph makes it seem like you do not have real opportunity to forshadow or add a cliff hangar; but if you translate the two things into logical progression and hooking the reader, it makes more sense.  But, essentially, that's still a cliff hangar and a forshadowing.

This is true even in a conversation.  I'll give you a rather mundane example.

"Are you okay?"

"No," he replied, rubbing his bloody knuckles.  "I just shut my hand in the car door."

So, what's going on here? First sentence is a hook.  We readers don't know what's going on, but someone's been injured, it sounds like.  We automatically expect to find out in the next paragraph (that's the forshadowing); and we also are anxious to know what has happened (which is the cliff hangar or hook.)  In the second line, we get the answer to the first forshadowing and expect to know what's going to happen about dealing with the smashed hand.  But if the writer ignores the expectation she's set up, for example if the character next says, "Can you watch my purse for a minute, I have to run to the ladies' room," you would react with a doggie head tilt or think the author was an idiot. 

And with the hook it's the same.  By failing to continue in a logical manner, the hook, which carries on until we resolve the issue of the smashed hand, has its momentum dragged to a dead stop.  The readers are jolted from their submersion in the writing, and they are forced to try and figure out what you are trying to do here.  They are generally going to be unhappy because the change of topic makes no sense, is illogical. 

Apparent nonsense in responses can be appropriate if you have characters that logically would behave so, but, again, it's the logic that you establish in the story that you must continue to support in the use of small structure in your writing.

 

The cats are not amused

They are glaring at the dogs. Mikey the milquetoast is standing up for himself and actually growling.

We had a great experience in the motel. They were very good and reasonably quiet. Of course we are paying for it now. Last night they were hyperactive little hellions, and this morning, because I overslept on accident, they pooped in the crate and then proceeded to rocket around the house like they did after our road trip from Connecticut last week. After almost 3 hours they appear to have gotten it out of their systems, though.

New Horror magazine opportunity

Found on Anthology News & Reviews blog:

Trembles is a brand new horror magazine slated for its first release in January 2011 and released 5 times a year (Jan., Mar., May., July., and Sept.) with a double year-end issue in November. The publication will appear online and in electronic and print form and all stories accepted will cross into all three formats.

Guidelines
Horror. Simple as that. To give you an idea of what to send, some authors we like are Brian Keene, Peter Straub, Stephen King, Richard Laymon, Clive Barker, Shirley Jackson, Edgar Allan Poe, H.P. Lovecraft. 

• Flash Fiction (1,000 words or less)
• Short Story (1,001 to 6,000 words)
• Poetry (up to 50 lines)

Format
Please send manuscripts as a .DOC, .DOCX or .RTF attachment totrembleshorrormag@gmail.com with a cover letter in the body of an e-mail. Do not send your manuscript in the body of an e-mail, it will automatically be deleted. Make sure your manuscript uses standard formatting like 12-pt New Time Roman font and double-spacing. On the first page of your manuscript, please include your name, address, phone and e-mail in the upper-left corner and the word count rounded to the nearest hundred in the upper-right.

Payment
Trembles provides a token payment of $5 for short stories and $2 for flash fiction and poetry in exchange for First North American Serial rights. You will also receive a contributor’s copy in electronic form. 

Please send any questions to the above e-mail address.

Coincidence? I think...maybe

"If the coincidence creates a complication, it can remain in the plot.  Otherwise, get rid of it." Theresa, Edit Torrent blog

Edit Torrent had a post the other day about coincidence in your story plot.  Basically, it boils down to the above rule.  Everything that is apparently coincidental must go if your plot hinges upon it...unless the coincidence is causing some sort of monkey wrench in the works of the plot.  Those sorts of 'coincidences' are good ones at times.  But I would suggest that you don't have more than one or two such coincidental complications.  Too much of that sort of thing will attract unwanted attention from readers and might wreck their suspension of disbelief and enjoyment of your story!

But I have to add something to Theresa's observation:  Coincidence can be a useful too in a story plot if it aids the plot by making the main character suspicious.  Too many coincidences aren't coincidences.  They are a red herring, enabling your character to twig to something not smelling right.

Can you think of other uses for coincidence in a story?  Do you think that any genre, such as children's stories or fairy tales, can have coincidence without it being a problem?  I'm inclined to think that those particular types of tale can (sometimes) have coincidence, as coincidence is part of the story structure--particularly in fairy tales.  Three brothers, travelling separately, all run across the same hag who either blesses or curses them?  There are other examples, many others, where things 'just so happen' to occur to several people with different results...that usually end up with a moralistic wrap up underscored by the coincidental meeting and its results for the participants.

The boys as bookends

We got our second shot series today and the second worming. Chance is 18# and Luger (black ear) is 20#. My vet agrees with my take on Chance's heart, that we just let him be a dog and don't make him do anything we know is too much strain. Really, he's the sweetest boy.

They are so smart! We have them basically paper trained now, but it's a matter of chiding them when they are thinking about going somewhere else...as they still cast about before going instead of reliably going to the paper.

Unfortunately, the second worming has given them diarrhea and rumbly bellies. They both just got through multiple bouts and came up to me crying and wanting a cuddle. :( But they do think I'm the mommy at this point. :)

Madre took the photo with her camera phone, thus the yellow,lighting. My camera in my phone is better, and it's not very good.

Zombie fiction opportunity

I have the perfect story for this, but it's been published, and these guys won't take reprints.  *shrug*  Oh well.  I guess I'll have to come up with a sequel!

The Library of the Living Dead presents: 

LIVE AND LET UNDEAD
Shoot 'em in the head? Not always. What about actually using the living dead as baggage handlers, guard dogs, workers in nuclear power plants, bait for fishermen, and so on? I'm looking for different slants on using the shambling masses to benefit the living. Stories may range from humorous (the movie, “Fido” or the end of “Shawn of the Dead”) to horrific representations of servitude and slavery.

Please mention in your cover letter any genre twists (comedy-horror, war, science fiction, etc.) and any publication history. All acceptances and rejections will be sent out “after” the deadline.

 DEADLINE: March 07, 2011
WORD COUNT: 4,000 – 9,000 words
PAYMENT: 1 cent per word + 1 contributor's copy
REPRINTS: No
MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: Limit of 2, Maximum of 1 accepted
SIMULTANEOUS SUBMISSIONS: No
FORMAT: Standard Manuscript Format (click here for an example).
FONT: Times New Roman size 12
TAB INDENT: ½ inch
SPACING: Double Space
PAGE NUMBERING / HEADERS: No page numbers or headers
CONTACT INFORMATION: Place contact information in the top left of the first page (Name, Address, Phone Number and E-Mail). Place approximate word count at the top right of the first page.

Send the story to liveandletundead@holliesnider.com with the story title, your name and approximate word count in the subject line. Confirmation e-mails will be sent out within a week of receiving your submission.  Questions may be posted here or emailed to the aforementioned address (place the words “Anthology Question” in the subject line).

Sleeping like the dead

Best shot of the sleeping dogs.

Oh, to be a sofa

I am currently hosting a slumber party on my lap, and have for nearly 2 hours. I think there are signs of life, though...the occasional chuffles and snores, a twitch or two...

I'm impressed how responsive the boys are to tone of voice, as a no in the 'don't you dare' tone stops them dead in their tracks. Chance and Luger are getting the idea about peeing on the paper, but the other business is--literally-- hit and miss. But treats for appropriate aiming is working wonders already.

I would grace the blog with better pictures, but they won't hold still for a second! One moment still, the next is 'Oooh, shiny!' and they are off like rockets. So unless they are napping, I haven't got much in the way of photo ops.

Today I'm trying to make doggie coats that fit so we can venture outdoors for a brief walk at least.

We are tuckered

After serious playtime, it's voluntarily into bed.

Chance

Wiggleworm won't hold still for pictures.

Luger

Cutie!

Opportunities for Zombie Apocalypse stories

Tales of World War Z.  Post zombie apocalypse, but you don't have to do zombies as characters at all.  Reprints allowed.

Honest, that'sa dog

You will laugh, but it's actually 2 very rambunctiious pups. I got a 2fer as Chance (I did say that was the name!) has a congenital heart defect and can't be sold. So I adopted him and will ensure he either goes to a home where his heart defect won't be an issue, or I'll keep him. They are both full of energy, and I'm holed up in a motel near Wells ME as horrid weather made further travel inadvisable.

Both of them are awkward and gangly, and they are no longer plain white, as their freckles have come in. Both, as it turns out, are tricolor. Mostly black spots, but a few brown. Chance can't be bred due to his defect, which is too bad. He's a great looking dog, dominant, and has an excellent nose.

Actually, it's been the worst driving day ever for me. I missed the memo about the terrible snow dumping in CT, where they got 2', and I slid off the road in Hadley MA, discovered I forgot to put the shovel back in the suv, and I had to take beggar's choice of whichever tow the trooper called. At least he was quick! $90 later, I'm off. I only had about 40o miles to go, so I decided to get the dog then find a motel. Bur the weather gods clouted me again when I took the wrong exit, went back on the highway...and got stuck in the hump at the end of the onramp! The plows came by right after, and a good samaritan and the crew pushed the car until it got unstuck. It was actually the first time I ever slid off the road or got stuck except once in my own driveway.

So the snow stopped and I went further. Then it started again and I stopped for the day. Smart...finally.

Amazon are not-so-idiots!

In the interest of being fair, I should report that FINALLY Amazon has coughed up the list of items that will not ship and they state they will credit me the $66 that was from a gift certificate which hadn't been used yet. Go me. Persistance and being obnoxious pays off! But know I am looking at Amazon with a jaundiced eye now.

On a lighter note, I'm hanging out with my bestest friend of 20 years in Western Massachusetts. She has tomorrow off, so we will visit some friends here that I haven't seen in forever and seriously hang out. On Weds. Morning, I go to Connecticut (about 120 miles south of where I'm staying) to collect my dog.

Want to know what I'll probably name him? Chance. It's a nickname for Chauncy. I will see if that fits when I get the little dude, but when I get the right name, I just know it, and I feel like Chance is it. Besides, it's easy to say and doesn't sound like any other pet name in the house!

Amazon are idiots

Somehow, using the British grammar rules to talk about Amazon seems more appropriate.  Maybe because a collective noun taking a verb in 3rd person feels more like what I've gone through.  That is to say, I've had a good six responses to emails, two chats and three phone calls dealing with the idiocy that was Amazon's response to my account with them being hacked.  And I feel like I've hacked my way through a jungle of stupid to write this post this afternoon.

I swear these people get my emails and can't read English.  In the most recent, I go to the link that I was given, tell them the name and email my new account is under, and explain that I was told they would transfer the outstanding credit for a gift certificate.

The respondant obviously didn't read the emails and was too numb to even read the email he did have.  (I say 'he' because the name was Josh, but it could have been any one of any gender, really.)  At least this guy didn't blame me for their system getting hacked.  (No, Amazon, I didn't give anyone my password like you accused me of.)  The other thing they keep insisting is that they can't give me my order information because they can only give the fraudulent order info to the cops, but will gladly do so if I give them the information--this, after a number of explanations that I do not want that order info, I already have it as I reported the hack, and I just want to know what I've ordered and when/if it will ship. 

Gah.  Makes me want to reach through the phone and commit violence upon their noses with my fist.  But that would be adding insult to injury, cuz obviously their mamma's dropped them collectively on their pointy lil' haids when they were babies. 

Tra la, tra la

Off on vacation tomorrow.  So, as I have a meeting to cater on Sunday, I have to bake my little fingers to bloody stumps (there's a tasty image...if you are a zombie) and do some other prep work.  Then I have to pack and make sure things are all in order and leave the house at o'dark thirty Monday morning.  I'll be visiting with friends a few days and will have limited access, so enjoy the canned posts until I return on the 13th or 14th.  I shall have a new puppy and probably will be occupied with him for the next week and a half.  So enjoy Martin Luther King day without me.

I am trying to think up names for my dog, who is temporarily handled Luger, as an English Setter named after a German handgun is a bit odd to me.  I like the sound of the name well enough, but it's not one I really want to keep.  Basically, I'm a fan of getting a name that fits the dog but also doesn't run the risk of not being careful what you wish for.  (Which is why Cosmo the cat wasn't named Loki, which would definitely have fit!)  So I'm creating a list of possibles for when I get to know the little guy.  I'm fond of names like Buddy, Max, Ralph for most dogs, but I also think of less popular names like Chauncey, or mythological puns like Cyrus (Sirius, get it?).  An old roommate's cat was named Fergus, which was also a great name. Gawain, Mordred and Uther are also rather attractive, but as they are Welsh, I'll have to think about it.  Arthur, on the other hand, would do... but I'd rather avoid the King Arthur reference, unless it's to use Merlin!  (Actually, that one sounds good.)  We'll see.  I know something will come to me that will fit, once I have the pup home. 

On the writing front, I've been working on a short story prompted by Phoenix Sullivan's call for submissions on an anthology, stories prompted by "Extinct doesn't always mean forever."  I give away nothing when I say that there are dodos in it, and it's pretty far along.  I hope to get it drafted this weekend and let it perk for a few days.

 

Understanding Entropy

Energy spontaneously tends to flow only from being concentrated in one place to becoming diffused or dispersed and spread out - Second Law of Thermodynamics

While researching for a story, I came across a nice description of Entropy, also known as the Second Law of Thermodynamics.  The thing that is interesting is a fine distinction, and it's relevant for writers.  Subtle, but worth pondering.

From : The Second Law of Thermodynamics!

   A swimmer doesn't come shooting up out of the water to the diving board, rocks in a valley don't suddenly roll up a mountain, outside air doesn't rush into a flat tire, batteries don't get charged by sitting around. Those events all would have energy spontaneously become more concentrated, the opposite of energy spreading out. We sense that videos or movies are shown in the right direction of showing time going forward only if the events in them agree with our lifetime experience about the direction of energy flow: concentrated to dispersed and spread out. The second law points the direction of how we feel time goes.

Q: So that's why people call the second law "time's arrow"?
A: You got it. Now let's clear up those tricky words, "spontaneously" and "tends" in the statement of the second law, "Energy spontaneously tends to flow only from being concentrated in one place to becoming diffused and spread out."

Q: Why bother? "Spontaneously" means fast, quick, ad lib .......
A: Hold it! That may apply to people, but we're talking about how things and chemicals behave. In the second law "spontaneously" means only that any energy which is available in the object or substance for diffusing will spread out from it -- if given a chance. It doesn't have anything to do with how fast or slow that occurs after the dispersal of energy starts, or even when it might start. That's why "tends" is so important to understand as part of the second law.

    The energy available in a hot frying pan or in a loud BOOM from a drum immediately and rapidly begins to spread out to their environments. Nothing hinders that from happening. Lots of ordinary and also unhappy events are like that. But there are an enormous number of "energy diffusing" second-law happenings that are hindered so they don't occur right away. Here's a simple illustration: If I hold a half-pound rock in my fingers so it is ready to fall, it has potential energy concentrated in it because it is up above the ground. If the second law is so great and powerful, why doesn't the energy that has been concentrated in the rock spread out? Obviously, it can't do that because my fingers are "bonding" to it, keeping it from falling. The second law isn't violated. That rock tends to fall and diffuse its energy to the air and to the ground as it hits -- and it will do so spontaneously by itself, without any help -- the second I open my fingers and "unbond" the rock.

Q: Is that really so important?
A: Yes, it is. Many philosophers and novelists learned about the second law only from physicists.
    Unfortunately, physics emphasizes what happens in a closed or isolated system of tiny particles rather than in our real open-flow world of trees, shiny steel, sunshine, rocks and people, the world of sun energy and things made out of chemicals. Thus, many readers of popular philosophy articles and recent novels have been misled and frightened by talk about the second law as a fast-approaching doomsday. The writers pass too quickly over the fact that it is a tendency rather than a prediction of what will happen right away.

    In many real-world chemicals and things the second law can be obstructed or hindered for millions of years. Certainly, the mountains of the world haven't all slid down to sea level in the last several hundred centuries! Similar to my fingers holding the small rock (but millions of times more tightly), even overhanging stone in cliffs or mountains is bonded, chemically bonded, to adjacent atoms in the stone and so the stone can't obey the second law tendency for it to fall to a lower level. Here, as in countless other examples, the second law is blocked by the strength of chemical bonds. It takes a huge number of repetitions of outside energy input like freezing and thawing and earthquakes and windy rainstorms to break the bonds along even a weak bond-line, make a crack, and free particles or pebbles or rocks so they can follow the second law by falling to a lower level. (But even then, they may just fall into a mile-high valley and be kept from dropping any closer to sea level; so here in a different way the second law is further hindered.)

    Blockage of the second law is absolutely necessary for us to be alive and happy. Not one of the complex chemical substances in our body and few in the things we enjoy would exist for a microsecond if the second law wasn't obstructed. Its tendency is never eliminated but, fortunately for us, there are a huge number of compounds in which it is blocked for our lifetimes and even far longer.

Q: About time we got to something human. Are we through with rocks?
A: Yes, but don't forget what they have illustrated.

    I think it is helpful to see some of the ways the second law works in the ordinary dusty world of actual objects before looking at its relation to pure substances, the chemicals that make up those objects. Chem profs approach the second law the other way around, starting with atoms and molecules first. And that's certainly OK. Professors rightfully avoid much talk about the behavior of big visible things at all. In the limited time of a chemistry course they can only develop the nature of atoms and molecules and of chemical substances. Objects made from chemicals like a gear or a bridge or a wooden house or a book or a bone just have to be assumed to behave like their constituent substances. What they do because they are big things composed of tiny molecules just has to be left for other courses or our future experience.

Go on and read the whole article.  Fascinating stuff.  The main point I'm making, though, is that when we write science fiction, entropy will play a part in the science.  And it's useful to consider the effect of the Second Law of Thermodynamics on larger events and objects...even human culture! 

 

 

Opportunity Thursday - Aeon Contest for 2011

Via Storypilot.com's market database.  (I highly recommend their site if you haven't found it yet for yourself.) Albedo One  (Ireland,  Online and print)
	www.albedo1.com Pay Rate: €3 per 1000 words (higher for contest) Length: 2500 to 8000 words Genres: SF, F, DF, H Submissions: Electronic and mail (see submission info below) 2011 Contest open for submissions January 1, 2011.  Details here.
		Extremely broad sf, fantasy, horror. "We are always looking for thoughtful, well written fiction. Our definition of what constitutes SF, horror and fantasy is extremely broad and we love to see material which pushes at the boundaries." To enter our writing competition, the Aeon Award short fiction contest, with a grand prize of €1000 euro (thats right, €1000) and publication in Albedo One.  (Details for the 2010 contest at link.) Details:  We will read all short story submissions, but our preferred length is between 2,500 and 8,000 words. Our response time is variable - mostly between two and four months.  We as a rule only accept previously unpublished stories, and we do not accept simultaneous submissions.  While we accept e-mail submissions, we do NOT accept submissions in the form of attachments - text in the body of your e-mail only, please! Mail your e-mail submission to: bobn@yellowbrickroad.ie in the body of the email.  NO ATTACHMENTS.  See link for snail mail submission instructions. All authors receive a complimentary copy of the issue their story appears in. Our payment amounts to €3 euro per 1000 words.

Weird Book Wednesday & misc. news

 
"Everything Explained Through Flowcharts: All of Life's Mysteries Unraveled, Including Tips for World Domination, Which Religion Offers the Best Afterlife, ... the Secret Recipe for Gettin' Laid"

I thought this title was a hoot.  It might be an interesting little gem of a read, though.  I mean, tips for world domination?  You can't get better than that!

I hadn't done one of these in a while as I hadn't found a doggie head tilt-worthy book.  But this one... Yeah.

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I hope you all enjoyed your holidays.  I'll try to get back to posting regularly commencing today, but I'm going out of town for several days next week and a couple of days the following week.  Not to mention I'm on vacation for 2 weeks, which generally means I spend less time on the web as I'm doing home improvement projects!  (I hope to finish painting a pair of tables, rewire the basement, seal the basement concrete, organize the basement, and maybe build a rolling butcher block table.)

Possible cover art

Vamp Chix had a link to this site, Killouettes.  They are darling little macabre, Victorian-style silhouettes with topics that shock and amuse.  I think they would make wonderful cover art. 

Online writing course

Alexandria Sokoloff is offering an online class, beginning soon. Here are the details:

If you want to jump start the New Year with a writing/structure intensive, I'm teaching a two-week online workshop in January.

I'll start roughly around January 1, but since some may be rougher than others this weekend (!), it will go a few days longer than two weeks. Just as useful for screenwriters.

Only $15!

Click for details and to register.

The clean slate

We always seem to reserve the end and beginning times of the year for contemplation.  I suppose it's a hold over from the ancient days when winter struck hard and left folks both with less work to do and more time to contemplate their lives and their mortality.  You could die in the cold season, from cold, hunger, accidents or weather; and you could do far less about it when the wind and snow buried the world, masking food sources and making simple tasks more dangerous.

I tend to do my soul searching around the time of Samhain/Halloween, the end of the year wheel for many pagans.  But like everyone else I also pick the new year to make a resolution or two.  A simple ceremony that you can perform for the new year is that you drill holes in your Yule log and stuff a piece of paper in it with the things you want to change/let go of, and one with the list of things you have accomplished.  Burn that puppy as symbolic of letting go.  Symbolism, you see, is very useful for communicating with the inner you. 

And my list this year is short:

1.    Be kinder, more patient and a better listener, particularly with family.

2.    Write and submit at least one new story.  (That's my ongoing resolution.)

3.    Maintain my 100# weight loss.

I don't like complicated resolutions because you are likely going to fail when attacking a massive project with no prep time.  You need to take up jogging before you can run a marathon.  And you need to develop new habits before you can truly commit to grandiose plans.  At least, that's my excuse!

Interested in learning about Egyptian heiroglyphs?
A good basic primer on the Egyptian alphabet is here:

http://www.jimloy.com/hiero/alpha.htm

Science factoid & selecting the flavor of your worldbuilding details

1000 Gigabytes in a terrabyte
1000 Terrabytes in a petabyte
1000 Petabytes in a exabyte
1000 Exabytes in a zettabyte
1000 Zettabytes in a yottabyte

I bring you other non-computer people this information as I had to look it up for a story I'm writing.  This one is inspired by Phoenix's anthology prompt: extinct is not forever.  I needed to have a near-future setting, and mentioning yottabyte storage components was one of the tiny mentions that set the stage.

And my rant for the day: The flavor of your worldbuilding details.
When it comes to worldbuilding, I tend to salt in terms as I go along.  I make them up and jot them down in a separate file for later reference, or I look up factoids and save the data in a separate file for later reference.  Either way, the key thing for me is to keep track of what I've used as worldbuilding details.

Why is it significant what you have used?  Well, besides the obvious, so you don't contradict yourself later on, there is the matter of slant.  You might take this to mean bias, but I'm talking about the way in which the type of details serves a directed purpose to the story.

There are several reasons to choose details carefully:

• You want to underscore a particular element of the world.  In cyperpunk, it would be the edgy high tech.
• You want to show the reader they aren't in Kansas any more.  In the first page of a story, you need to establish genre as well as the where and when the story takes place.  If it's science fiction in the future, you need to have details that are comprehensible to readers yet which tell them it's in the future.  If it's a world other than Earth, you need to use details for that.
• Details supporting mood, theme, or message.  You want to have an emotional reaction to the world, or you want to lead the readers to interpret or feel in a certain way.  This is based on how you write the scene and not just the worldbuilding details, of course; but choosing details that point up dark and gloomy post-apocalyptic give an entirely different feel than happy bubbly.
• Characterization is as much from what you show your characters noticing as it is from saying, doing, or feeling.  A glass-half-full person will look at things a lot differently, and will notice/emphasize different things than a glass-half-empty person.

Perhaps this is rather obvious to you all, but I find it is useful to occasionally analyze how and why I make choices.  If they work, you have a new way to find solutions to your writing challenges.

What other reasons do you know of for choice of world building detail?

Happy New Year! To celebrate, here's an anthology listing.

The Harrow Press has an anthology opening to submissions today.  If you like your Urban Fantasy with a mystery to solve, you might try your hand at this one. 

MORTIS OPERANDI is looking for stories that revolve around the investigation of a crime and in which the supernatural plays a central role. While we’re expecting a fair share of murders, we strongly encourage stories that revolve around OTHER kinds of crime — for example, arson, assault, blackmail, bullying, burglary, dowry death, embezzlement, fraud, kidnapping, larceny, libel, piracy, product liability, slavery, smuggling, terrorism, treason, and toxic pollution are all fair game.

By “supernatural” we mean magic, monsters, and/or miracles, but we don’t consider psychic abilities (although the inclusion of a minor character possessing them will not in itself disqualify a story), extraterrestrial life, or UFOs to be supernatural.

Types of stories may include whodunits, police procedurals, hardboiled fiction, and courtroom dramas. All genres and treatments are welcome, including ecclesiastic, fantasy, humor, horror, historical, military, romance, and parody. Settings outside the U.S. and U.K. are welcome. Settings on other worlds aren’t.

We want well-written stories that demonstrate originality of concept and plot. Zombies, vampires, and werewolves will be a hard sell, and romantically inclined vampires will be staked on sight. Think outside of the coffin.

Stories will be judged exclusively on the basis of their literary merit; a history of prior publication is not necessary.

Get more information about our thoughts on this antho at Market Scoop.

Submissions & Queries: anthology [[ at ]] theharrowpress.com

• No simultaneous submissions. One submission at a time.
• Please attach your stories to your email in Microsoft Word, RTF, or text-only format. Stories pasted in the body of an email will not be read.
• Please include the words “Submission: Mortis Operandi” in the Subject line of your e-mail.

Length: 3,000-6,000 words. Please include an approximate word count in your e-mail submission.
Reprints: No
Language: English
Payment: US $50/story, upon publication, and a free copy of the book
Rights: Exclusive English anthology print and electronic (e-book) rights. Please read our Sample Contract (pdf) for full details.

Submission period: Opens 1.1.11 – Closes when filled. Stories submitted before Jan. 1 will be deleted unread.
Publication Date: 2012