Image: Guilty as Charged
Computer gamers may have seen this remarkable ad for
the Command and Conquer game.
This remix takes all the best parts, and does something remarkable
I hope you enjoy this as much as I do:
Filed under: Humor, Ideas and Inspiration, Lyrical Moments, Shout-Outs! | Tagged: Computer game, Remix, The Daily "huh?", Command and Conquer, Red Alert III | 4 Comments »
“I’m Not Lisa” was the first hit for singer and songwriter Jessie Colter. It was released in January of 1975, and was one of the very few Country songs—at the time—that I would listen to.
Never having been a fan of Country or Western music, I’m Not Lisa was, to my mind at least, a crossover song. It made it to the pop charts. The song made it to #1 on the Billboard Country charts, and an amazing #4 on the Billboard Hot charts.
The song is a perfect piece for a writer. It is strong, moody, deep, sad, and beautiful. Typically I go for the original recording, but I found one where she plays the piano and sings “live”, and couldn’t resist.
Ladies and gentlemen, “I’m Not Lisa” by the lovely Jessie Colter.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Music, Musical note, Singing, Arts and Entertainment, United States, Jessi Colter, Billboard, Songwriter | 3 Comments »
Image: I made this one.
I found Aparta today. They are slick, and they have a very nice video.
They claim the ability to publish eBooks, but I’m guessing they are not for the likes of you and me. For one thing, they do not display pricing anywhere I could find on their site.
Image: Aptara.com
That said, I would like to share their informative little video.
Unfortunately I could not embed it, so please follow the link…
Then come back and tell me what you think.
Filed under: Ideas and Inspiration, Somebody Asked Me, Support for Writers | Tagged: Apple, Publishing, Business, Blogosphere, Google, Electronic, E-book, Amazon Kindle, Publishing and Printing | 3 Comments »
Reflex, n.
Any automatic, unthinking, often habitual behavior or response.
When the ball came at him out of nowhere, he caught it by reflex.
Alternate usage:
“Did you see Zeke’s arm just then?”
“No, why?”
“Just watch. Hey! Zeke! Reflex your arm, will you?”
How will you use reflex in a sentence today?
Filed under: Humor, Quote, Somebody Asked Me, Support for Writers, Vocabulary | Tagged: Grammar, Diction, Vocabluary, Use in a sentence, Reflex | 3 Comments »
We’re going through a chrysalis stage here at UhW.
We’ve looked at eBooks and self-publishing, and the changes in the world of book publishing.
It’s true, I fear, that the days of guts and glory in writing are behind us. Those wonderful days when you could be discovered in a newspaper article or a short story in a cheap magazine are gone. I fear that we must now take care of the details ourselves, we must be our own editor, our own public relations office, and in some cases we must be our own publisher.
Well, that sucks. It’s what’s so. It’s also, “so, what?”
If we must have a web presence to be noticed, so be it. If we must get on the many social media sites to self-promote, well, it’s a pain, but then again, so, what?
Fine. Granted we must be our own cheering squad. I don’t like it, but once again, so, what?
Image: pcwin.com
So what? Let me tell you what’s so. The good—and bad—side of this change in the way things are is that we have full control. Good because it comes out exactly the way we envision it. Bad because if it fails, the only person we can blame is the one we see in the mirror.
This means that we must read each page, over and over, find every single error, find every bit of nonsense, every musket on the hearth that we forgot to take down and fire, clean up every hint and foreshadow.
It means we have to work, and work hard. No longer can we just do the writing. No longer can we expect a high-paid (but not by us) editor to check our logic, check our facts, even check our damn punctuation. Nope. It’s down to us.
Today’s challenge is to just get the word. Get comfortable with it if you can, but in any event, get the word.
The news is good and bad in a single pass… and I guess that’s OK.
Actually, it doesn’t matter if it is OK or not. It is still what’s so.
Oh, and it’s also, still, so what?
Your thoughts?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Short Story, Editing, Publishing, Business, Daily writing challenge, Electronic, Writers Resources, E-book, Publishing and Printing | 3 Comments »
Image: Guilty as Charged
“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader—not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.“
–E.L. Doctorow
Filed under: Guest Speaker, Quote, Shout-Outs!, Support for Writers, Writing Philosophy | Tagged: Quote, Daily "huh?", L.E. Doctorow | 3 Comments »
Robin Luke wrote and recorded Susie Darlin’ in 1958 while living in Hawaii. This song made it to #5 on the charts, but Luke was unable to recreate the magic that made this particular song a hit. He was a one-hit wonder.
The public is fickle, folks. Be it music, acting or…erm… writing books.
In any event, I give you Robin Luke, and Susie Darlin’
Filed under: Lyrical Moments, Quote, Shout-Outs! | Tagged: Writing, Musical note, Robin Luke, Susie Darlin, Hawaii, One-hit wonder | Leave a Comment »
Image: I made this one.
Before I start whining about how much work it has been so far to pull in the kinds of information we all need if we are to create and distribute (or, dare I say, sell?) eBooks, I have to admit that my daily schedule has expanded considerably.
No. Wait a minute. Shouldn’t a system that purports to be easy actually BE easy? Is there any real reason that the techniques, the tricks of the trade, should be so hard to discern? No, I say! And no again!
But wait, you say, aren’t you supposed to be the expert? Isn’t that why I come to UphillWriting? Heh. I don’t think so. My guess is you come to see what flavor of fool I’ll make of myself next.
Be that as it may, allow me to remind you, dear reader, that I am new to this particular study, and that you may know more about this than I do… and if that is the case, please jump in and comment. Let us all know what you know.
Hopefully we will continue to learn together. Here’s what I’ve pulled together so far today:
Image: CreateSpace.com
Amazon‘s CreateSpace is expensive, depending on how much of their services you want to use. Their prices range from $299 to $4999, and that brings me back to my dislike for the cost of publishing. I still think they should pay me, not the other way around. Understand that eBooks are somewhere in that range, but most of these numbers include POD (Print On Demand) publishing. I am convinced that once you get your “FREE” consultation you will have stars in your eyes and will be ready to hock the kids to get the money.
In the days to come I intend to find out more about CreateSpace, and its closest competitor, Lightning Source.In the meantime, work on the CONTENT of your eBook. Content is, after all, what it is all about.
Filed under: Ideas and Inspiration, Innovation, Somebody Asked Me, Support for Writers, Technology, Uncategorized | Tagged: Publishing, Business, Blogosphere, E-book, Publishing and Printing, Amazon.com, Print on demand, Lightning Source, Self-Publishing | 2 Comments »
Carapace, n.
A bony or chitinous shield, test, or shell covering some or all of the dorsal part of an animal, as of a turtle.
The alien creature was encased in a sort of chitinous carapace.
Alternate usage:
“So, what is the plan for the race?”
“Keep your carapace with the other until the last quarter lap, then pour it on!”
How will you use carapace in a sentence today?
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Grammar, Diction, Vocabulary, Use in a sentence, Recreation, Carapace, Turtle, Chitin | Leave a Comment »
Why is it that sometimes things that are not real effect us in very real, visceral ways?
It is the willing suspension of disbelief, and it gets us every time. We experience it in all forms of media, particularly in fictional situations, but if we look at it clearly, we might find we suspend our disbelief in situations that we hold to be true, real, and important. Like politics, for example. Any political historian will have noticed that as far back as you care to go, there is very little reality between promises made on the campaign trail, and those that are kept.
Still, we willingly suspend disbelief every day. We do it when we read a novel, or watch TV or go to a movie. We do it when people we love tell us bald-faced lies, and we do not want to come to grips with the reality of the situation.
The question at hand is this: why do we so easily become emotionally involved with characters on a screen or on a page? We do not believe—not really—that tragedies portrayed in fiction are real, and yet we have the quickening of the breath, the pounding of the heart. How can this happen when we know what we are perceiving is not real?
I think it is not so much because we believe it is real, but rather because the situation is a coded representation of anger, sadness, happiness, sorrow and the like. In visual media the code is embedded in facial expression, tone of voice, a culturally meaningful choice of vocabulary. In print media it is much more difficult to display… isn’t it?
I know I’ve been well and truly pulled into a book when I find myself arguing with the author, or entreating a character to make a different decision. Another example is in movies or TV shows when I find myself hating an actor—not because he or she was a bad actor, rather because they were good enough to elicit that reaction from me.
I think the bottom line is that we are physically removed from the story, but psychologically involved. Fiction helps remove us from our “drab” existence, even if to another our existence is anything but drab. Imagination outstrips reality. I think our ability to suspend disbelief is directly related to our ability to dream.
Today’s challenge is to look around. See what makes your breath catch in the world around you. See what angers, entrances, saddens, or makes you happy. My guess is you will find you can be much easier made to weep quietly to yourself than to feel good about a character or situation, but that may be an overstatement.
Touch on what touches you. No writing for this challenge. For this one, it is all experience.
Your thoughts?
Filed under: Ideas and Inspiration, Lyrical Moments, Somebody Asked Me, Support for Writers | Tagged: Television, Film, Fiction, Actor, Suspension of disbelief, Daily writing challenge, Arts, Willing suspension of disbelief | 2 Comments »
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