Bloggle

Thirteen years of coffee and commentary. Tridecaphobes, beware.

Category Archives: Arts & Letters

March 11, 2013
by deCadmus
0 comments

“Sprinkling the Internet on a bad business model does not magically make it a good business model. It merely means that the people who are pursuing a bad business model are hoping you are credulous enough to believe that being electronic is space-age zoomy and awesome and there is no possible way this brilliant business plan could ever fail. Or even worse, that they believe that being electronic means all these things, which means they are credulous. Which is not a very good thing to have as the basis of one’s business model.”

– John Scalzi

John’s remarks here are on the matter of “electronic publishing” imprints endeavoring to leverage (bully, swindle) naive new writers into signing egregious contracts that a) offer no advances and b) make money for publishers before they’d pay a dime to authors.

I like the quote, because even without Scalzi’s specific and intended context, it reads every bit as true.

Amanda Palmer’s Viral TED Talk: The Art of Asking

March 7, 2013 by deCadmus | 2 Comments

I watched Amanda Palmer’s TED talk — a talk about fairness, and reciprocity, and art — and was struck by just how deeply I miss making connections with people as a performer… kinetic, buzzing, random, wholly improbable and sometimes strange interactions. And I realized (or remembered) how very much trust plays a role in making the whole thing work.

Watch. Enjoy. And Amanda… thank-you.

February 23, 2013
by deCadmus
0 comments

“No matter your genre, lack of playfulness can drain the creativity out of your writing faster than a leaky bathtub drains chocolate milk and Lucky Charms. The best way to introduce more childlike fun to your writing is to follow Shakespeare’s advice: ‘The play’s the thing.’ Of course, he meant this in another context—but this article is about taking things out of context, so go for it! Play with your children or your pets. Take an improv class. Dance badly to your favorite music. Take recess instead of a coffee break. Just make sure your inner 5-year-old has a chance to play at least once a day, and even more often when you’re facing a writing deadline.”

The contents of comment SPAM I received this week. So far as advice goes, I like it, though I don’t see any reason you couldn’t have your coffee and recess, too.

February 5, 2013
by deCadmus
0 comments

“When people keep shitting on your lawn, might as well plant flowers. Which is to say, make other, better things out of that otherwise useless pile of shit. If they didn’t want me to do that, why did they keep giving me shit?”

– Author John Scalzi, in describing his wildly successful “Counteract a Bigot” drive.

(Get the whole story at The Guardian.)