Monthly Archives: June 2009

Jun 6 2009

Change is good, right?

by MJones

Lately, I can’t handle Firefox. I mean, I love the browser. I pretty much live in Firefox and if I have to use a site that only uses IE, I throw myself on the ground and scream and kick and cry. Seriously. You should see them stare at work.

So lately I can’t get it to work! It’s crashing on me just about hourly and I get NO information as to WHY. I’ll just be typing or surfing and POP! goes my browser. And it’s very annoying! I’m doing serious work here! Okay not really, playing with plug-ins for WordPress but still.

So I’m trying out Chrome. Again. I’m remembering when it first came out that it used to freeze up on me a lot and there is no google toolbar which–HI, google. Miss M here. Why do you not have your most popular add-on available for your browser? I don’t fully understand!

Anyway. I miss twitterfox and the google toolbar already, but I did find twitlet and some weird way to create a bookmark that will let you do a google search. For that matter, could I not just bring up www.google.com? No, no. Links, shawty. Links!

It’s sort of not the same. *sigh*

But “The Bourne Identity” is on. \o/

Categories: Random | 4 Comments »

Jun 4 2009

The Fun Train rolls on

by MJones

Advanced Fiction Writing Lesson #5: Setting, Theme, Detail, Research

Tonight’s lesson was relatively easy, in a way. Generally about setting and how it sets the mood and helps the theme along. And what helps the setting along is use of detail and doing your research. I have declared myself to be the Queen of Research. Not really. I just alwys need a realistic standpoint to come from, so I’ll look something up in a hot second.

So back to setting and detail– it’s something I think I am pretty good at, but not offhand and not all the time. And sometimes some well known authors irk their readers with overuse of descriptionary (is that a word? Is now) terms. I was just talking with a classmate about this and said that my mom cannot STAND to read Toni Morrison. She says she doesn’t want to read about all the hues of the flowers in bloom— get to the darn story!! I think a well written story, novel, memoir, is one that tells you just enough to paint the picture, and no more. I personally like to leave a little mystery.

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Categories: Authored Inspiration, Snips&Shorts, WIPs, Writers Write | 4 Comments »

Jun 3 2009

Mmmmm… I love the smell of new books

by MJones

Even if they’re digital, new books have a smell.

I love bookstores, because I love the smell of the paper that books are printed on. I love the stiffness of a new page, an uncracked binding, a smooth, unwrinkled cover. *warm fuzzies* I know book people know what I mean.

Digital books have a different feel. I use the Amazon Kindle app that works with the iPhone. I also use stanza and eReader but I mostly use the Kindle app. I love being able to drag 20 books around with me at a time. I love being able to read while waiting for the oil change, or while eating dinner (if the waitstaff will leave me ALONE. Its like a woman dining alone is the international signal for “she’s lonely, ask her how everything tastes 100 times’) or while taking a bath or—you know. That time when you’re “indisposed”. I wont admit to how many books I packed during my recent move that were in my bathroom. I like to pick up a book and open it to a random chapter and start reading. Even if I’ve read the book 100 times. I digress.

Digital books feel different. Smell different. Okay, not really but figuratively. The thing about Kindle is that there are no page numbers. So you have no idea where you are in the story. You never know when you’re almost done. Until you’re done. See, I have a bad habit of reading the ending first. And then starting at the beginning to see how the author got there. It’s a weird little game that it’s a little harder to play with Kindle. And frankly, it’s given me some great surprises– like at the end of Read the rest of this entry »

Categories: Authored Inspiration, Writers Read | Leave a Comment »

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