The Play Is The Thing

Step 1: You write the best goddamn play

Step 2: You send it to the BBC

Step 3: You win the Contest

Step 4: In an interview to the New Yorker, you say, "I would like to thank my mother, God and my trusted laptop. But mainly, I want to thank Blogolepsy. I thank them with all my heart."

Step 5: You send us half the prize money.

Suddenly

A quick follow up to the Elmore Leonard essay. You know that bit about not using 'suddenly'? Here, courtesy of the Paris Review, is a striking demonstration of just what that's so important by the ever delightful Billy Collins.

The Future, In Just Six Words

Never got past the first page of first book in the Foundation series? Then you will love Six-word Sci-Fi that appears on Wired.

Some excerpts:

We kissed. She melted. Mop please!
- James Patrick Kelly

Lie detector eyeglasses perfected: Civilization collapses.
- Richard Powers

(Via BoingBoing)

Feel free to pen your petite SF masterpiece in the commentspace. (Story-lines involving an evil computer that runs on Windows Vista will be automatically disqualified.)

Well, That Explains Everything

The Dark Knight, deconstructed - in a hand-drawn comic strip, not a dull, 3-hour, $200 million flick.

Easy on the Hooptedoodle

These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain
invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather than tell
what's taking place in the story. If you have a facility for language
and imagery and the sound of your voice pleases you, invisibility is
not what you are after, and you can skip the rules. Still, you might
look them over.

From an old favourite Elmore Leonard essay, a part of the NYT's Writers on Writing series. Subscription required, I'm afraid.

How do they kill thee? Let me count the ways

From the Spring 2006 Issue of Ploughshares, this fascinating catalogue of Rock Deaths by Jeff Fallis.


Look carefully, and you might just see a pattern.