Matt Dean

"I believe that music is a force in itself. It is there and it needs an outlet, a medium. In a way,..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:43:45 -0400

“I believe that music is a force in itself. It is there and it needs an outlet, a medium. In a way, we are just the medium.”

- Maynard James Keenan (via ampliflyahhhh)

"Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences...."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:41:10 -0400

““Stop thinking about art works as objects, and start thinking about them as triggers for experiences. (Roy Ascott’s phrase.) That solves a lot of problems: we don’t have to argue whether photographs are art, or whether performances are art, or whether Carl Andre’s bricks or Andrew Serranos’s piss or Little Richard’s ‘Long Tall Sally’ are art, because we say, ‘Art is something that happens, a process, not a quality, and all sorts of things can make it happen.’ … [W]hat makes a work of art ‘good’ for you is not something that is already ‘inside’ it, but something that happens inside you — so the value of the work lies in the degree to which it can help you have the kind of experience that you call art.””

- Brian Eno (via jessiethatcher)

I could reblog/post this every day as a constant reminder.

(via notational)

"There is a language older by far and deeper than words. It is the language of bodies, of body on..."

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:40:07 -0400

“There is a language older by far and deeper than words. It is the language of bodies, of body on body, wind on snow, rain on trees, wave on stone. It is the language of dream, gesture, symbol, memory. We have forgotten this language. We do not even remember that it exists.”

- A Language Older Than Words, Derrick Jensen (via ampliflyahhhh)

maxsilvestri: I made a video with Birchbox Man with 5 easy tips...

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:59:40 -0400

maxsilvestri:

I made a video with Birchbox Man with 5 easy tips on how to be a grown-up. This is something I’m very qualified to talk about.

Honestly, most excited to work in a cameo from my late 90’s promotional HBO throw pillow, easily my most prized possession.

arpeggia: Maurice Ravel - Miroirs No. 4. Alborada del...

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:50:21 -0400

arpeggia:

Maurice Ravel - Miroirs No. 4. Alborada del gracioso
performed by Dinu Lipatti (piano)

"Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 22:48:51 -0400

“Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is only understood if it’s to rise to the top of some imaginary ladder of success. Someone who takes an undemanding job because it affords him the time to pursue other interests and activities is considered a flake. A person who abandons a career in order to stay home and raise children is considered not to be living up to his potential-as if a job title and salary are the sole measure of human worth. You’ll be told in a hundred ways, some subtle and some not, to keep climbing, and never be satisfied with where you are, who you are, and what you’re doing. There are a million ways to sell yourself out, and I guarantee you’ll hear about them.”

- Bill Watterson (via mikekarnell)

nevver: What we’re reading

Tue, 21 May 2013 17:01:14 -0400

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

Ourit Ben-Haim

nevver:

What we’re reading

jillswriting: amandaonwriting: A Writer’s Rule Book From...

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:56:08 -0400

jillswriting:

amandaonwriting:

A Writer’s Rule Book

From Hunter’s Writing

I like this.

“Cut the last paragraph of every chapter.” Intriguing.

That paragraph is usually intended to go out on a high note. I bet more than a third of the time it overshoots the mark.

"Just as the moving mists and clouds adopt the most diverse shapes in constant integration, diffusion..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 16:49:48 -0400

“Just as the moving mists and clouds adopt the most diverse shapes in constant integration, diffusion and re-formation, thus the moving voices in music result in constantly changing harmonies.”

- Ernst “the world’s most forgotten composer” Toch (via melophobic)

"What is it in us that lives in the past and longs for the future, or lives in the future and longs..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 02:03:31 -0400

“What is it in us that lives in the past and longs for the future, or lives in the future and longs for the past? And what does it matter when light enters the room where a child sleeps and the waking mother, opening her eyes, wishes more than anything to be unwakened by what she cannot name?”

- Mark Strand, from “No Words Can Describe It” (via awritersruminations)

letsbuildahome-fr: Chichen Itza at Night” by Alex Korolkovas

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:24:19 -0400

letsbuildahome-fr:

Chichen Itza at Night” by Alex Korolkovas

musicalexploits: A piece for a journey -Symphony no. 8...

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:42:35 -0400

musicalexploits:

A piece for a journey

-Symphony no. 8 unfinished, Schubert

strandbooks: Underlined passage, Let the Great World Spin by...

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:27:19 -0400

strandbooks:

Underlined passage, Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.

astrodidact: Wow. I will never get tired of seeing our galaxy...

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:22:23 -0400

astrodidact:

Wow. I will never get tired of seeing our galaxy in this way. Awe-inspiring is an understatement.

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:23:55 -0400

Photo

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:23:44 -0400

victorian-gothic: Some of my favourite composer quotesIf you...

Tue, 14 May 2013 16:07:03 -0400

victorian-gothic:

Some of my favourite composer quotes

If you reblog please leave the source in place, thank you

WriteWorld: "Why?" She said questioningly

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:34:39 -0400

WriteWorld: "Why?" She said questioningly:

referenceforwriters:

I really really really want to know why. Why do people say we can’t use adverbs? I’ve read books and they use adverbs. What’s with adverbs really? By the way, i love you blog—it’s been said many times already but there’s nothing else I could do to make you happy but know it. - drowningchimes

Do not believe anything that tells you you can’t use this or that in your writing. There is not, by any means, a right way to write. You can use adverbs in your writing. Adverbs are a fundamental part of speech, no different than any other.

The problem comes when people use them a lot. When you use any word or type of word continuously, it shows. It gets repetitive. It gets annoying. They also happen to be the part of speech most likely to clutter your sentence to no avail. They can weaken your prose:

They can be reduntant. E.g: “I hate these idiots!” He yelled angrily. You have a strong verb right here, no need to use “angrily”, I got the idea he was angry.

They can prop up a weak verb. Let’s take a look at “to boldly go”. Okay, split infinitive. What I mean is that just saying “to go” sorta sounds bland. You may think the adverb is necessary. But no. The verb just happens to be weak, generic, bland. How about replacing the verb? “To venture”, “To explore”. These verbs are more specific, more evocative so to speak.

The speech tags deal. We go back to talking about “said”. Instead of picking some pompous word to replace said, we spice it up with an adverb. This is often (yet, not always) unecessary. Most of the time, you can let the dialogue speak for itself. Or you can use more things to explain how the characters are saying it, if it’s not clear. “I am dying here!” Kyle waved his arms in the air, trying to make his friends notice him.

You (probably are) telling instead of showing.

Before using an adverb, you can ask yourself these questions:

1) Does it change the word it modifies? Does it make the verb or adjective mean something drastically different?

2) Does it convey some vital piece of information in a way that’s better or more evocative than real description or a stronger verb by itself?

It’s a thing on style, however. If you like to use lots of adverbs, and feel like they’re necessary, go for it.

In the end, yes, books have adverbs. You can use adverbs. Don’t let anyone tell you you can’t. Do ask yourself if the message you’re trying to get across with your writing is being sent the best way it can be.

-Alex

This.

"If given the opportunity, meet your idols and gush like the village idiot. Some of them are still..."

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:08:18 -0400

“If given the opportunity, meet your idols and gush like the village idiot. Some of them are still people and like to be reminded why their publicists dragged them to New York.”

- BEA tips from Shelf Awareness (via rachelfershleiser)

Love this tip. I gush at my idols whenever possible. Everyone likes to hear that their work has made an impression. And these are writers, after all, who almost never get recognized on the street. Give them some glory!

(via emmastraub)

Huh. I’ve always lived in mortal fear of gushing too much. Maybe it’s because I burst into tears when I met Tom Robbins, the primary literary idol of my 20s. AWK-WARD.

motivation for moving beyond your writing habits: Resources for finding literary agents

Tue, 14 May 2013 15:06:43 -0400

motivation for moving beyond your writing habits: Resources for finding literary agents:

keyboardsmashwriters:

It’s always a good idea to begin your research as early as you can, because A LOT is still not enough. When you round up your data, make sure you check out every website, twitter, or other networking site an agency might have.

To jump-start your research, here are all the resources I’ve compiled over the process of my own querying journeys (also, these sites are free, and a few of them have donation pages or additional services if you do find them helpful):

Agent Query — is a great website with a database of agents. AQ also has additional resources like how to submit to a literary agent and how to write a query.

Query Tracker — is updated quickly, especially when agents close to submissions for periods of time. QT has individual message boards for each agent page so writers who are querying can see approximate and recent response times that other writers are getting. Additionally, agent pages also have graphs and lists of clients and other useful things.

Absolute Write — is a forum for writers that has a whole branch for members to discuss agents, response times, goings-on, so on and so forth. Other helpful threads include workshopping chapters and queries — which, if you’re fairly new to querying, is highly recommended.

Literary Rambles — is a blog run by Casey McCormick and Natalie Aguirre, and they post really sweet, in-depth profiles and blurbs from interviews of literary agents in the YA (young adult), MG (middle grade), PB (picture books) and CB (chapter book) realms.

Writer Beware — is sponsored by the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America) with support from the MWA (Mystery Writers of America). They update with publishing scams and schemes and traps with advice on how to spot and avoid them. They also have a blog and a facebook page.

What to do when you’ve finished your manuscript — is advice I put together to help prepare writers to prepare their manuscripts and submission needs. Many writers begin querying before they’re ready.

Avoiding publishing scams — another quick tidbit of advice on steeling oneself against the temptation of “too good to be true” offers. The aforementioned sites are linked here as well.