a poll on free online content.

I have an informal poll for you this morning.
How do you feel about writers releasing their material online as "patronage-ware"? (That’s what I call it when someone puts up a story or novel without requiring payment for the download, while asking people to pay whatever they think their entertainment was worth to them.)
Have you/would you [...]

want. oh, yes. do want.

The latest thing on my “want” list:

That’s a Pelikan fountain pen, more specifically the M400 in the Special Edition “Brown Tortoise” pattern.
That right there is a writing instrument.  (For those curious about price: it’s just north of $200 from most Pelikan dealers.)
Pelikans are typical German engineering: conservatively styled, extremely well designed, and meticulously put together.  [...]

a winner is you!

I finally picked a callsign for my pilot.
As reader Dirk already predicted, I went through the entire list of entries, and then made up my own.  However, I got the idea for my pilot’s callsign after reading formerflyer’s very comprehensive comment, so I am declaring him the winner.
You didn’t have all the information—my pilot’s last [...]

first of novembah.

Happy November! Today marks the first day of NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month.
I won’t be participating, since I’m a perennial participant in the MaNoWriYe, the Marko Novel Writing Year, which starts anew every time about three weeks after I write “THE END” at the bottom of a finished novel.  For those of you NaNoWriMo’ing [...]

a contest. with free stuff.

I’ve been trying to come up with a fitting pilot call sign for a major character from my Great Big Military SF Opus.  So far, she’s wearing a temporary call sign, but I want something different.
Therefore, I’ll have a little contest on this here Interblog.  Anyone can enter, but the pilots and former military types [...]

hooked on paper.

Paper stash in bottom desk drawer:

(7) large Piccadilly unlined notebooks, 240 pages each
(3) large Piccadilly Primo lined journals, 288 pages each
(2) medium Piccadilly Primo lined journals, 288 pages each
(4) medium Piccadilly unlined notebooks, 240 pages each
(2) medium Piccadilly graph notebooks, 240 pages each
Total pages = 4,560
Word count needed to fill up those pages at [...]

writing instrument.

Here’s some penography that I think turned out okay, considering my technical limitations (namely a $80 Kodak point-and-drool digital camera.)
The pen is a Pelikan M205 blue demonstrator.  You can see the black ink sloshing around in the reservoir.  I’m writing on unlined large Piccadilly notebooks.  The Pelikan is part of my small rotation of working [...]

your recommended weekly dose of fairytales.

While we’re on the subject of endorsements, I have another one for you on this fine Tuesday.
Sometimes, I come across a writer who makes me not only stand in awe at their talent, but also makes me realize just how much more I have to learn before I can say that I have a good [...]

obscure special skill #288.

I have the dubious and almost entirely useless ability to write straight lines and keep neat margins in unlined A4-sized notebooks.
(No, I don’t use guide sheets.  It’s just a natural skill, I suppose.  I’d trade it in a flash for the ability to carry a tune, or dance without looking like Frankenstein’s monster [...]

words to sentences to paragraphs. repeat until finished.

I’ve got nothing but work on my mind today, so all you’ll get this evening is a quick list of writing-related bullet points, the better to put you into a deep sleep with.

The sequel to Big Damn Military SF Novel (a.k.a. “Terms of Enlistment”)is underway and zipping right along.  I’m in the middle of Chapter [...]