pippychick

Found on Twitter, and (I thought) worthy of reproducing here: How to be a Writer – Terry Pratchett I get asked all the time, in letters and emails and questions from the floor: “Can you give me a few tips about being a writer?” And you sense that gleam in the eye, the hope that somehow, this time, you'll drop your guard and hand over the map to the Holy Grail or, preferably, its URL. I detect, now, a slightly worrying edge to all this, a hint of indignation that grammar, spelling and punctuation have a part to play (“Don't publishers have people to do all that?” was one response) and that the universe is remiss in not making allowance for the fact that you don't have the time. So, instead, I give tips on how to be a professional boxer. A good diet is essential, of course, as is a daily regime of exercise. Pay attention to your footwork, it will often get you out of trouble. Go down to the gym every day – every day of your life that finds you waking up capable of standing. Take every opportunity to watch a good professional fight. In fact watch as many bouts as you can, because you can even learn something from the fighters who get it wrong. Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. And don't forget the diet and the exercise and the roadwork. Got it? Well, becoming a writer is basically exactly the same thing, except that it isn't about boxing. It's as simple as that.

We've lost a good 'un today. From the BBC: Fantasy author Sir Terry Pratchett has died aged 66, having had Alzheimer's disease for eight years. From Terry Pratchett (posted on his twitter): "AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER," it stated. "Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night." "The End". *sad sigh*

I think a swat or two over clothing is acceptable, and necessary in dangerous situations, but anything above that which involves planning, preparation, bare skin, implements etc is abuse in my book. It never happened to me, although my mother had this way of grabbing your arm, pushing your sleeve up, and slapping you hard on the forearm ten or twelve times in rapid succession. To this day I still remember how much that hurt. Mostly, when they wanted to punish me for something or other, they kept me away from my books.

This is absolutely wonderful - Oropher is exactly how I imagined him! That generous curve of his lips is so spot on. I love Elrond here too. You have made him a little more delicate in his features than Oropher, but he still has a masculine jawline. I am so honoured that you used my little story as inspiration for your brilliant art. And thank you for your comments too. I am very glad you have enjoyed reading so far!

I may take off with this one. Give me a week or two...

I've got to admit, I like praise and admiration (who doesn't?), and I like concrit just as much really, once I've had time to think about it. But... The reviews I adore are those that are a clear emotional response to what I've written. They're not always "good" reviews, since I have been known to write some rather horrific things. My favourite ever was quite long and the reviewer was sorry they had read the story, because they couldn't get it out of their mind, but they did acknowledge they'd been warned, and decided to ignore it, and then were subsequently afflicted by the horror and the atmosphere. *nods* I like those kind. It meant I did the job right for that person, regardless whether they "enjoyed" it or not. Likewise, when I've written things I consider to be comedies, and someone says they laughed. They're good, too. I suppose what I'm saying is that for me, the aim of all writing is to make the reader feel things, and if I get some indication I did that accurately, I'm really happy.

Somewhere my mother has a pile of school exercise books from when I was around seven or eight, full of stories about alien abduction and criminal overuse of the word 'suddenly' Every now and again, an anguished cry echoes through England as I lose access to another hard drive, though to be fair it's been a few years since the last time that happened. I've lost more work than I can bring to mind, and more than I want to remember, but I do still mourn the loss of an SPN/Torchwood crossover I was working on years ago that I never posted.

...Eight, Nine, Ten Thank you for your comments I think when true AI comes along, we'll have some tough questions to answer on what it means to be human.

I'll just point out here that everyone should buy this book. It's got everything you want. It has all the best bits of sci-fi, fantasy, magic, m/m romance, and it's a great story! Oh - and there's witches! And snow! It's a wonderful read, and if you haven't read the first one - where have you been? You really should do that right now.

No, I don't agree with it. A lot of those turns of phrase are removed from their context, which makes all the difference. In fact, I'm of half a mind to write a series featuring an item from that list every time. Also, because I saw it and it bugged me. This. Please don't do it. If you use numbers in fiction, write them out. i.e. He was six feet tall and two-hundred and fifty pounds. It would also be better to say he weighed two-hundred and fifty pounds. Ok... morning rant over. Sorry about that. In my own defence, it's early, I have work and the painkillers haven't kicked in yet.

Chapter Four If you read - enjoy!

I read a Guy N. Smith novel that went a bit like that once. The eighties were great for horror. Now... *growls and grumbles*

Chapter Three is finally up! Hurray! If you read, I hope you enjoy it.

Thank you, Bronxwench! I'm so glad you think I'm writing Walter's mental illness right. I'd say he has psychotic moments, probably brought on by isolation and previous (and current) use of psychedelic drugs. He's got a host of other problems that are mostly to do with being inappropriate around others and ignorance of others' boundaries. I know there was an “undamaged” Walter once, but he has had little parts of his brain removed, and given what we see in the show (ie he's still a genius), I'm writing him up as kind of high-functioning autistic/Aspergers rather than schizophrenic, or mood disordered. But they do all kind of coincide, so I might throw a bit of those things in at various points. But, anyway, sorry for the tl;dr. Yeah, he's basically not very well. Hopefully, I won't offend anyone. Ha... you should check out some of Walter's funnier moments. I can only hope to emulate the writers' and John Noble's comic genius. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALthKN5Fwes

Author: pippychick Title: Butterfly Summary: Another mysterious death. Another case for Fringe. Something strange is going on in the lab, but only two people really notice. Warnings: Angst, HJ, M/F, Other, S&M, WIP Yes, I am writing again. This time it's a much lighter fanfic, with Walter and Astrid from Fringe. I can't believe that more people don't see Walter/Astrid. I have a mission to make people see it... or, at least the ones who are interested. Later chapters will be graphic, and sometimes kinky. Anyway, chapters one and two are up... enjoy! If you read, please let me know what you think. Thanks!

Do we have any members from Scotland? Looks like everyone is panicking since a recent poll showed the Yes campaign is finally in the lead, though I can't say I blame you Scotland. If wonderful, unwaveringly socialist Scotland leaves the union, what happens with the rest of us? Will it be a permanent tory government, or will something have to give? I'm not sure, but I don't think it's going to be very pretty. The TUC secretary or someone was just warning everyone about the re-emergence of a Downton Abbey style society here, before the BBC News channel cut her off in order to tell us about the Duchess of Cambridge being pregnant again. You couldn't make it up. I wonder if we'll go back to the days of the industrial north against the well-to-do south? Minus the actual industries, of course. I still can't blame you if you leave. *sighs* Where's that website gone that was all about Independence for Yorkshire...? Hmm... perhaps we could team up with Wales...

I'm really, so sorry, pittwitch

Was stumbling around the internet and came across this via a blog that I follow: Start Writing Fiction It's run by the Open University. Not only is it free, it appears there are no country restrictions. The course starts in October.

Done... and tweeted, and retweeted a bit by others.