editing
Prescriptivists Proscribed
By mcd on August 30th, 2008 at 10:30pm ()Via Language Log and also Universal Hub: a grammar vigilante from Somerville and his accomplice were fined and banned from the national park system after editing a historic sign. The Arizona Republic reported last week that
Jeff Michael Deck, 28, of Somerville, Mass., and Benjamin Douglas Herson, 28, of Virginia Beach, Va., pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Flagstaff after damaging a rare, hand-painted sign in Grand Canyon National Park.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Read more
The Science of Star Wars
By mcd on August 27th, 2008 at 01:37pm ()Via a mailing list: BoingBoing reposts a brief excerpt from The Science of Star Wars by Jeanne Cavelos, my teacher from Odyssey.
Thus it seems the lasers we have today would be capable of doing many of the things we see in Star Wars. We could injure or kill people; we could burn structures or melt holes in walls; we could destroy targeted areas of spaceships, assuming we could keep a beam on them for long enough. The main difference between Star Wars lasers and ours is the size.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Read more
Odyssey 2007
By mcd on March 08th, 2007 at 10:17pm ()The application deadline for Odyssey 2007 is approaching:
Odyssey is an intensive six-week workshop for writers of fantasy, science fiction, and horror held each summer at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Developing writers aged 17-65 apply from all over the world. Sixteen are admitted, and over 50% of graduates go on to be published.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Read more
Crusie/Mayer 2007 Online Workshop
By mcd on February 18th, 2007 at 10:00pm ()I was trying to remember who Greg Donegan really was, and Wikipedia led me to his real self’s co-website with co-author Jennifer Crusie: CruiseMayer.com. Besides a fun overview of their collaboration, the site has a 2007 Online Writing Workshop. This month they’re covering point of view. See the syllabus for future topics.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
One-Pass Manuscript Revision
By mcd on June 28th, 2006 at 08:53pm ()Holly Lisle’s One-Pass Manuscript Revision: From First Draft to Last in One Cycle is aimed at those who revise too much:
And let’s debunk one bit of writer myth while we’re here: Doing a seventeenth revision on a project does not make a writer an artist or move him above the writer hoi polloi any more than dressing entirely in black or wearing tweed jackets with leather elbow patches or big, black drover coats.
I’d rather write a whole new novel than revise an old one, so I also found it inspiring. Now all I need is that dr
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Read more
Odyssey Critique Service
By mcd on April 22nd, 2006 at 09:41pm ()I didn’t blog the latest Grub St. F&SF workshop in time, but maybe this link will help aspiring writers: the Odyssey Critique Service is open for business.
The Odyssey Critique Service provides authors a method of receiving professional-level feedback done in accordance with Odyssey principles and with the thoroughness and depth for which Odyssey is known.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments
F&SF Workshop
By mcd on January 25th, 2006 at 04:27pm ()It’s not too late to register for Michael Burstein’s six-week Fantasy & Science Fiction workshop in Brookline. He’ll be starting next Monday, since this Monday was snowed out. You can find the details and an update in his LiveJournal.
- mcd's blog
- Login or register to post comments


