poetically challenged

I actually am not much of a detail person, and usually hate taking time to look into all of this kind of thing.  But it seems to me that it has been a very good exercise this time around, and it is helping my work to take better shape.  It is looking better, at the moment (though there is still a bit more work to do).  Most importantly, it helps get it all organized in my head when it is more orderly on my desk.

It isn't my favorite part of writing, but the discipline is well worth the time invested.

I will be the featured poet in the November 2008 issue of Scifaikuest.  I just got a letter from the editor there asking if I would be willing to be the featured poet... and of course said "YESSSSS!!!!!!"

I should have about 8-10 poems appearing in the November issue of the magazine.  I'll post a link here when it is out, if anyone is interested in purchasing it.

If one keeps writing well, it is funny what can happen.  I didn't write that article in hopes that it would get any wider circulation than what it sees on my blog.  It's nice that someone else came across it and wants to publish it on her site.  And, best of all, she is going to send me a copy of the play reviewed there!

Can't beat that, can you?  Free books!

If you are looking to create some buzz about your site, stop in to have a look at Sponsored Reviews.  If you are a blogger, you can sign up to do reviews too.

I don't think it is actually very likely to happen, but not because I think ebooks will be a flop.  In fact, I fully expect ebooks to get to be more and more popular over time, with better and better technology and more choices available.  I think they will, ultimately, offer us one more choice.

A day might come when people don't like using paper books at all, I guess.  But I think it is a very, very long time away, if it does come.   In my lifetime, I think that paper-based books will always be preferred by a large segment of the population.

I know that there are arguments that papyrus, stone tablets, etc., all eventually went by the wayside in preference for paper books, and that paper books will eventually likewise make way for e-books.  That is true, I suppose.  But I suspect it will be a much slower process now.  Mostly, I think this is because such a large portion of the world's population is now educated, and uses paper books regularly.  Unlike in the past where reading was an activity for the select few, reading today is something nearly everyone does.  That will make for a much slower change to e-books than any change that has happened in the past, I think.

At any rate, technology is quickly catching up, and ebooks are, I think, here to stay.

I've also found I don't really need much more for a good "writing prompt" than a dictionary.  Just flipping through and considering the words and their relationships to one another is enough to get the juices flowing.  In addition, a dictionary (or even a thesaurus) can help find a better word than the one that might have me stumped while writing.

I do sometimes use online dictionaries, but there's really nothing like the feel of a good, heavy volume full of words to get me ready to spend the day writing.