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Interview: Weaponizer

Image by mojokingbee (http://mojokingbee.deviantart.com/)

This week’s guest post is an interview with the editor of online magazine Weaponizer (and general polymath) Bram E. Gieben, also known on the internet as Texture. 

He spoke to me about SF, online publishing and making a terrible discovery about Grant Morrison…

Can you describe Weaponizer for anyone that hasn’t come across it before?

Weaponizer publishes fiction online in several forms – flash fiction (stories under a thousand words), short stories (1000 – 8000 words), serial fiction (ongoing stories of novel or novella length), and webcomics. We also publish nonfiction articles and essays on everything from film to music to the occult.

Continue reading “Interview: Weaponizer” →

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Captain America vs. Science

Last night we saw Captain America, which was jam packed with SCIENCE.  Very unspecific science, admittedly (what was actually in Dr Erskine’s serum?  Other than a substantial quantity of schnapps), but science nonetheless. 

OK, maybe I’m overselling this.  It’s not science exactly, more a vague approximation of it.  Perpetrated by Dominic Cooper, of all people.  Seriously, of all the actors you could cast as a brilliant American inventor, you go for the dude from Mamma Mia who can’t do accents. Continue reading “Captain America vs. Science” →

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Science Fiction Brainstorm

Click to embiggen!

When in doubt, brainstorm.  Turns out I’ve sucked up a lot more sci-fi in my time than I first thought – not all of it entirely sensible.  Does anyone else out there remember The Tomorrow People?  The early 90s version featuring Todd from Neighbours, not the original 70s incarnation with Peter Davison.  The vaseline-edged corners of my mind remember it as being pretty good.

Anyhoo, having reminded myself I actually do have a reasonable amount of genre knowledge, I scribbled out several pages of plot and character ideas, and now some chapters are forthcoming.  Isn’t the creative process magical.

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Writing Science Fiction

You probably know the drill by now, dear reader.  It is the first of the month, so I am discarding book 7 like an old belt with no buckle and beginning afresh on book 8, my Sci-Fi opus.

I was provocatively poor at science in school, sitting Standard Grade Physics and Chemistry for no real reason that I can recall (I think most of my friends were doing it) and wishing later that I’d done Biology instead because at that level it seemed to involve a lot of writing, something I am good at, as opposed to learning equations, something I am bad at.  For this reason you will not be getting a hard sci fi book out of me, because any attempts to be technical will be about as convincing as John Yates in front of the Select Committee.  Furthermore I have the eternal lack of research problem, which always makes avoiding cliches a challenge.  Still, I haven’t let it stop me any other month and I shall persevere this time too. Continue reading “Writing Science Fiction” →

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Sci-Fi Suggestions

I have to go back to work tomorrow, after a full 12 days off.  That’s 12 whole days where I have not written a word of any of my 12 books. How apt.

There may come a time (I’m guessing Sunday) that I feel guilty as hell for such negligence, but right now I’m confident it was The Right Thing To Do – for my sanity and for the sake of the project. Plus:

LOOK HOW MANY BOOKS I READ IN THAT TIME!!

Admittedly four are aimed at young children, which I am not, and are very short.  Also I actually started One Good Turn quite some time ago, so technically only read half of it during the 12 day period… but the thought of having had the time to read six books makes me happy.

Now I must get back into the habit of writing them.

You may remember that the fast approaching month of August is dedicated to sci-fi, for which I have a concept that is actually rather dark, but potentially a bit good.  As ever I have yet to name any of the characters, and if you have any suggestions for classics of the genre I should have a look at please leave a comment (either containing a title or cliff notes on the text) below.

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Helpful Resources

Further to my Procrastination? post, I thought it only fair to put up some more links to interesting sites you can read on the internet instead of writing 12 books in 12 months.  I like to think that reading people’s websites is a bit like people watching, ergo totally like researching characterisation.

Well, I didn’t think of it like that til about ten seconds ago, but it sort of makes sense actually.  Anyway, get your eyeholes around the following:

Billygean – a very funny and open blog about living with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  The writing in this is excellent – there’s no sort of ‘oh, poor me’ stuff to make you feel uncomfortable, rather it’s warm and engaging and often very funny.

Pictures for Sad Children – webcomics.  Funny webcomics.

Dystopian Fuschia – a bit like my Daddy Long Legs site, this has all kinds of bits and pieces on it.  The focus is humorous comment on telly.  Not for those who like Russell Howard, though.

Hope you like these, and have a nice Easter weekend.  I will be writing a bit (1,747 words done so far today), but I’m not sure how much.  This is at least in part because I have Stuff To Do.

To elaborate, for no very good reason, tonight I’m heading out to the Cameo Cinema’s second night of horror (which will run from 11pm till around 7am tomorrow); then getting the train over to Fife tomorrow to have a picnic in the rain with my family.   Sleep is for the weak, after all.

Oh, and I’ll have to watch the first episode of Doctor Who anywhere between one and several times.  Well, those sci fi and fantasy novels are due any day now…

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