“The Eye of Argon” is generally considered to be the worst piece of writing every produced in English — but is that fair? Let’s talk about the history behind — and then do a live reading of — the iconic disaster, “The Eye of Argon.” And then let’s talk about what we can learn from it as writers.
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It’s really easy to get caught up in the emotional streams of creating, and that can be great — or destructive. Let’s talk through some common and predictable moods so we know they’re coming and know what to do with them.
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Networking! You’ve heard before how authors are colleagues, not competitors, and how we need to stick together to get ahead. That’s all true. But there are social conventions and best practices to ask for help, and knowing how to ask is as important as knowing what to ask.
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In this bonus episode, I welcome the fabulous ShyRedFox and SableAradia to explain the many features of World Anvil, a worldbuilding platform, for authors, from organization to content sharing to discovery.
Links mentioned in the stream:
World Anvil
Tutorials for a free account: http://www.twitch.tv/davinaandrawyn
Follow Amy Winters-Voss: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/liminal-chronicles-shyredfox/
Follow Diane Morrison: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/toysoldiersaga
Follow Laura’s Shard of Elan world: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/shard-of-elan
Zapier: http://zapier.com
Shard of Elan map: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/shard-of-elan/map/ce8e4469-ddcb-4ea3-bf91-23f899255480
Hacks & Help: https://www.worldanvil.com/w/hacks-and-help-shyredfox
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This week we welcome Emi Blaser to talk about metal-casting in historical and contemporary context for writers to use in historical or fantasy settings.
Hurstwic Viking iron smelting: http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/bog_iron.htm
Haunted scrambled eggs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHkMSHbdSJU
Emi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ivorivet
Emi on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ivorivet
Emi on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxr98SjSqK7pxkSf2MYZhxA
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This episode is on evaluating and handling negative feedback in a positive, productive way. Hint: It’s way more than, “Grow a thicker skin.” Negative feedback can hurt, but let’s talk about how to make it useful — or at least not harmful.
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Let’s talk about backups, passwords, to-do lists, and oh yeah, goals (but actionable ones!).
Mentioned:
LastPass | Authy | Dropbox | Onedrive | MS Sculpt ergonomic keyboard |
cheap vertical mouse | Trello
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For today’s field trip, we travel to Isla Floreana to explore the murders which may or may not have taken place. Another real life story to inspire you!
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We’re writers. Spreadsheets are from the other side of the office suite, and they’re scary.
That’s why I brought in a freakin’ spreadsheet wizard to help you tame and embrace them, to simplify and organize your writing career. All sales from all countries on one page, rendered to your home currency and prettified for quick reference? Done. Know at a glance what you spent on production of your last release and how near it is to paying for itself? Done. Know how your mailing list is growing compared to your social media? Done. Keep all your ad copy organized for quick repeats or changes? Done.
And this is a great chance to get set up before we meet with the fabulous Chris Morris, a CPA who specializes with creative entrepreneurs, on Dec 1 to talk about accounting for writers.
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There’s a lot of advice out there on using rewards to motivate your writing (especially during stretch events like NaNoWriMo). While keeping your motivation strong is a good idea, a lot of this advice is not terribly scientific, and it can be modified to be more effective.
Let’s talk about the difference between rewards and reinforcement, why we need to be proud of reaching a goal, and what to do when you tend to cheat and get your prize early.
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