What I’m Reading
I am still working my way through How to Teach Physics to Your Dog, but I have finished Judge and posted a review here: http://margaretfisk.mmfcf.com/blog/?p=913.
I’m currently enjoying The Cardinal Rule by Cate Dermody (I finally got a hold of C.E. Murphy’s other series). This is more of a candy read than Judge so I don’t expect it to take two weeks :).
I also read a Holly Black short story (http://www.bscreview.com/2010/01/the-coldest-girl-in-coldtown-by-holly-black-short-story/) that packs a serious punch. Well worth the read.
Life
Note that most of my blogging has been contained in the Friday’s Interesting Links for a while, though it does mean I’ve been more regular in posting than I have for an age. However, if you are having difficulty coming up with posts, here’s an article that might help:
http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2010/01/blog-blocked.html
Science
I’ve been giving a class on non-verbal communication for writers, and am currently converting that into an e-book, so this article was an interesting look at another aspect: http://www.livescience.com/culture/negative-emotion-sounds-universally-understandable-100125.html
And a counter that shows cultural differences in non-verbal awareness:
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/100126_faces
It’s been too long since I posted a dinosaur link. A look at early feathered flight:
http://www.livescience.com/animals/dinosaur-birds-glided-trees-100125.html
Guess I can stop fighting my tendency to run toe first now:
http://www.livescience.com/animals/running-shoes-barefoot-running-100127.html
And there goes my excuse for getting a cherry red mustang:
http://www.livescience.com/culture/mid-life-crisis-myth-100127.html
Grammar
A comic look at the semicolon and how to use it correctly:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon
Writing
Tips for working on a deadline:
http://wrightwriter.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/9-things-ive-learned-about-working-to-a-deadline/
The anatomy of getting into the “flow”:
http://www.archetypewriting.com/articles/articles_ck/muse_block_ckFlowArticle.htm
This is something I’ve mentioned before (wrote a Vision article on), but from another perspective, why critiquers need to critique:
http://kidlit.com/2010/01/22/growing-a-thicker-skin/
Research
A list of definitive YA in the past 10 years. Useful for researching YA as a genre:
http://www.omnivoracious.com/2010/01/the-ya-decade.html
Short video about how gladiators trained and were injured:
http://science.discovery.com/videos/unearthing-ancient-secrets-weapons-of-gladiators.html
Cloth may have made a very effective armor, according to new research:
http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/linothorax-alexander-great-armor.html
A look at what steampunk is and what its roots are:
I’m with you on the toe-first thing. Good to know I’m not wrong! 😉
Yeah, well those original marathon runners couldn’t have been all wrong :).