I’m struggling with flash fiction.
Well, ok, it’s not a titanic struggle, but still it’s giving me problems.
Now, there is not a proper definition of flash-fiction in terms of word-count: you’ll find a wild range of figures, from below 300 to up to 1000, and beyond.
But let’s say, for the sake of discussion, that I’m working on a 1000 words story.
It’s hard.
And what makes it hard is genre. Continue reading
Luck be a lady tonight
Luck let a gentleman see
Just how nice a dame you can be
I know the way you’ve treated other guys you’ve been with
Luck be a lady with me
I was roaming the web, the other night – too hot to sleep – and I chanced on a list, one of those lists that sometimes appear on blogs (I’m pretty positive I did something similar, too), about what you need to be a successful writer.
A successful writer’s list of essentials, if you will.
About one third of the way down, after inspiration and humility and don’t giving a damn about it all, the author of the list mentioned Luck as an indispensable trait for the successful writer.
And I’m not sure about that, really.
Now, it maybe comes from having been involved in statistical analysis for many years, but you see, I have a certain view of Luck.
Let me explain. Continue reading
No writing prompt today.
Yesterday I got news of the death of British actor Patrick Macnee, whose face – despite his long and varied career – will be forever connected with the character of John Steed in the 1960s TV series, The Avengers.
This really feels like a death in the family.
I grew up watching the Avengers. Continue reading
Just as an experiment, I’m trying to budget my trip to the Museo Egizio di Torino using various Internet resources.
As I am doing it I thought – why not write everything down and do a post on the subject.
Let’s see… I’m planning my outing for the end of this month or early the next, on a weekday to avoid the hordes of tourists. I’ll be traveling light – me, my camera, my cell-phone, a notebook and a bottle of water for the trip.
In this period Turin is also hosting the Holy Shroud exhibition, and the place will be crawling with people, while bars and eateries will touch up their prices to make more money1.
I hope for good weather – I’ll move early to spend the hottest hours of the day in the air conditioned rooms of the museum.
The idea is to travel light and spend as little as possible. Continue reading
Chillingly lucid analysis from Dean Wesley Smith
A few days ago I took part in a discussion about non-native speakers of English publishing in the English-language market.
Being one myself, the topic was quite interesting to me.
I heard opinions and ideas from a number of colleagues – from authors that are making a living on the English and have been for years (such as my friend Andrea Sfiligoi of Ganesha Games) to Italian-language bestselling author/publishers that have weighed pros and cons and decided to stay clear of the English market (such as my friend Alessandro Girola) to people that are still observing and making plans.
As I was listening, I collected a series of myths that in my opinion are widely circulated and accepted, but deserve some deeper consideration, based on my limited experience.
Here they go… Continue reading
So it’s summer, and I’ll be spending a lot of my (little) free time reading Tim Severin.
In case you missed him, Severin is an award-winning explorer, traveler and writer who specialized in tracing the steps of famous historical and literary voyagers.
Severin is one of my all-time icons (together with the likes of Jacqes Cousteau, Folco Quilici, Thor Heyerdahl and more recently Barry Clifford), and all of his books are currently available in ebook format for very cheap price tags, so, why not.
And why not start with Tracking Marco Polo, the 1964 chronicle of Severin’s first expedition? Continue reading
Karavansara 