Friday Links

This week we’ll drive straight into the links without any preamble. Well, except for that sentence, I guess that was a little bit of a preamble. And that one. And that one. And that – ahhh infinite loop it’s all going dark

*Deep breath.*

Last week I mentioned, with the high grammatical standards you’ve come to expect, that Borders “done got bought.” Apparently that deal was not as final as it originally sounded, and is now falling through. At the moment, the most likely prospect seems to be liquidation, i.e. no more Borders book stores.

It seems J.K. Rowling has not been sitting idly on her throne of cash. She says she’s been hard at work writing ever since Deathly Hallows was published. The new works include a non-fantasy book for adults, as well as “a political fairytale for slightly younger children.” Admittedly the young children who love politics demographic has been under-served of late.

Snookie is coming out with another novel, to be titled Gorilla Beach. I feel this news is like a Zen koan. It cannot be grasped with the intellectual mind; it simply is.

I’ve had critiques on the brain a lot lately, so this post about how to avoid over-polishing a manuscript really resonated. The gist is that if you try to take all advice, you end up watering down your vision. I think that’s true. On the other hand, “I’m being true to my vision” is often just a crutch to support defensiveness and unwillingness to change, so you have to be very careful.

On a more philosophical note – wait, come back, philosophy is good for you, dammit! Er – anyway – the legendary Nathan Bransford has a great post about the nature of stories. In everyday life, the mind constructs stories as a barrier between itself and the great, terrifying abyss of actual reality. This is the closest I’ve ever seen Nathan come to writing something “dark,” so check it out.

Finally, in the category that I know is everyone’s favorite – “Not Related to Writing but So Funny I Had to Share” – I present: Stealth Dad.

Hope your weekend is rewarding, deeply fulfilling, and tasty. See you Monday!