Weekly Blogroll

I’m thinking a weekly roundup of sharable blog posts–posts I’ve read over the last week that might be of interest to folks–would be a fun thing to do. And yes, I’ll admit I’m stealing the idea from Visible and Real. Although, really, I bet she stole it from someone else first. You know how those blogger-types are. 😉

So what did I find this week?

The Middle Eight Manifesto or; Behold! The Secret to Writing!
Natania Barron’s “little manifesto” on writing. I especially believe in #3. The only way to learn how to write is to write.

Readercon, Harassment, Etc.
John Scalzi’s roundup on the Readercon fiasco. I’m finding the whole thing fascinating and appalling.

Get Out the Map: Why Knowing Where You Are Matters in Fiction
Susan Bigelow discusses how handy maps are when writing fiction. I love maps, too, and have used them a lot in 2082 and the new story I’m working on. In my case, these tales take place in the U.S. (or what remains of the U.S.), so road maps from AAA are working just fine for me. Although smaller communities get their own hand-drawn maps, too. Right now I’m figuring out the best route for my characters to get from Chicago to Iowa in the year 2042.

Okay, seriously.
Feministe’s take on the announcement that Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is now going to be a trilogy. I’m sensing profit winning out over the good of the story here. I guess we’ll see.

On Feminism and Women Who Rock
Natania Barron’s on a roll this week with a post on, well, what it says right up there.

Perspective: Being on display in your prison jumpsuit > flies and cat pee
Writings from the City Lines is a blog that makes me giggle on a regular basis. This post from earlier this week is one of my favorites.

Ms 408: The Voynich Manuscript
A fascinating true tale of the only manuscript from the Renaissance that is still undeciphered – brought to us by Ellis Nelson.

And I’ve already linked to Rob Kroese’s Book Bloggers announcement and Visible and Real’s online writing class announcement.

Looks like that’s what I found for this week. Enjoy!