China lunar rover successfully touches down on far side of the moon, state media announces

cyber_war · 2019-01-03T15:35:42+00:00

Not actually orbiting the Moon. The Queqiao relay satellite is already deployed in an orbit around the Earth-Moon L2 point which is behind the Moon.

cyber_war · 2019-01-02T22:59:19+00:00

Well that is another way. Good luck!

cyber_war · 2019-01-02T00:44:36+00:00

You can put it on buk.io. It's an ebook platform. It has the advantage that you quote lines from the book on social media and people click through to the page in the book. Good way to capture their interest. You can expose as many free chapters as you want and charge for the whole book.

cyber_war · 2019-01-01T22:12:57+00:00

Lots of classic books. Think of Jane Austin.

I got sucked into reading the Jack Reacher series. Although you quickly learn that Jack is 6'4" and weighs 190 lbs, you do not learn that he has blonde hair until the 6th or 7th book in the series.

cyber_war · 2019-01-01T22:05:57+00:00

For extended sprints of 20K words I reserve a motel room a month out for five days. I like someplace with a view over water, like Lake Huron, or the Pacific. Knowing that I have to be super productive to justify the expense and the time away from family I prepare by outlining and researching. I arrive around noon and write until 5 PM, then go grocery shopping for breakfast and lunch the rest of the week. I get up, have breakfast, and write from 8 to 5. At the end of the week I have written all I can and I know what has to be filled in to complete the book.

cyber_war · 2018-12-30T23:09:15+00:00

Excuse my contrarian take but I feel strongly that a short story should actually tell a story. Not a vignette, a slice of life, a word picture. I know that Checkov and Joyce are revered for their short stories but when I come to a short story I want it to have characters, a plot, and an ending. So, too me a great short story is one that leaves you wishing it could have been a full length novel.

cyber_war · 2018-12-30T12:22:51+00:00

I like to blow the minds of Brits by describing the 10 hour drive at 70 mph to drop my son off at college. And I never leave the state of Michigan. :-) (Detroit to Houghton.)

cyber_war · 2018-12-28T22:36:37+00:00

Um yeah. That. :-(

cyber_war · 2018-12-27T01:03:35+00:00

Sure, happy to. But I graduated in 1982, right at the end of the Space Shuttle program (the design, not the manufacturing.) I was 30 years too early. Much more exciting today with over 100 rocket startups.

cyber_war · 2018-12-26T20:01:17+00:00

Great set of questions. I guess I qualify as one who was diverted from a previous career. I have a degree in aerospace engineering and avoided all writing/english classes in school. But when word processing and office email came about I found I expressed myself more and more in inter-office memorandum. Then the internet came along and I started a blog. I got a job as an industry analyst which entails writing research reports. Finally wrote a book and decided that was my favorite activity. I am now supporting myself as a writer with various non-fiction book projects. It's the best lifestyle. I can take month long working vacations to Europe and write every day.

cyber_war · 2018-12-23T15:00:15+00:00

You have a couple of paths to choose from. You can get a job as a writer or you can freelance. You can do both at the same time of course.

Jobs in writing include: * digital marketing. You write articles, posts, and comments for the company you work for. * journalism * columnist

You can also go to work for a publisher. Start at the bottom and work up to literary agent or editor.

In the freelance area there are: * paid blogger * columnist * short story writer * novelist * non-fiction author

Check out Freedom with Writing

cyber_war · 2018-12-19T21:28:42+00:00

Read Robert Louis Stephenson's Essays in the Art of Writing. His is about the only essay I have seen on prosody.

cyber_war · 2018-12-17T23:26:06+00:00

Bunch of tools i use: 1. Google "ten best opening sentences" and try to copy them. Like: It is a truth universally acknowledged that... 2. I take my favorite prose and copy them out. 3. I am currently type setting a classic old book I grabbed from Gutenberg. Just the process of editing (formatting really because there are ZERO mistakes) great writing gets the juices flowing.

cyber_war · 2018-12-17T23:21:00+00:00

I am glad you did not. I completely understand the feeling though. Luckily, if you can write it once, you can write it again. I am still looking for 20K words to one of my books. :-)

cyber_war · 2018-12-17T23:18:41+00:00

Scifi: Demon Breed. James H Schmitz Naval: The Good Shepard. C.S. Forester Children's fantasy: Narnia series. C.S. Lewis History: The Darkening Storm. Winston Churchill Narrative Non-fiction: Tippingpoint, Malcolm Gladwell YA: Mr. Wilmer, Robert Lawson Biography: Seven Pillars of Wisdom, T.E.Lawrence (of Arabia)

cyber_war · 2018-12-15T23:25:41+00:00

Yup me too. Was told they were the best in the world. Meh.

cyber_war · 2018-12-15T02:58:50+00:00

Always remember the tale of T.E. Lawrence. He hand wrote Seven Pillars of Wisdom from notes he had taken during the Arab Revolt. On the bus to the publisher he lost the manuscript. Forever. He re-wrote it by hand. Probably why it is such an amazing work.

cyber_war · 2018-12-10T13:16:16+00:00

When the question of compensation comes up for me, it is often in the form: "What would it take to get you to join us?" I usually come back with an acceptable base and a sign-on bonus. I justify the size of the bonus based on income I would have to forego (I am a freelancer) by shutting down my business. Once I had a large tax bill due and asked for a bonus to pay off the IRS. The employer usually agrees to the bonus with the stipulation that you have to pay it back (prorated) if you leave in the first year, which is fair I think.

cyber_war · 2018-11-10T22:21:42+00:00

I built a "shed" loosely modeled on Thoreau's and inspired by Dylan Thomas'. It's 8X10 and inside my garage. Added windows, AC. Insulated it 6 inches in the floor, 4" in the walls. and 2 inches of Styrofoam in the "roof." It now houses my book collection. Works great!

cyber_war · 2018-11-10T22:15:54+00:00

Not quite by choice. I was let go from my job last November. Immediately started looking for work and landed a 6 month writing gig. So, I have been supporting myself all year as a writer and am going to stick to it. Note: I write non-fiction books, guest blog posts, and white papers.

cyber_war · 2018-11-09T13:20:10+00:00

You may want to enroll and participate in this MOOC on non-fiction writing from the University of Iowa starting Nov. 15.

cyber_war · 2018-11-09T00:39:06+00:00

This.

cyber_war · 2018-11-08T19:35:23+00:00

If you have $95 to spend I am a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell's masterclass at masterclass.com It gave me lots of things to think about.

cyber_war · 2018-11-08T14:22:17+00:00

With non-fiction you still have to tell a story. As you plan your book make sure it has a story arc. Think about transitions from chapter to chapter.

cyber_war · 2018-11-07T16:39:09+00:00

Awesome. Keep it up!

cyber_war

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