Happy Birthday George Orwell
Posted: June 25, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: History, Reading Room, Think Tank | Tags: 1913 Gettysburg reunion, Aldous Huxley, Animal Farm, Author, Battle of Tali-Ihantala, BBC, Big Brother (Nineteen Eighty-Four), Burmese Days, Christopher Hitchens, George Orwell | Leave a commentHappy birthday Eric Arthur Blair, a.k.a. George Orwell (25 June 1903 — 21 Jan 1950) Photos: hellyeahgeorgeorwell
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Joyce Carol Oates For Conservation of Endangered Statues Depicting Pre-History
Posted: June 9, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Entertainment, History, Humor, Mediasphere, Reading Room | Tags: Author, Books, Conservation, Dinosaurs, Hunting, Joyce Carol Oates, Literary, Twitter | Leave a comment
So barbaric that this should still be allowed… No conservation laws in effect wherever this is? https://t.co/hgavm9IBaM
— Joyce Carol Oates (@JoyceCarolOates) June 9, 2015
This guy thinks it’s cool to kill defenceless animals then take a selfie. Jerk. pic.twitter.com/WbgMklrd9u
— Chris Tilly (@TillyTweets) June 9, 2015
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Is PEN a Free Speech Organization?
Posted: April 27, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Censorship, Politics, Reading Room, Think Tank | Tags: Australia, Author, Charlie Hebdo, Freedom of speech, French language, Islamophobia, Jews, Paris, Queen's University Belfast | Leave a comment[Read more here – HALL OF SHAME: Six PEN Members Decline Gala After Award for Charlie Hebdo]
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[PHOTO] Style Inspiration: Tom Wolfe
Posted: April 18, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Art & Culture, Mediasphere, Reading Room | Tags: 1960s, Author, Criticism, Literature, media, Photography, The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe, Twitter | Leave a commentvia Twitter @impossiblecool – Jack Fowler UNIONMADE
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[VIDEO] Charles C. W. Cooke: Becoming American, and a Variety of Accents
Posted: March 13, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Mediasphere, Politics, Reading Room, Think Tank | Tags: Accents, American, Author, Books, Charles C. W. Cooke, Language, media, National Review, news, The Blaze, The Cain Conversation, The Conservatorial Manifesto, video | Leave a commentAuthor of “The Conservatarian Manifesto” Charles C.W. Cooke joins Will Cain for “The Cain Conversation,” to talk about what it means to become American. Also, Cooke does a variety of accents.
[Order Charles C.W. Cooke‘s new book, “The Conservatarian Manifesto“ from Amazon.com]
“The Cain Conversation” with Charles C. W. Cooke
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Happy 206th Birthday, Edgar Allan Poe
Posted: January 20, 2015 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Art & Culture, History, Reading Room | Tags: Author, Books, Edgar Allen Poe, Horror, Literature, Mystery, quotes | 2 CommentsRate this:
Flashback: Reasons Why National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson Is Cooler Than You
Posted: March 8, 2014 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Art & Culture, Entertainment, Humor, Mediasphere | Tags: Author, Coolness, Kevin, Kevin D. Williamson, Kevin Williamson, National Review, Texas, Williamson | Leave a commentDowntrend.com has a funny item, Here Are 7 Reasons Why National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson Is Cooler Than You, from September, 2013, that I just stumbled on, even though it’s not brand new, it’s as fresh and silly as it was when it first appeared. Readers here know I’m a fan of Williamson’s writing, and frequently plug his book The End Is Near and It’s Going to Be Awesome, you can get it at Amazon] (See? I did it again) so it’s natural that I’d not resist an opportunity to promote Kevin’s coolness. Kevin’s also from Texas, which isn’t mentioned here, so it really should be 8 reasons. Here’s the post from Downtrend.com:
7 Reasons Why National Review’s Kevin D. Williamson Is Cooler Than You
If you’re a conservative or a libertarian, you’ve probably heard of Kevin D. Williamson. If not, shame on you.
He’s an author who writes for National Review. If you’re unlucky enough to have never read any of his work, then drop what you’re doing immediately and go read. Call in sick if that’s what’s required, but you must read his articles right this moment.
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Author’s Best Friend: The Pets of Literary Greats
Posted: October 28, 2013 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Art & Culture, Reading Room | Tags: Artist-in-residence, Arts, Author, East Village Manhattan, Grendel, John Gardner, Paris, Paris Review | Leave a commentParis Review : Timothy Leo Taranto
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Repost | Guest Post: Robert Ferrigno, author of The Girl Who Cried Wolf
Posted: March 18, 2013 | Author: Pundit Planet | Filed under: Mediasphere, Reading Room | Tags: Author, California, Fiction, Friday, Girl Who Cried Wolf, Robert Ferrigno, Southern California, Writer | Leave a commentFrom Aliveontheshelves.com:
By Lisa. Filed in Guest Posts |
It’s Friday and I am letting the writers do the work for me! Today, I’ve got a really interesting guest post from Robert Ferrigno, author of The Girl Who Cried Wolf, which just came out in February. You know that I love to hear from writers about their process — how they write, how they get inspired — and Robert has a unique process. I think you’ll be as fascinated as I was!
Look Around and Listen—We Are All Characters
One of the most useful skills a writer can develop is the ability to pay attention, to notice the things going around you. The bits of conversation, the clothes, the physical and verbal and non-verbal interactions of people. A good fiction writer is first and foremost a good observer, a good reporter. The best fiction is drawn from real events, real people and real problems.
The characters in my latest book, The Girl Who Cried Wolf, come from the people that I met while working as a reporter in Southern California. It was a great job, one in which I could write about nearly anything, though I tended to lean towards what piqued my interest—California sleaze balls, new money and youth culture.
I was a reporter for eight years and in that time I wrote hundreds of profiles, interviews what I called “involved journalism.” I flew with the Blue Angels, and was even given the stick, whereupon I inadvertently threw my pilot and I into a barrel-roll. I did desert survival training. I drove race cars, went on midnight runs with auto repo men and reported on women who made their living entering bikini contests. (My wife was less than happy about that one) What I am doing now with my crime novels is using those same reporting skills, but with a spin, an ability to let the characters breathe and take me and the reader where things are most interesting. I use current headlines to form of basis of The Girl Who Cried Wolf, and use people I’ve met along the way as characters.
My style of writing may differ from the methods used by other writers. Having earned degrees in filmmaking, creative writing and philosophy, I use skills derived from each to formulate a plot and create characters. Through the use of filmmaking techniques such as storyboarding, I am able to visualize my books. When I write I think like an actor. I hear dialogue in my head and oftentimes find myself walking around my house, speaking to myself in different voices. (My family has learned to ignore this) I become the character.
Though this approach may not work for all writers, I can honestly say that above all else, the best advice I could give to a new or established writer is that the world is trying to help you with your writing. Notice how the people around you dress, their choice of shoes, their jewelry or lack of jewelry, their speech pattern, their slang. Each choice people make in how they present themselves to the world can be used by the writer in the characters they create and the plots they write about.
As a narrative designer in the video game industry, my eyes were opened to the video game world which was an evolution for me. The video game office is a place where people come to work in their pajamas or in, what those in the “real world” would call—semi costumes. It doesn’t even raise an eyebrow—whether it’s men in kilts or women wearing furry hats. I spend a lot of my time taking it all in, making mental notes, but I’m also a guy who wears basic black and hightops every day, so I’m sure I am a source of amusement also.
The most important takeaway from what I have learned in my professional experience is to simply listen. If you want to talk to someone or compile research for a book, approach the people you meet without an agenda—I learned this as a reporter. Just talk to people. What you may not realize is that the way that people talk and what they say makes for such great dialogue. If you want to capture a character with wonderful dialogue that you can hear in your head, consider taking it from people you have already met. You know what they look like, how they sound and what they said—now turn them into a character. I believe this is one of the most useful skills a writer can have. Most people want to tell you their story. All you have to do is listen… and find the deeper story within.
For more information, check out his website at http://robertferrigno.com/
via Guest Post: Robert Ferrigno, aliveontheshelves.com