Welcome to a fresh decade! I hope this is an auspicious turning point for you and your loved ones.

I don't make New Year's resolutions because I am a firm believer that every single day is an opportunity to improve your life. But we're embarking on a whole new decade, so I at least want to look forward to 2010 with anticipation of all the new things it will bring. Lots of new things will be happening in my life: a new volunteer job that I love, new career experiences (like my first book tour!), a new book release (Something Like Fate comes out on May 18), new paperback covers, new chances to meet my readers, new seasons on the High Line, and writing a new book. A busy year indeed. And since this year will be so busy, I can't even imagine how many exciting adventures the entire decade will bring. I'm hoping for lots of them! I have a good feeling that this will be an amazing year for all of us.

So I'm raising my mug of green tea to you in a toast. Here's to a new year filled with self improvement, fun times, and meaningful connections. Let's get our renewal on.

2010. Who would believe it? We're in another Arthur C. Clarke novel.

Here's hoping all of you have a great year.

Setting: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada - 1995/1996
Searched: "Fanfiction history," "history of fanfiction," "fanfiction in 1996," "internet communities in 1995," "internet communities in 1996" "anime fansub VHS tapes," "VHS tap eexchanges anime," among other things - which gave me great timelines of fanfiction history, but didn't answer all of my most nagging questions.

So I'm working on a supporting character for a novel set at the end of 1995 and the beginning of 1996. My goal is create a twelve-year-old author of truly atrocious slash fanfiction.

You'd think that nothing would be easier to research online than fanfiction, and Googling and Wikipedia have given me some good information, but there are still some nagging questions:

( Help me create a truly awful fanfiction writer in 1996 )

Thanks in advance for any help!

I'm don't usually reminisce about much, but the past decade SUCKED. I spent most of it either unemployed or doing mind-numbing temp work. I moved twice (from Denver to Mobile & from Mobile to Atlanta). I went back to school, so I'm hoping that I can find work soon! I'm tired of being a mooch.

I'm thinking about taking next week off to detox from technology: no LJ, no Twitter, no Facebook, no IMs. But that'd probably wouldn't last very long.

Still in meh/blah/whatever mode. I need to snap out of it before school starts on the 11th. Have I mentioned I hate winter?

Happy New Year!  (Yes, it's late.  We just got back from dinner.)

In the last-minute "gotta spend the FSA funds" frenzy (me and everyone else), I spent most of the day finally getting new glasses. I put away the cash based on my last Lenscrafters experience ($550 eyeglasses, anyone?), so I had way more left at the end of the year than I really knew what to do with. At Costco I'd been debating between two pair, and then found out that a single pair was nowhere near using up the $400 or so I had left. Problem solved: get both.

• The plain pair


• The cute pair (which are really suprisingly cute on)


• To use up the last little bit, I threw in these in black/red as sunglasses. Figured this was a fine time to try out Zenni. $21 prescription sunglasses? Can't beat that.

I have no real plans for the evening, so I suspect it'll end up either running out to Coastal Flats or the like for dinner and a movie, or else holing up here with pizza and DVDs/the PS3 since it's really rather crappy outside tonight.

Would a brain injury at birth caused by lack of oxygen show up on an MRI/CAT scan in an adult? Setting aside the fact that obviously they would have developmental issues, would the damage be visible on those scans or does the plastic nature of the brain "remodel" it by adulthood to such an extent that you couldn't see it? Is there even a "change" you could see?

So far I've searched for-
"anoxic brain inury long term" "anoxic brain injury" "cerebral hypoxia at birth" "HIE" "hypoxic encephalopathy" and checked wiki, as well as a few books at the library whose titles were complicated. Are there other terms for the diffuse brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen?
I've searched every variation I can think of, but the only thing that ever comes up are ambulance chaser websites and websites devoted to adults who got brain injuries during their lifetime, not during their birth.

I've tried Googling "British peerage," "line of sucession," "dukedom inheritance," and "what happened to a duke who was injured beyond recovery?"

In my book, the eldest of two brothers becomes the duke after his father's death, but only a few years later he is thrown from his horse during a fox hunt. He doesn't die, but he suffers permanent brain damage.

Would his younger brother take over his title, even though he's not technically dead?

I'd really appreciate any help anyone could offer!

Happy New Year!!!

Hi everyone,

I believe this is my first time posting here.

I just had a question for anyone who may be able to assist me.

I'm currently working on a novel (fiction - thriller). The opening chapter is to begin with a 911 call being placed by a woman in distress. The novel is written in third-person perspective, past tense. So, how would the conversation take place?

Every time I try to play it out, I think of news segments or scripts in which it is written something like this:

Dispatch: 911, what's your emergency?
Caller: Someone's been shot.
Dispatch: Who's been shot? Where are you calling from?
...etc.

This, obviously, won't work in my novel...so...what are my options?

I tried looking through previous entries and tags and found nothing that fit exactly what I'm looking for. Hopefully this is allowed and on-topic.

Any and all advice, criticism and/or opinions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks!

Tried googling "withstanding torture," "surviving torture," "how to survive torture," etc.

I'm looking for websites, books, etc. that detail specific techniques used to withstand torture. Everything I've found on Google is geared towards recovery from past torture/ritual abuse, rather than techniques used while torture is taking place to stay sane. I know that military personnel are taught this kind of thing, but I can't seem to find a resource that gives details on what they are taught.

I've got a character who is an experienced spy, and he is waterboarded and interrogated/emotionally abused early on in my story. I want to establish how horrific the torture is, but I also want him to come across as someone who's been tortured before and knows how to deal with it.

Any help would be appreciated!

Hi!
I was wondering if any of you could help me with this: I've recently seen the last Sherlock Holmes movie, and I can't find the title of this song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xllRCJuFRpQ . I can't find it anywhere, and since I'm italian, I couldn't enough of the lyrics to make a research.
Thanks on advance ;) and good afternoon!

I'm writing a novel and got stuck for fine details. A friend on my flist suggested I ask here.  I have emailed my local fire station but not got a reply. My plea on the nano forums also recieved no answer. I tried google and got plenty of info on the history of fighting fires, how to fight fires and so on, but not the fine day to day detail I need.

My main character is a fireman. Most of the story is centered on his off duty life, but the one major incident in the centre of the novel involves a pretty big shout. Thus my need to know fine details.

The only stuff I know about fireman comes from London's Burning.

My story is set in the UK, in a fictional town in Royal Berkshire.

thank you for any help you can give.

This story is set in our current time period, and the particular scene I'm working on takes place in a desolate region of eastern Russia, just as winter is ending.

If a tiger has just made a fresh kill, and notices a human nearby -- approximately 13 to 15 feet away, and the human moves very, very slowly from kneeling to standing, and keeps eye contact with the tiger -- what is the tiger's most likely reaction?
Would it be likely to just jump at the human? Or stare at him for a few seconds before approaching? Would it growl/roar/snarl etc?

If it is threatening to attack, and another human (farther away than the first one, and located -behind- the tiger) fires several gunshots without actually shooting the tiger, would it be scared enough by the sudden, loud noise that it would flee?

2009. It was the best of years; it was the worst of years.

At the end of every year, I traditionally go back and look over my writing accomplishments. By any measure, 2009 was my best year yet: three novels published (The Patriot Witch, A Spell for the Revolution, The Demon Redcoat), my first starred review in Publisher's Weekly, and a profile piece in Publisher's Weekly; three award nominations for the Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon; two new stories published, two stories reprinted including one in a Year's Best and one in an internationally noticed anthology, and a new translation into Czech; plus a film made out of one of my short stories.

Heck, somebody even made Proctor Brown and all the other Traitor to the Crown characters into gaming figures!

Throw in my first trip to New York's ComicCon, a repeat visit to Readercon where I got to give a presentation on the genre roots of American literature (something I can blather on about much too long), another Blue Heaven workshop, interviews in some new venues, and a chance to meet lots of readers at book signings for the new books, and what's not to love?

Well. 2009 is the first year in a decade that I haven't sold any new fiction. That's what's not to love!

Not one story. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. You can't sell anything if you don't send anything out and I didn't send anything out. I didn't even realize it until the past couple weeks.

What the hell, right?

Sure, I've been writing all year. I finished first drafts of a couple new stories, a big chunk of a new Proctor and Deborah novel, and have done solid work on the new sekrit fantasy project. But after finishing three books in 18 months, I feel overwhelming lameness for not completing another novel this past year. Especially since it was my goal to have another one done by the end of December. On the other hand, I've learned a lot by seeing readers' reactions to the Traitor to the Crown series, especially the things that didn't work the way I expected them to: being a glass-half-full kind of guy, I think that's invaluable. But -- as is entirely self-evident -- if you don't send work out, no one's ever going to read it.

So I feel a lot of pressure to be more submissive in 2010! Wait, that doesn't sound right... More submitful? Overmit? I dunno. But you get the picture. One of my writing traditions has been to start a new story at midnight on New Years. Tonight I think I'll stay home and get one ready to go out in the mail instead.

Luckily, raecarson is on board with the plan. (This is why I married another writer.)

If there's any time left over, I've got book proposals to work on too.

Farewell, 2009. Here's to 2010. Happy new year, everyone! May it be a good one for all of you.

http://www.somethingpositive.net/sp12302009.shtml

Some of you have already seen this. Sorry. It's my vacation - sorta - and I'm lazy. Something Positive returns January 4th.

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If there are any problems with the comic or website, or if you have any questions, comments, or complaints you would like to address directly to Randy, please email him at choochoobear@gmail.com.

Have you heard about the recent study that ranked states by how happy their residents are? Well, New York came in last. The reasons why people were happy or not weren't a part of the study, so I've been contemplating why New Yorkers are the least happy people. Just like Carrie Bradshaw, I am dating New York and thus feel the need to defend my boyfriend.

In his profound Here is New York, E.B. White explains that this city consists of three types of people. There are the lifelong residents who have shaped the history of their neighborhoods. There are the commuters who bring a sense of ebb and flow. And then there is a third group, to which I belong. These are the people who come to New York in search of something, usually to live their ideal lives. These are the dreamers, the creators, the visionaries, the light that makes the energy of the city shine. I came here to achieve my dreams and immerse myself in a type of energy I knew I wouldn't find anywhere else. And I am not alone.

So then why are we unhappy? First of all, the study was conducted by state, so we're not sure how New York City residents would rank as a separate group. There are some obvious reasons why people living here are sad - poverty, homelessness, health issues, unemployment, crowding, noise pollution. But there are some other issues that get less attention. Focusing on my group of dreamers, those of us who've worked so hard to be here, I can think of some factors detracting from our happiness.

1. Excessive expectations. We have extremely high ambitions. There's so much we want to achieve, so much more we want to do with our lives. It usually feels like as soon as I achieve one goal, I'm already focused on the next three. I don't take the time to appreciate what I've just accomplished. Since we want so much more, we are often disappointed. Which is ridiculous because we are achieving many great things - it just takes time to achieve them. In this blog post I wrote last year, I mentioned that it's possible to quantify happiness with this equation: Happiness = Reality / Expectation. Our expectations far exceed the reality of our present state. Yeah, we're an impatient bunch.

2. Single life. Studies have shown that people who are married live longer than people who remain single. Being married means (or should mean) that you have a steady support system, which decreases anxiety levels, which decreases risk of heart disease and other ailments. The thing is, this city is filled with single people. It's typical to be in your 30s or 40s and living more like you're in your 20s. I get the feeling that if I were living anywhere else as a single woman in her 30s, I might stand out as unusual. Not here.

3. Financial anxiety. There's a lot to worry about anywhere, but New York is particularly challenging. Rents are outrageous. Landlords can get away with charging $3,400 for an average one-bedroom apartment (that's in dollars per month, by the way) because the demand is so high. As ridiculous as that amount sounds, there's always some finance guy or doctor parents that will pay. Rents aren't the only financial atrocities; even things like detergent and toothpaste are too expensive. But it's not like we can drive our cars to Costco or wherever and buy things cheaply in bulk and store them in our closets. We don't have cars. Or closet space.

Despite its challenges, I love it here. And I'm surrounded by people who feel the same way. If you are one of them or are thinking about making a life for yourself here, my advice is to follow your passion. Don't let the happy states list discourage you. It's the dreamers who make this city the most amazing place ever. The dreamers know that anything is possible.

As he promised in the comments on a previous post, Andy McMaster of Newcastle upon Tyne has turned Proctor and Deborah and the other characters from Traitor to the Crown into gaming figures!

You can see the whole thing at Andy's blog: http://blog.belisarius.org.uk/2009/12/life-liberty-and-pursuit-of-magic.html. He rewrites the story a bit -- an alternate history of a secret history!

Here's a taste of his work -- if you like the taste of rotting flesh: the zombies attack.