discussion

Discussion - Is FTL necessary?

Paul B. Hartzog — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 14:27:26 -0700

Is it possible to hold a galactic empire together without faster-than-light travel (including portals, teleportation, etc.)?

Galactic Empires

Discussion: Movable Feasting

kelson.philo — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:19:20 -0700

Movable feasting. Yah, I'm rippin' from Ernest, but there it is. I had thought to pose a different discussion question when this idear came to mind. First, though, a teensy bit of background. Air by Geoff Ryman. Have you read it yet? If so, why not? I've pushed this book on a different Oort thread SPLINK before, but I feel compelled to push it some more. Why? Because I've never read an sf book that made me want to weep for joy at the end. It's so got-dam human as well, that I can't get over how it's not getting more press than it deserves. I like it so much, in fact, that I'm willing to mail my copy to you, pay for the postage and all, so that you can read it.

Discussion: Great writers read as well

kelson.philo — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 13:59:55 -0700

So, right now what is everybody reading?

I'm purling through Gravity's Rainbow at the moment, and probably will be for a long time.

Discussion: Favorite Writing Pitfalls

kelson.philo — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 07:31:49 -0700

Alrighty, what's yer favorite writing pitfall?

Mine is the 'anti-cliché cliché'. These are the clichés that result from actively trying not to be cliché in the first place.

Discussion: Hump Day Hoopla

kelson.philo — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:48:59 -0700

Wednesday Discussion

I'm going to start this by suggesting that every Wednesday someone(s) come up with a different topic of discussion that relates to OpenLit/Social Publishing/Writing and so on. Why the deadline? Besides the reference to Lenny Zero's developing story, it would appear that published authors tend to work under deadlines, whether enforced by a publisher or by their own selves.

AYOW - What's your point of view?

Karnuvap — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 01:31:03 -0700

Hope this is OK.

I got a question about Point of View (PoV) on one of my stories. I wanted to check my answer and ask how you handle this PoV thing?

Link to Question/ Answer

Here is what I said...

Discussion: Ideas on OpenLit v0.3

alphaborie — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 18:02:56 -0700

A WIKI page has been created for this topic, please go there. The WIKI page has public edit active. Otherwise, please read on and post comments below, thanks!

Discussion: Reaching out with podcasts?

Richard Adler — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 03:46:40 -0800

The New York Times just had an article about writers creating audio performances of their work on free podcasts as a way of attracting new readers. I noted Cory Doctorow's podcast in a previous post, and this article mentions other writers who are giving this approach a try.

Discussion: Dickens in Space

Richard Adler — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 02:53:09 -0800

Is it just me, or is the serial approach to posting stories working really well? It’s a great way to keep a story in front of people’s eyes over several days, and posting what’s done is a strong encouragement to finish what’s not. It helps Oort Cloud by ensuring there’s something new to read every day. And it helps the author by calling close attention to each part of the story, which is the best way to find out if that part needs work.

Discussion: Is "Foundation" No Longer a Classic?

Paul B. Hartzog — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 18:45:58 -0800

So, I was reading Twenty Years Ago the Classics Were Different by James Wallace Harris, in which he says:

Twenty years ago I wrote an article about the classics of science fiction for the fanzine Lan’s Lantern – and later made the essay into a web site at the Classics of Science Fiction.... The final Classics of Science Fiction list wasn’t selected by me, but was assembled from the most frequently recommended books from 28 best-of lists and other sources dating back to the 1950s. Of the 193 books on the list, I’m not sure how many I would personally recommend today.