Worlds without end

I'm looking for resources on world building, do you have a favorite or something that has helped you greatly?  Or maybe resources on how to layer the world building into the story.

When you need help, where do you turn?

libraries

It seems like everywhere I turn people are downsizing. Many people because of the economy, others because they want to simplify their lives. Still others because they're pursing a dream, or different life goal. For whatever reason, I know many people who are giving away their books. 

I know, it makes me want to cry.

But, I can also understand it. Even before the move I had boxes of books I didn't have bookshelf room for.

I know these people, they like books, they still buy books, but they're downsizing their libraries. How does that work?

I came up with only one answer.

Ebooks.


Now, I love ebooks. I also love book books. They give me different reading experiences and they both help in different situations. But, I have to ask, are ebooks contributing to the  downsizing of personal physical libraries?

The answer I come up with is, yes.

My move would have been a lot harder if I didn't have a kindle. I don't have room for all, or even many, of my books in our interim apartment. I miss them, but I can deal. Mostly because I have a few hundred books on my kindle. Without those, this would have been a lot harder. A lot.

Ebooks are wonderful.

Except I still see a problem.

With books, when a person dies, their libraries can be shared, passed on to future generations. With ebooks, you're only buying a license to have a book. When you die that license expires and your books are gone. You could spend a fortune building an ebook library only to have it electronically disappear on your death, leaving the other readers in your life inheritance-less. So in a way, you're still downsizing.

Nothing is ever perfect, I guess people will do what adjust their library needs to their own situation. I'm still working on my situation but I expect it will be a mix of the two different formats. 

Long Journey

We did it. We finally sold our house! 

Signed, sealed and done.

We started this journey 8 months ago and I'm super excited to finish that very long first step. Now I can look forward to finding a new home for our family.

Whew, it's such a relief.

email change.

I think I've got all the settings changed on the blog and comments but I wanted to inform everyone, my email is changing. sara(dot)bowers(at)cox(dot)net will no longer be working.  My new email is sarapbowers(at)gmail(dot)com. 

Funny, yet,

So true......

The End

I know everyone has a different style of writing.

Plotter.

Pantster.

Chunks,

Lineary.

Or any combination of the above. My favorite, and what I am, is a chunky pants writer.

Sometimes I write backwards, too.

There's a story I have been mulling over for several months. I've been too busy and stressed to actually write it much, just 100 words here, or 200 there. I just couldn't get into it. Never quite understood the overall arch or characters. Then I discovered the end. Once I wrote where we were going I got excited, then I knew which path to follow.

I thought back and realized, I've done this will each of my novels. Write the beginning, then end, then go and fill in the middle. It's nice to recognize my pattern. I know every book is different, and it is, but having some sort of pattern makes me feel legitimate, more like I know what I'm doing.

Do you have a pattern? How do you write?

Neil GAiman adn Kazuo Ishiguro!

Okay, they're not really on my blog, but I do have a link for you here.  Neil Gaiman and Kazuo Ishiguro, two amazing authors, have a discussion about genre, writing, reading and books in general. It's a fascinating discussion but it's made me realize how much more I have to learn. Since I mostly write fantasy I especially enjoyed the part about sci-fi/fantasy and the role they play in society.

What did you think of it? Anything stand out to you?