Writing Meme

Via Doug:

If you happen to be working on some creative writing project, fanfiction or NaNoWriMo or what have you, post exactly one [paragraph] from each of your current work(s) in progress in your journal. It should probably be your favourite or most intriguing sentence so far, but what you choose is entirely your discretion. Mention the title (and genre) if you like, but don't mention anything else. This is merely to whet the general appetite for your forthcoming work(s).

This one has no title yet:

"Martin didn't think of the Swamp Rocks when he was trying to get rid of his loneliness, at least not at first. Martin's loneliness was a drunken fat man in his underwear who never left the couch. The loneliness told him to quit wasting his energy on blind dates and bars, that what he really needed was a bigger TV and a satellite dish and one of those recliners with the built-in refrigerators."

Moral Values

This morning as I was driving down Milwaukee Avenue I saw several posters with an image of one of the Abu Ghraib prisoners wearing one of those hooded robes. Beneath the image the posters read, "Moral Values." They were brilliant and angry. They made me sad and gave me hope.

This afternoon, on the drive back home, the posters had been covered over.

Someone Explain the Fear to Me

. . . because that's what I don't understand. John Kerry is frightening? Um, what? I'm not going to claim to love Kerry -- the truth is, he's much farther to the right than I would like -- but scary? I don't see it. Scarier than Bush? Well, I'm going to try to be diplomatic, because I actually would like to open a dialogue of some sort. But the idea that Kerry is scarier than Bush is frankly laughable to me. So, please, someone explain it.

In the Cause of Comic Relief

Man Evangelizes Lion; Lion Ain't Having None of That Shit

The hardest thing to believe about this story is that it didn't happen in the U.S.

Survey (No, Really)

UPDATE: Thanks to all who participated; the survey is now closed. I'll be posting a mini-recap of my findings once the paper is done and gone. Thanks again!

OK, people. I have a research paper to do, and I need guinea pigs subjects. Here's the deal: I need fiction writers with at least three short fiction sales to their credit. Pro markets are not necessary, but you must have received something for your work. Also, for the purposes of this survey I am looking for markets which are at least distributed in the U.S.; they need not be U.S. publications per se, i.e. The Third Alternative is acceptable.

What is this for? I'm working on a Master's in Library Science. The topic of the paper is probably best left unstated, so as not to influence any responses. But I quite seriously do need your help, so feel free to distribute this link all over the place. Please type your responses into an email and send it to me at my address which is handily linked here through the underlined blue text. Or possibly brown, or some other color. See it? Once the results are tabulated and the paper written, I'll discuss the findings in a post here. Won't that be exciting!

Without further ado, the questions:

1. Please indicate the city, state and/or country of your birth:

City:
State:
Country:

2. Please indicate your age range:

25 or Under
26-35
36-45
46-55
56-65
66+

3. Which of the following genres of fiction do you write in? You may list as many as apply.

Science Fiction
Fantasy
Horror
Romance
Erotica
Western
Mystery
Suspense/Thriller
Literary
Other (Please specify)

4. Please indicate the number of stories you have sold to date (note that you must have sold three stories for your answers to be included in this survey):

3-10
11-20
21+

5. Have you ever filed for a copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office? Yes or No.

6. According to your understanding of U.S. Copyright law, is it possible to copyright an idea? Yes or No.

7. Have you heard of the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act? Yes or No.

If yes, please answer the following. Otherwise, skip to Question 8.

A. Please answer on a scale of 1-5, 1 indicating strong agreement, 5 indicating strong disagreement. Do you think the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act benefits authors?

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

B. Do you think the Act is in the public interest?

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

8. Have you heard of Creative Commons? Yes or No.

If yes, please answer the following. Otherwise, skip to Question 9.

A. Do you think Creative Commons is a positive development for authors?

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

B. Do you think Creative Commons is a positive development for the reading public?

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

C. Have you already or would you consider placing one of your works on the web under a Creative Commons license? Yes or No.

9. In terms of your own personal benefits from your writing, how important would you rate financial profit? Please answer on a scale of 1-5, 1 meaning Very Important and 5 meaning Not Important.

Very Important
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important

10. In terms of your own personal benefits from your writing, how important would you rate publicity/number of readers?

Very Important
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important

11. Overall, how important would you rate considerations of the public good with respect to your own work?

Very Important
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important

12. Overall, how important would you rate your personal benefit with respect to your work?

Very Important
1
2
3
4
5
Not Important

Please indicate whether you agree (1) or disagree (5) with the following statements:

13. I consider copyright to be a tool for the public good.

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

14. I consider copyright to be a tool for the benefit of authors and creators.

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

15. I consider access to a wide range of works to be a public good.

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

16. In order for a work to contribute to the public good, I believe that a work must have a tangible benefit (for example, it should address social issues, make a political statement, or otherwise take part in the societal discourse).

Strongly Agree
1
2
3
4
5
Strongly Disagree

That's it! Should you wish to elaborate (briefly) on any of your answers, please do so in the body of the email. Thanks very much for your help!

Two and a Half Cents

Vote.

Don't buy into the no-vote "radical"-ism. This kind of thinking is a luxury, an intellectual exercise, an absurd notion that by doing nothing, something will happen. Yes, the system is flawed; but yes, there is a difference here, and frankly, we can't afford four more years of this.

I went this morning. And I am tired.