How to: Tell time like the ancient Maya —

I promised to not speak of Schmapocalypse Miffy Melve on BoingBoing anymore, and I am standing by that. However, I do think that I would be remiss not to point you toward this nifty, interactive version of the Maya's long count calendar system. It does a great job of helping explain the Mayan number system and how those numbers come together to mark important dates. If you're interested in Mayan hieroglyphics, I'd also recommend reading the book A Forest of Kings, which explains how the ancient Maya wrote and what their writing really tells us about their history. — Maggie •

Martin sez, "Neil Clarke over at Clarkesworld SF blog/magazine is ill and just lost his job. John Scalzi has called for uniform support by subscribing to Clarkesworld magazine. It's a highly regarded mag for up and coming sf authors and might need some attention."

I agree with John's assessment. Clarkesworld is a fabulous publication, a labor of love, and something that makes the world a better place. It has been a launching-spot for numerous wonderful writing careers, and deserves your support (and Neil Clarke is a first-class mensch). I just subscribed. You can also donate.

Clarkesworld is an excellent magazine, and it’s also a story market that pays more than the SFWA minimum for professional-level sales, meaning that it’s a good market for writers, too. You can read its content for free on the Web site, but there’s also an option for you to subscribe to the magazine as well, and have it delivered to your e-reader, or to donate to the site to support it.

Today is a Good Day to Subscribe to Clarkesworld Magazine

Larger size here, so you can read all the text. Writing Tips from Kurt Vonnegut, 1980, sponsored by International Paper Company. Shared in the Boing Boing Flickr Pool by vintage ad archivist MewDeep.

Update: Oooh, here's a PDF of the whole ad series.

Tony Smith from StarShipSofa sez,

Over the coming months StarShipSofa will present a series of online web lectures by some of the top SF writers out there. These lectures will be called How To Write Science Fiction with...

Among the writers lined up for future lectures are Kim Stanley Robinson, Spider Robinson, Paolo Bacigalupi and many others. The first writer to take to the mic is the author of the classic SF novel The Forever War - Joe Haldeman. You can listen to Joe on the 11th November - all from the comfort of your computer. Don't be mistaken: this isn't your parents' "how to" lecture! Instead, this is a front row seat, as one of the most celebrated minds in the science fiction literary community talks about his journey in the genre. Be there as Joe shares the kind of personal advice and anecdotes you can't find in a writers' guide. Learn how the publishing industry has (and hasn't) changed, and what first led Joe Haldeman to a lifelong relationship with science fiction. You won't want to miss a minute of this intimate and insightful event.

How To Write Science Fiction with... Joe Haldeman (Thanks, Tony!)

6. The starters of crazes —

Ezra Pound's 6 types of writer. [Brain Pickings] — Rob •

Sam J Miller sez, "I just graduated from the amazing Clarion Writer's Workshop, and transcribed over 300 great pieces of advice and guidance from my instructors and fellow students. I did it for the benefit of myself and my Clarion Comrades, but hoped other folks would find it helpful."

I'm a Clarion grad, teacher, and board member -- I'll be back teaching next summer, in fact, after a five-year fatherhood hiatus. This is a great collection of the kind of stuff you learn at the workshop.

“A common way to structure stories is: ESTABLISH NORM. UPSET NORM. COMPLICATE & ESCALATE. CLIMAX. RESOLUTION.”

“Whenever you think you’re going to create a really strong character by putting “I” at the beginning of every sentence, you’re digging yourself a hole. It’s actually harder to bring “I” to life.”

“When it’s broken, you don’t always have to fix the whole thing. You can fix half—you just have to know which half. And that’s not always easy.”

“The problem with people is they have beer and they want egg in it. Things are good and they’re unsatisfied.”

“Opening the vein is where the best writing comes from.”

“You have to write things you genuinely are not sure about.”

“Frequently, your back brain is wiser than your front brain.”

“You left yourself a lot of hints that I don’t think you even know about.”

(Thanks, Sam!)

Clarion 2012: Every Brilliant Piece of Writing Advice*

Author Holly Lisle has a series of online writing guides that she sells. One volume of this, "How To Think Sideways Lesson 6: How To Discover (Or Create) Your Story’s Market" was rejected by Apple's iBooks store. At first, Apple told Lisle that she wasn't allowed to have "live links" to Amazon in her books. So she removed the links and resubmitted the book, and then Apple rejected it again, telling her that they wouldn't sell her book because it mentioned Amazon, a competitor of its iBooks store.

But I also will not deal with this sort of head-up-ass behavior from a distributor. You don’t tell someone “The problem is the live links,” and then, when that person has complied with your change request and removed the live links, turn around and say, “No, no. The problem is the CONTENT. You can’t mention Amazon in your lesson.

This is not professional behavior from a professional market.

And cold moment of truth here—you cannot write a writing course that includes information on publishing and self-publishing and NOT mention Amazon. It’s the place where your writers are going to make about 90% of their money.

So I’m pulling ALL my work from the iBookstore today. I apologize to iBookstore fans. I tried. Hard.

But I’m done.

Apple Made Its Decision. My Turn. avatar (via Hacker News)

John Scalzi's "A Self-Made Man Looks At How He Made It" is a characteristically great essay about how his life's course from poverty and food stamps to fame and commercial success was only possible because of all the social programs, generous individuals, and public spending that went into his upbringing, and why this makes him proud to pay his taxes today.

My parents’ marriage did not last particularly long and in the early seventies — and off and on for the next several years — my mother found herself in the position of having to rely on the social net of welfare and food stamps to make sure that when she couldn’t find work (or alternately, could find it but it didn’t pay enough), she was able to feed her children and herself. Once again, I owe thanks to America’s taxpayers for making sure I had enough to eat at various times when I was a child.

Not having to wonder how I was going to eat meant my attention could be given to other things, like reading wonderful books. As a child, many of the books I read and loved came from the local libraries where I lived. I can still remember going into a library for the first time and being amazed — utterly amazed — that I could read any book I wanted and that I could even take some of them home, as long as I promised to give each of them back in time. I learned my love of science and story in libraries. I know now that each of those libraries were paid for by the people who lived in the cities the libraries were in, and sometimes by the states they were in as well. I owe the taxpayers of each for the love of books and words.

From kindergarten through the eighth grade, I had a public school education, which at the time in California was very good, because the cuts that would come to education through the good graces of Proposition 13 had not yet trickled down to affect me. My schools in the cities of Covina, Azusa and Glendora all had “gifted and talented” programs that allowed me and my other classmates extra opportunities to expand our minds, aided by excellent teachers, most of whose names I can still rattle off after 30 years: Mrs. Chambers, Mrs. Fox, Mrs. Swirsky, Mr. Johnson, Mr. Kaufman, Ms. Morgan. Through much of this time I was fed through school lunch programs which allowed me a meal for free or reduced rates. In the sixth grade, when again my mother and I found ourselves poor and briefly homeless, and I began feeling depressed, the school’s counselor was there to do his best to keep me on an even keel. These schools and programs were funded locally, through the state and through the federal level. The taxpayers helped me learn, kept me fed, and prevented despair from clouding up my mind.

A Self-Made Man Looks At How He Made It

Writers show off their happy places —

Mary Robinette Kowal sez, "My Favorite Bit is a feature where I invite authors, artists, and other creators to talk about their favorite bit of their newest work. This can be a scene, a sentence, a character, or a bit of world-building. It can even be a piece of research that never made it on the page. The key is that it's something that they love LOVE sooooo much. These posts are a chance for you to peek backstage and see what makes an author go to their happy place. In a lot of ways, the things that my guests will be talking about are why we write to begin with." — Cory •

Hayashi Paper Co. sells toilet paper that is printed with "Drop," a horror story written by Koji Suzuki, writer for "Ring" and "Spiral." An English version is coming soon.

The product is made by Hayashi Paper Co., a firm in Shizuoka Prefecture with a staff of around 30. It is the brainchild of Hiroyuki Hayashi, president of Hayashi Paper, who contacted Suzuki and rolled out the idea. The popular author then agreed to write a short story for the roll. It is expected that some people will buy the product as a keepsake due to its gimmicky nature, while others will use it to take care of more pressing business.

The trade ministry, recognizing the toilet paper as a “Cool Japan” product with a distinctive feature, is getting behind attempts to develop sales channels for the quirky item. On June 14, trade minister Yukio Edano met with Hayashi and Suzuki and offered words of encouragement.

“I hope you will generate more ideas like this,” said Edano as he checked out the product. Visually that is.

'Scary' toilet paper coming soon to a stall near you (via Naked Capitalism)

A class action lawsuit has been filed against PublishAmerica, a notorious vanity press that has long appeared in the Writer Beware! bulletins from the Science Fiction Writers of America, which warns of bad business practices from publishers (and "publishers") who prey on naive would-be authors. From the complaint:

Defendant PublishAmerica is a book publisher that portrays itself as "a traditional, royalty paying publisher." But unlike traditional publishers, which profit from the sale of books, defendant profits from its own clients, i.e., the authors who submit works for publication by defendant. Defendant lures these authors in by promising to publish their book at no cost, and it makes false and misleading representations that it will promote their books and support the authors' efforts to sell their own books. But this is not the case.

Instead, once the authors sign the contract, which gives defendant the rights to their book for seven to ten years, defendant does nothing constructive to promote their books, but instead offers various promotion packages on a fee-for-service basis....These services, which are either misrepresented or never carried out, are not reasonably designed to promote class members' books....

Defendant provides very poor editing services, is slow to respond to book orders, and it routinely overprices the books it publishes. This is no accident. Defendant will only lower the price of its clients' books to a competitive rate for a $399 fee. These practices make it difficult for even the most enterprising authors to promote their own books.

Defendant is not responsive to inquiries from its clients, or worse it is dismissive or belligerent.

The Writer Beware! post has information on how you can join the class if you feel you've been wronged by PublishAmerica.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against PublishAmerica (via Making Light)l