Using TVTropes as a base of information, this incredible chart organizes story structure, archetypes, plot devices and more into a structure similar to the periodic table of elements. It's an incredibly cool project that puts the actually really useful storytelling knowledge of TVTropes into a more-teachable form.
The periodic table of storytelling
Cory Doctorow experiments with AI writing partner Sudowrite
GPT-3 is a machine-learning trained language model that generates text based on a text prompt. Cory Doctorow has been playing around with a closed-beta implementation of Sudowrite, which he describes as a "GPT3-based text generator for fiction writers. You give it characters, plot summaries, dialogue, or twist endings," and Sudowrite generates one of more paragraphs… READ THE REST
Nick Cave: writer's block is actually a "category error"
At Nick Cave's "The Red Hand Files," the musician/poet/screenwriter responded to a fan who asked, "What do you do when the lyrics just aren't coming?" In short, Cave's answer is to wait patiently. But his full reply is quite beautiful and inspiring. From The Red Hand Files: The idea of lyrics 'not coming' is basically… READ THE REST
An author wrote a beautiful tribute to his late dog disguised as writing advice
I've known Literary Agent/author Eric Smith as an editor and friend for about a decade now; I even wrote a review of his most recent novel, the delightful Don't Read the Comments, right here on BoingBoing. Sadly, Smith recently had to put down his beloved corgi, Augie, after five and a half sweet years together.… READ THE REST
Ditch the binoculars and travel light with this high definition monocular telescope
With everyone looking for increased portability from all their necessary items, it's a surprise monocular telescopes haven't eclipsed binoculars yet. But it may not be too long before these lightweight marvels are nudging their way past their big, bulkier brother as the instrument people reach for to get a quality view from a distance. While… READ THE REST
No kitchen is complete with a great molcajete and this one is on sale for under $55
There are few tools in the history of humankind that stretch back as far as the molcajete. Going back thousands of years to the ancient Mayans and beyond, the process of crafting stone mortar and pestle instruments to grind up spices is a staple of Mexican and South American food preparation. There are also few… READ THE REST
Train to become a Google Cloud engineer with these online classes
Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure? Those two titans are often the center of every question when considering cloud-based web platforms. While Amazon and Microsoft are the absolute 1-2 in that discussion, how about some of the other contenders in the cloud services space? That inevitably leads to the 3rd largest cloud platform Google Cloud.… READ THE REST
