Quick News & Notes:

Don't miss David Starkey interviewing Steve Beisner & Melinda Palacio on Santa Barbara's Cox, Channel 21:
Mon 8/25 6:30pm
Tues 8/26 8:30am, 3:30pm
Wed 8/27 1:30am, 3:30pm, 6:30pm
Sat 8/30 1:30am, 11:30am
Sun 8/31 9pm

Has an author or particular book changed your life? Ink Byte Magazine would love to publish your article about that writer or work. Contact us at editors@inkbyte.com.

Ketchup August 22, 2008 (Shelly Lowenkopf) Ever wondered how words are like ketchup? You haven't? How about a clue? It has nothing to do with the red sauce being America's favorite vegetable. Shelly Lowenkopf shares his insights, culinary and literary. (complete article...)

Piecemeal August 13, 2008 (Kathryn Wilkens) I admire writers who can sit at the keyboard and spin out a narrative, starting at point A and continuing to point Z. Their work method is like knitting a sweater, one stitch logically following the previous. I wish I could do that. (complete article...)

You Don't Have to Be A Poet to Write Poetry July 30, 2008 (Diana M. Raab) Really. You don't. And I will tell you why. The first poem I wrote as an adult was about ten years ago. I was living in Orlando and getting ready to meet a friend for coffee to discuss a writing project. We were to meet on Park Avenue in Winter Park which is situated in the suburbs of Orlando and a good place to be seen and heard. It's a fun four-block stretch of shops and eateries. Somewhere in the middle of the strip is a popular chain coffee shop called 'Barnie's'. My writing studio was located on the floor above, so this was a convenient place to meet, as I tried to use my studio only for writing. Barnie's prepared fabulous coffee and their major competition up the street was Starbucks who they claimed over-roasted their coffee creating a strong aroma to lure in patrons. (complete article...)

The Mathematics of Reading July 20, 2008 (Kathleen Roxby) I can understand why some people choose to spend their lives immersed in numbers. There is an inherent comfort in working with arithmetic. No matter how complicated a current puzzle of numbers, you always know there will be an epiphany from which will follow a certainty, a balance into which all the pieces will resolve in the solution of the calculation. It is for this same reason, I think, that I choose mystery novels to interrupt the pattern of my days, ruffle up the doldrums in my mind, or simply to break out of the confinement of airline travel. (complete article...)

Mac Daddy: My Love Affair with Apple. July 9, 2008 (Melinda Palacio) I've owned an Apple computer all of my adult life. Frankly, I don't care to remember life before my Mac. I expect our relationship to last an eternity. We continue to grow together in ways I've never imagined. (complete article...)

Ten Political Novels July 1, 2008 (Shelly Lowenkopf) It's that time: the political season is upon us and the politicians are out-doing the writers' of fiction with their creative interpretations of reality. Shelly has compiled this selection of political novels for those who want to read more about everyone's favorite sport. (complete article...)

Improving on the Silence June 24, 2008 (Rita Shaler-Nelson) I have to admit I struggle a bit (OK, a lot!) over the idea of using my life as material for a book. Turning flesh and blood people I knew and loved (not to mention myself) into characters seems questionable to me, at times. Then, I read a quote by a 19th century yogi that granted me a sort of literary permission slip. (complete article...)

And The Answer Is... June 16, 2008 (Beverlye Hyman Fead) My granddaughter called me and said she wanted to do a book with me. That was two years ago. She was eight and in the second grade. She was dead serious. And not only that, it was a great idea for a book. (complete article...)

What Story Should You Tell? June 10, 2008 (Diana M. Raab) Whether your chosen genre is fiction, nonfiction or poetry, you probably have a unique story to tell. The act of reliving and retelling childhood stories are common platforms for writers. We go back to those times either because they were filled with pains, joys or laden with unanswered questions. (complete article...)

The Physics of Story June 4, 2008 (Shelly Lowenkopf) Tired of show, don't tell? Ready for a fresh look at the art of fiction? Shelly Lowenkopf gives us the following exposition of the laws of fiction as Isaac Newton might have laid them out. [Can Special & General Relativity of Fiction be far behind? -- Editor] (complete article...)

The Silicon Amanuensis: Open Office 3.0 is World Class and Free May 23, 2008 (Steve Beisner) Though it is expensive and sometimes frustrating to use, Microsoft Word has long been the standard tool for word crafters. OpenOffice is a cooperatively developed ("open software"), free alternative to MS Office. The OpenOffice word processor (OO Writer) is a drop-in replacement for MS Word. Beyond the cost advantage, there are other good reasons why a professional writer might prefer OO Writer to Microsoft's offering. We review the newly available "beta" release of the next version, OpenOffice 3.0. (complete article...)

The Fiction Toolkit, Part 11 May 11, 2008 (Shelly Lowenkopf) Another in a series of excerpts from Shelly Lowenkopf's The Fiction Writer's Tool Kit: Terms, Concepts, and Devices for Building a Better Story. In this installment Shelly looks at Action, Agenda and Ambiguity. (complete article...)