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If so, consider becoming a participant in the State of Black SciFi 2012.

Purpose

To discuss the state of Black Speculative Fiction and answer pertinent questions about the viability and future of this area.

Time Schedule

From the ML King holiday until the last week of Black history month (January 16-February 27), a group of people who love Black SciFi will discuss the state of Black speculative fiction using corporate blogging.  

How will this happen?

Participants will blog weekly and will place links to each other’s posts on their websites (Alicia McCalla will send out a list of participants each week).  Readers will be encouraged to participate by posting comments, tweeting #BlackSciFi2012 and discussing the topic.

Black SF 2012 Logo

Each blogger will upload the State of Black SF logo on their website and add the image to weekly post. Bloggers are encouraged to add other images that support the topic discussed.

Promo Days and Giveaways

At the end of 7-weeks, each blogger will giveaway one promotional item such as a free book, t-shirt, etc. Bloggers will select winners and post winners on the finale blog post. Winners will be randomly selected from those who have commented, tweeted, and discussed the topic.   It will be the responsibility of each blogger to contact the winners and mail promotional items.

Weekly Blog Post

Each Monday, bloggers will use the same title and blog about the same topic (listed below).  Alicia McCalla will send out the prompt each week so bloggers have a direction for the discussion. Bloggers will tweet it and ask readers to post comments.  Each blogger will have a link to each website so readers can follow the blog tour.  Alicia McCalla will send a weekly list of participant’s websites. Blog posts will be 700 words or less.  

Twitter hashtag: #blackscifi2012

Monday Topics

Dates

Blog Topics

Jan 16th

What is the State of Black SciFi?

Jan 23rd

Why do I Love Black Speculative Fiction?

Jan 30th

Why Is it important to show race, culture, minority politics or ethnicity in SciFi?

February 6th

Promo Day: Share Your Black SF Work or Your Favorite Black SF work(Free Chapter or Sample of your work)

February 13th

What’s your favorite Black SciFi event? (i.e. Onyx con, Alien Encounters etc.)  

February 20th

A Tribute to my Favorite Black SciFi Icon (i.e. Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney etc.)

February 27th

Closing Thoughts about the Discussion: Huge Promo Giveaways

 

Are you interested in participating?

If so, contact Alicia McCalla on/or before Wednesday, January 11,2012.  Participants will receive links and information at least 3-days in advance.  You can contact her via Black SF society or at the contact form on her website: www.aliciamccalla.com. You can also RSVP under events. Hope you’ll decide to participate. This will be fun!

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Assassination Anxiety Contest Answers.

Ok. Since nobody had what it takes to win this thing the contest is officially over. Too bad. I had several contestants try to make a noble effort. So here are the questions along with the answers.

1. Name three members of Nomad Squadron.

(You comic fans should know this one.) Jugger Grimrod, Mescad, Montroc.

2. There are two characters answering to the name, The Night Stalker. One on TV. The other in real life. Who were they?

Reporter Carl Kolchack, Played by Darren McGavin. And Serial Killer Richard Ramerez.

3. This 1979 horror movie featured a scene where a zombie fought with a shark.

Lucio Fulci's Zombie.

4. Secret identities revealed. Who are these three characters? Kletus Cassady. Fred J. Dukes. Mac Gargan.

Carnage, The Blob, Scorpion.

5. This was the weapon used in an assassination attempt against Reinhart Heydrich.

Sten machine gun.

6. Name the members of the Warbound.

The Hulk, Brood, Hierom, Elloe Kaffe, Korg, Meik.

7. Astronomers recently discovered a planetary system with twin suns and named it after a planet in this well known science fiction film.

Tatooine.

8. This man was known as the butcher of Plainsfield.

Ed Gein.

9. Secret indentities part 2. Who are these thre characters? Johnathan Crane, Todd Arlis, Cain Marko.

Scarecrow, Tiger Shark, Juggernaught.

10. It was rumored that Adolph Hitler copied his small moustache from this silent film star.

Charlie Chaplin.

11. This man used to be Al Capone's boss.

Johnny Torrio.

12. Where can you find these villians? Tchernobog, The Enclave, Makron.

Blood PC game, Fallout 3 for X-Box 360, Quake 3 PC game.

13. WHat are the three kingdoms in nature?

Animal, mineral, vegatable.

14. This man was the only German field marshal ever to be taken prisoner in World War-2.

Freidrich Von Paulus.

15. Where is Little Lamp Light?

In Fallout 3 for X-box 360.

16. This Toho Studio's monster was a mutation created by micro oxygen.

Destroyer.

17. This long time member of the X-Men lost his life in a firey plane crash.

Banshee.

18. This woman was Adolph Hitler's secretary.

Tradl Junge.

19. David Vincent had a hard time getting people to believe that aliens were invading earth in this classic TV series.

The Invaders.

20. This coin was often mistaken for a quarter.

Susan B. Anthony dollar coin.

21. Name the three German generals who committed suicide.

Rommel, Model, Von Kluge.

22. Where can you find the Arm fighting the Core?

Total Annihillation PC game.

23. This man was fired from Al Capones gang because he was too violent.

Lester Gillis. AKA Baby Face Nelson.

24. Secret Identities part three. Who are these characters? Otto Octavious, Sam Sterns, Morrie Bench.

Dr Octopus, THe Leader, Hydro Man.

25. WHere do these three characters live? Rigel the 16th, Mr House, Arthas.

Hyneria, Lucky 38 Casino in Fallout 3, Lorderon in Warcraft 3 PC game.

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Editing with a Partner

I am going through my second science fiction novel chapter by chapter with my writing partner. The experience has been very positive. The first positive is she understood what I was doing with race in the book. I am still struggling with the point of view. There are two main characters but only one voice. I have written the book from two points of view but it felt really awkward, so my latest version had just one. However, my partner suggests that I return to two points of view. My potential publisher also indicated that the second voice would be better for the African American market. Strong incentives. 

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I Can't Take Credit for the Title...

I detect a hint of frustration in detecting the Higgs Boson. Once called the "God Particle" by Leon Lederman, he's "using the Lord's name in vain" expressing his frustration on the amount of money being (and been) spent trying to find the theoretical particle that if discovered, will change the fundamental understanding of physics and the universe (especially String Theory), which a professor friend at UT Austin compared to: (ahem) bull excrement!

 

Basically, the Higgs Boson is supposed to posit why anything in the universe has mass (photons for example, have a rest mass of m0 = 0, as in zip, nada).

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Bookmark these links and reference them as much as you need. There’s something for everyone here, so read on. Your manuscript and writing career will thank you.

Without further ado, the 18 Most Popular Article on Writing of 2011:

  1. The 7 Deadly Sins of Writing
  2. 8 Ways to Write a 5-Star Chapter One
  3. How to Craft Compelling Characters
  4. 3 Secrets to Great Storytelling
  5. How to End Your Chapters (the Right Way)
  6. The 7 Tools of Dialogue
  7. A 12-Day Plan of Simple Writing Exercises
  8. What Writers Need to Know About Copyrights (FAQs)
  9. The 90 Top Secrets of Bestselling Authors
  10. 10 Ways to Launch Strong Scenes
  11. Are You a Word Nerd? Take This Quiz.
  12. The 4 Pet Peeves of Freelancers (and How to Tackle Them)
  13. How to Be a Successful Ghostwriter
  14. How These Writers Got Their Agents–And What You Can Learn From Them
  15. The 5 Essential Story Ingredients
  16. 25 Ways to Improve Your Writing in 30 Minutes a Day
  17. Read These Successful Query Letters
  18. How to Revise Your Work (& Awesome Editing Symbols You Should Know)

 

There’s no doubt that our staff worked tirelessly in 2011 to bring you advice, tips, interviews and inspiration to help you reach your writing goals. But I promise you, we plan to work even harder in 2012. It’s just what we do.

I hope 2011 treated you well, but I’m confident 2012 is going to be even better.

From the bottom of my heart,

Brian

 

Follow me on Twitter: @BrianKlems
Curated by: Thaddeus Howze

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Strong Force...

Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson: when you see the PDF of the first chapter of a very short, remarkable book, you'll peek into a remarkable life. She was the first African American graduate of MIT, and is the president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. There are always "firsts": make sure you reach back so that it's not "only."

 

"The Graduate" Source: Mo'Kelly Report (Ernie Barnes, R.I.P.)
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Myth Busted...

We all give ourselves time limits: there is "a time and a purpose under Heaven" according to Ecclesiastes (a pen name of Solomon). This examines the myth that anyoneed having not made a "discovery" before age thirty cannot possibly look forward to winning a Nobel Prize - science in particular, or literature especially. The article I post simply states it's not true, e.g., Octavia Butler started at 23; Issac Asimov at 38.

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Missed the Chat...

This is an embed of the chat concerning the Large Haydron Collider and its search for the so far elusive Higgs Boson. It will explain why mass has "mass." Mass/Stuff is a drag on the ability to on anything other than a photon (rest mass = 0) to go at the speed of light. This also lends itself to String Theory and other dimensions, so enjoy the information. Use it in your writing.

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The Power of Pencils and Stubborness...

Einstein answering a question regarding his acumen at science, said God had allowed him born "as stubborn as a mule." The video from Ainissa Ramirez shows people of color exceling in the sciences - sister is a prof at Yale in Material Science!

 

The dilemma is the expected instantaneousness of any posed question. Google has sadly hindered our patience in problem-solving or storytelling. A student is more prone to say: "So...what's the answer?" versus "what's the next step?"

 

The quality of the question and the stubborness of the seeker determines the height of the outcome.

 

 

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