Monthly Archives: June 2013

How to be a writer: how much feedback?

Posted on June 27, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Who should you ask for feedback on your story or novel? Some of them should be fellow writers, so you can be sure they’ll take a critical eye. Some of them should be your target audience, so you can be … Continue reading →

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I’m doing Camp NaNoWriMo next month

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

National Novel Writing Month is becoming a bigger and bigger deal every year, with over 300,000 writers writing 3 billion words last November. But for people in academia, like me, November is one of the worst months of the year … Continue reading →

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In the sky: the perigee Moon

Posted on June 20, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

It’s that time of year again. Time for another round of stories to circulate about the alleged “supermoon”–if by “super” you really mean the Moon’s at perigee. Perigee is the point where the Moon is at the closest point in … Continue reading →

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Welcom to the Future, Part 2: Star Trek Continues

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Fan-made Star Trek films and web series are nothing new. The first ones hit the Internet way back in 2000. However, a quick survey of these productions reveals that most of them suffer from substandard script-writing, substandard acting, or both, … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court rules human genes are not patentable

Posted on June 13, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

In what is widely seen as a victory for science and medical research, as well as common sense, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled unanimously today that human genes cannot be patented. (Read the opinion here.) At issue … Continue reading →

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Book review: The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Mur Lafferty is the author of the excellent I Should Be Writing podcast, which provides useful advice to writers of all calibers. After self-publishing a variety of fantasy and science fiction works, Lafferty now debuts her first professionally-published novel, The … Continue reading →

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The backwards planets

Posted on June 9, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Our Solar System formed from a single, spinning gas cloud in a nebula not unlike the Orion Nebula we can see in the sky today. The whole cloud was spinning the same direction, which means that as it collapsed, almost … Continue reading →

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How to be a writer: getting feedback

Posted on June 6, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

So you wrote something. Great! Maybe it’s a short story. Maybe it’s a novel. Maybe it’s an epic 300,000-word tome (although if it is, you might have some issues). It’s always good when you can finish a project, but now … Continue reading →

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In the sky: Saturn

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Alex R. Howe

Saturn is an old favorite for stargazers. The most distant of the classical planets, and widely regarded as the most majestic, its stately 30-year orbit means that it doesn’t move too much from year to year, making it easier to … Continue reading →

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