tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17292899550624167742012-02-01T17:06:47.930-05:00Writer, Plague EnthusiastElizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.comBlogger2411100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-87604710462454186222012-01-31T17:29:00.002-05:002012-01-31T17:29:49.236-05:00

Why can't we have mass sarcasm more often?    Via Failblog.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-30630011479050644052012-01-29T13:35:00.000-05:002012-01-29T13:35:15.228-05:00

Writers and readers of breadth and depth, do you know about the Internet Archive?  I discovered the archive a while back when I was looking for online copies of obscure Renaissance plays. The archive is, in my opinion, exactly what the internet should be: an endless stream of videos of baby animals a place where libraries can store their stuff so everyone has access to it. The Archive is

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-3922856821475831072012-01-22T23:26:00.000-05:002012-01-22T23:26:23.299-05:00

Tomorrow, the fine people at yourfonts.com are celebrating National Handwriting Day by offering YOU (and him and her and you and you and you) the chance to make a font (or more than one!) out of your own handwriting for free. The offer is only good on January 23rd, 2012. Use the coupon CPN4NHD2012 at checkout. As a longtime writer-by-hand, I can't wait! I suspect the results will be illegible,

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-36459352712562255132012-01-09T22:03:00.001-05:002012-01-09T22:03:46.495-05:00

I met Michael Montoure through last October's Coffin Hop. I read his short story collection Slices over the holidays, and let me tell you, it is mind-blowingly good. Buy this immediately: go now go! Slices contains a glorious collection of twisted, dark, and dreamlike pieces. The fantasy and horror tropes in Slices remind me, more than anything I've read recently, of the original Twilight

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-81978413174548216872012-01-08T01:28:00.000-05:002012-01-08T01:28:41.475-05:00

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-57781083953981925662011-12-30T15:43:00.002-05:002011-12-30T21:41:10.007-05:00

A couple of days ago, I got together with two of my close friends for a little holiday socializing. At the end of the evening, I wished our hostess a happy new year, and wished her luck with any resolutions she might be planning. "Oh, I don't make resolutions," she said. "Me neither," said my other friend with a look of distaste. I should say that these are two super cool women. They are anti

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-62891904091467580682011-12-25T00:05:00.000-05:002011-12-25T00:05:00.683-05:00

Merry Christmas, everyone! Via FailBlog

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-76455101899872029902011-12-24T13:00:00.000-05:002011-12-24T23:20:33.851-05:00

Yes, it's time for another Pumpkinhead post. The Christmas version. I hope Santa gives all of you exactly what you want this year.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-38224677637658265122011-12-23T18:20:00.000-05:002011-12-23T18:20:34.265-05:00

Via FailBlog

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-8791554127999635892011-12-23T10:59:00.000-05:002011-12-23T10:59:13.795-05:00

I've mentioned before that I'm a member of a forum for writers called Stringing Words. This forum is basically the Cheers of writing communities. It's cosy, friendly, and a good place to hang out when you want to remember that one giant reason to be a writer is that writers make great communities. Though I can be a cynical bastard at times, I need love and support too. This a place I know I can

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-45451589647481275912011-12-13T18:21:00.000-05:002011-12-13T18:21:16.125-05:00

There's been a lot of chit chat in the writeosphere recently about increasing output and speed. If you haven't read it already, Rachel Aaron's post on going from 2000 to 10 000 words per day is well worth checking out. Why is speed good? Jay Ridler has some thoughts on how speed is productive when it comes to writing fiction, although not necessarily when it comes to other types of writing. As

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-34032514368694624392011-12-12T21:59:00.000-05:002011-12-12T21:59:31.212-05:00

Jim Meskiman does vocal impressions. Really really well. Since Christmas is fast approaching, but it's still too early to post the dancing pumpkinhead Christmas video, you can have this instead. Enjoy.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-64183772468563989762011-12-05T14:30:00.001-05:002011-12-05T14:38:35.368-05:00

I don't know why, but this is amusing me no end right now. Via Comixed I'm working on a larger post about the dark forces gumption I managed to rustle up in November. In the meantime, I'm watching some extremely fucked up movies and researching octopuses in order that I might better write about them.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-18785393023741454242011-11-30T22:32:00.000-05:002011-11-30T22:32:23.929-05:00

Earlier today, I made it across the NaNoWriMo double challenge finish line in two ways: one, I made it a little bit past 100k (100489 words). Two, I wrote the final scene of my novel. What I have feels like a well structured extremely elaborate outline of what could be a good novel someday. This is the first time I've managed a novel length piece without having it fall to pieces. This evening, I

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-24139658494731988662011-11-29T21:17:00.000-05:002011-11-29T21:17:46.737-05:00

Home stretch. I've got a crisis, a battle, and a denouement to go. I'll report back when I'm all finished up. In the meantime, let's have one last Craig Ferguson Cold Open Dance Party, featuring Duran Duran's White Lines. I want each and every one of you out of your chairs and shaking your boots. If you can't shake it to a song about cocaine lip synced by a pompadour-wearing Craig Ferguson, his

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-29252212687624208832011-11-28T15:55:00.000-05:002011-11-28T15:55:45.537-05:00

Nothing to do with what I'm writing. I'm just trying to keep you amused so you don't notice that I'm not offering you any meaningful content. I'm at 89021 words. Carry on:

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-65342800683129905022011-11-27T21:47:00.000-05:002011-11-27T21:47:30.529-05:00

Last night, I took half an hour before beginning to write, grabbed a blank page, and plotted the end of the novel. I've known for some time how it will end (no I will not tell you just trust me it is great). For a while I've had some pretty strong ideas of the intermediate steps necessary to get there, but I wasn't sure how it was all going to hang together. Now I know. It's just a matter of

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-37477100347219247812011-11-26T18:34:00.000-05:002011-11-26T18:34:19.107-05:00

Source Source Source Source Source

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-81820481797753725572011-11-26T17:55:00.000-05:002011-11-26T17:55:17.734-05:00

What's this, you ask? Why, adorable handmade bookmarks from Red Tash, who sent me stuff because she is awesome. Did you know that her book, This Brilliant Darkness, is available at a special price right now? You should totally buy it. After reading this review by Brent Nichols, I can't wait to read it. Tash, please pass on my thanks to your minions. They make great bookmarks! I also got a

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-4856020448621790232011-11-24T22:59:00.000-05:002011-11-24T22:59:59.989-05:00

Still more writing to go tonight. Current inspiration: Latcho Drom, a film by Tony Gatlif. The whole thing is wonderful. This is just a little taste.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-53380154231086057602011-11-24T18:57:00.002-05:002011-11-25T16:35:24.315-05:00

Bad news, my friends: the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, MD, where Poe began his short story writing career, has had its modest funding withdrawn by the city. Although the building is not under threat because it is considered a landmark, the museum might be forced to close in 2012. The good members of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore are dedicated to keeping the memory

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-57698021264763913622011-11-21T16:19:00.000-05:002011-11-21T16:19:29.527-05:00

My current inspiration: The Burning Times is a remarkable documentary. While some of the claims of its experts have been called into question, it is radically subversive in many ways. This style of feminism, with its focus on recovering women's history and highlighting the deep misogyny of our culture, has long since gone out of style (if it ever was in style?), much to my consternation. As

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-80772632599033293832011-11-17T13:50:00.000-05:002011-11-17T13:50:33.512-05:00

...and just about the end of the first part of my novel. I'm close to par for reaching my goal of 100k this month. Honestly, I have no idea how this is happening, except to say that somehow I have tapped my innate stubbornness in a way I haven't been able to since I was two years old. Keep writing, everyone, whether you're insane a WriMo or not.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-36390033534987617622011-11-16T13:24:00.000-05:002011-11-16T13:24:18.077-05:00

Today's title comes from a Vatican condemnation of New Moon, released shortly after the Catholic Church decided to start slamming Hallowe'en. Damn, vampmeyers get all the best reviews. I can only hope that someday, the book I'm writing right now will be similarly described. A girl can dream, can't she? Source Word count: 47559. I should indeed pass 50k today. I can't believe I'm planning to

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-21439693707296789542011-11-15T20:43:00.001-05:002011-11-15T20:57:43.472-05:00

My story takes place in the Medieval period, so my musical choices are limited, but if I could send my characters to a dance hall sometime in the late 1980s, I would have them moving to this, although maybe not as stylishly as the Red Army: Russian Break Dance'а Sunday's word count took me to 39444. Monday took me to 43812. I'm a little less than a day behind, hoping to pass the mighty 50k by

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-70790584616989403302011-11-13T18:29:00.002-05:002011-11-13T18:32:46.434-05:00

From Pierre Boaistuau's Histoires Prodigieuses (1569)Source Right now my source material is an incident in the life of Henry Suso, a 14th-century mystic who was also a follower of Meister Ekhart. During the time of plague, a popular pastime was accusing various marginalized people and groups of poisoning wells. So severe were the symptoms of plague that many people could not accept that it was

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-33405132795325480682011-11-11T01:14:00.000-05:002011-11-11T01:14:51.613-05:00

Today's writing opened up the possibility of a sequence of scenes featuring disembodied monks in a brothel. I am afraid that this may be the beginning of the end for my (so far) serious novel. Isn't sticking a ghostly monk in the body of a prostitute basically the ultimate in jumping the shark? (Can we use "jump the shark" as a turn of phrase again? Or has "jumping the shark" jumped the shark?)

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-62365925425673312882011-11-10T16:00:00.000-05:002011-11-10T16:00:51.115-05:00

On Tuesday, I hit a wall. That would be the wall of lack of sleep and the wall of holy crap I've done so much already this month and the wall of I am blowing my own mind. Word count: 24068, about 2400 under par for the old Double NaNo challenge. On Wednesday, I punched through the wall using the super fist of I can't quit now and I shall overcome and behold my awesomeness. So much is happening

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-68022810149517196832011-11-08T00:12:00.000-05:002011-11-08T00:12:57.318-05:00

I made it through an action-packed weekend with my word count more or less intact. Despite attending an emergency summit of girlfriends, teaching a double tai chi class on Saturday, and running a four-hour intensive workshop on Sunday, I kept on writing. By the end of Sunday (Day 6), my word count was at 18953. Day 7, and I'm at 22648. My people are due for a mini-event that will presage the (

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-90429561306513573012011-11-06T00:41:00.000-04:002011-11-06T00:41:37.809-04:00

I defy you to avoid boogying to this jam, especially once the sharks get into it. Oh, and I'm at 16725 words.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-41115570306187016502011-11-05T00:09:00.000-04:002011-11-05T00:09:03.554-04:00

I am buckling down, my pretties. Yesterday, NaNoWriMo day three, my word count was at 11 957. Today was not an awesome day for writing - Fridays and weekends tend not to be, because that's when I do the majority of my teaching - but I am still ahead of the 100k in 30 days quota at 13 599. After working with my primary MC for the last three days, I've introduced someone new. Someone fabulous. 

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-31906935894279850872011-11-03T00:52:00.000-04:002011-11-03T00:52:51.420-04:00

The sleep deprivation is definitely kicking in. I worked out this evening so I could stretch my old bones and not die when I teach my usual (excessive) round of tai chi classes plus a four-hour workshop this weekend, but then I came home and got right back into the writing. It's day two. I feel a certain obligation to keep up my high volume word count while enthusiasm is still high and my idea

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-23215942938599986452011-11-02T00:26:00.000-04:002011-11-02T00:26:22.661-04:00

Yeeeahhhhhh! (Foam is coming out of my mouth right now. That's normal, right?) I wrote 3714 words today. My book opens in the year 1348, when the Black Death struck Britain. (It hit bits of the rest of Europe the year before.) My idea concerns death and magic and diverges from what really happened historically on page one. I have no title, not even a working title, and that is driving me nuts.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-15691174020475692222011-11-02T00:01:00.000-04:002011-11-02T00:01:20.524-04:00

The Coffin Hop is over! Booooo! The only thing I can say is that I wish it had gone on for a little longer, so I could have visited more sites while the cool giveaways were still happening. The best thing about the hop, though (besides the terrific badges) is that we can still visit the amazing writers who participated and get to know them that much better. Second best thing: there's going to

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-83885481476944600362011-10-23T23:19:00.003-04:002011-10-23T23:37:43.149-04:00

Source It's the week before Halloween, and the beginning of the Coffin Hop Horror Web Tour. Hooray! Last time I checked the website, there were 99 fabulous writers participating - which means that there will be tons of wonderful contests to enter and win. So get hopping, visit some new writers, and enter their contests! What am I giving away, pray tell? I've got a two-part prize for you. Part

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-55031961662872678242011-10-18T15:31:00.002-04:002011-10-27T11:56:46.652-04:00

Via Failblog.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-64587192990372371562011-10-17T15:19:00.000-04:002011-10-17T15:19:58.124-04:00

It's almost here, boils and ghouls! Just to make sure you're in the spirit for Halloween and eagerly planning your costumes / movie marathons / candy binges / dark rituals, here's something old but so so good.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-22674988470164152702011-10-14T23:19:00.000-04:002011-10-14T23:19:56.797-04:00

At the end of this month I am getting Hallowe'eny with some fellow horror writers. If you're one of us...join us! If you're not, you might want to make a habit of dropping by the Coffin Hopper's websites that week, because we will all be offering treats, not tricks, in the form of contests! with fabulous prizes! Deets for those who might like to play: 1) HAVE A SPOOKY FUN TIME!2) INVITE YOUR

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-23285678067436042052011-10-13T16:46:00.000-04:002011-10-13T16:46:15.763-04:00

This week I've been working on a short story about bubonic plague, trying to finish another about what happened to Icarus after he fell from the sky, and reading Malachi Martin's Hostage to the Devil, one of the scariest non-fiction books I've ever read. In my never-ending search for amazing things to look at, I discovered photographer James Mollison's series called The Disciples. Mollison

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-2058711631789016892011-10-09T16:44:00.001-04:002011-10-10T01:30:22.190-04:00

So, I've been away. Specifically, I've been in a Muskoka chair on the grassy shore of this jewel of a Northern Ontario lake. While I was there, and during the bits of September and early October that weren't spent there, I was sick with Deathflu (tm). Look out for this flu, people. Everyone I know who caught it ended up with wicked bronchitis that stretched on for weeks. I'm (mostly) better now

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-51986653217319253142011-09-30T16:27:00.002-04:002011-10-02T15:51:04.536-04:00

Hooray!  My story, "The Other Daughter," along with the others in the Cinderella issue of Enchanted Conversation, is up today. You won't believe how incredibly appropriate the artwork is to the story. It's perfect.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-12559389821901942882011-08-28T15:13:00.000-04:002011-08-28T15:13:37.622-04:00

Edmund Dulac's Cinderella (Source) I just learned that my story "The Other Daughter" is going to be a part of the Cinderella issue of Enchanted Conversation. Couldn't be more excited.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-21693225002407553302011-08-22T15:09:00.000-04:002011-08-22T15:09:47.741-04:00

Yes, hello there, this message is for Gary. Your number was given to me by Natalie, regarding your boas and pythons and so on and so forth. My name is Joanne, and we were looking to meet and talk about the possibility of using one of your skates snakes for a couple of events. I am looking for an albino python if that's possible. My number is [redacted]. There is a cell phone number I'm going to

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-51464591034090964212011-08-18T16:45:00.002-04:002011-08-18T16:56:11.583-04:00

I recently came across this passage from Natalie Crohn Schmitt's essay, "The Idea of a Person in Medieval Morality Plays," published in a collection called The Drama in the Middle Ages (AMS, 1982). It offers a fascinating account of the Medieval European view of good and evil, and how this view influenced the way people experienced the world. From "The Idea of a Person in Medieval Morality

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-77272637143296419182011-08-11T14:27:00.000-04:002011-08-11T14:27:08.437-04:00

When I worked on my guest post, "Why I Write Horror," at Wicked & Tricksy a while back, I cheated. I wrote about one reason why I dig the dark stuff, but in fact there's a whole grab bag of tidbits from my personal history that contributed to making me the horror writer I am today. Here's one.  Source My dad is a great storyteller. Although he was a construction inspector by trade before

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-85926516778763447352011-07-25T15:12:00.001-04:002011-07-25T15:13:02.839-04:00

This is not so much a draw or a contest as an offer to pass on genuinely helpful books to someone who can use them. As I've mentioned before, I attended grad school and earned a PhD. in English Literature, with a specialization in Renaissance drama and a twist of medical history. I have a handful of books from that time that I can no longer use, but which are good and helpful. If you are a grad

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-52860296897213335082011-07-22T16:27:00.001-04:002011-07-22T16:27:56.254-04:00

Over at Wicked & Tricksy today I've got a post up called Why I Write Horror. Really it's about my earliest defining encounter with a [literary] ghoul who just wouldn't leave me alone. Go check it out. While you're there, poke around W&T if you haven't had the chance to yet. There are many fine and enlightening essays up about writing speculative fiction. It's good stuff. Writing that post

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-75013046715223517682011-07-22T12:09:00.000-04:002011-07-22T12:09:23.015-04:00

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-75639213952465579812011-07-20T15:44:00.000-04:002011-07-20T15:44:53.362-04:00

Further to L.G. Smith's post on Bards and Prophets about the surreal contents of her search statistics, I bring you the following (and welcome, if any of you came to me via any of these): feng shui writers dose [sic] dan aykroyd strangle albert brooks? people who liked when dan aykroid [sic] strangled albert brooks bubonic plague chakra-caduceus images friendly tulpa fisticuffs queensbury hair

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-84321510269667492382011-07-08T23:00:00.000-04:002011-07-08T23:00:39.871-04:00

I'm a big fan of the leaky, insubstantial, and unreliable aspects of our experience. As someone who has spent a lot of time working on opening up my perceptions (mostly via meditation), I am all too familiar with the idea that our minds are shaped by what we believe we should be seeing. We constantly discard evidence of the senses that doesn't square with consensus, culturally approved reality.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-14478702295369641712011-07-06T14:08:00.001-04:002011-07-06T14:08:00.180-04:00

Trailer for the short movie "Las Palmas" by Johannes Nyholm:

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-92062762780800310022011-07-04T13:57:00.000-04:002011-07-04T13:57:01.936-04:00

...sucked. I have tried to figure out some way in which June was okay. Yes, there was this, and it was great. In general, however, June was not good for me, and not good for my writing. Allergies happened. I was traumatized. Freaky people with the emotional equivalent of spastic colon detonated in my general vicinity. I was traumatized. Weirdos with bizarre tics ticked bizarrely at Dave. He was

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-36663302944612667782011-06-27T15:17:00.001-04:002011-06-27T16:04:28.100-04:00

My story "The Last Nephew" appears in the first issue of One Buck Horror, which is available for, uh, one buck at Barnes and Noble or Amazon. You get some gruesome cover art and five tales of terror, including mine, plus the karmic benefits of supporting a fledgling magazine. Over the weekend while I was scouring the nether regions of the internet (it's stinky down there: internet, you need a

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-82790958205333739392011-06-19T14:04:00.000-04:002011-06-19T14:04:35.056-04:00

If you squint really hard, you can see Gozer standing at the top. (Source) I've been thinking about the relationship between history and fiction this week, especially thanks to a post by Eileen Wiedbrauk over at Speak Coffee to Me. As a former literary scholar, I have a strange relationship with history. I've played in archives. I've held 400 year old manuscripts in my hands (and been

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-66152952193950122192011-06-07T10:19:00.012-04:002011-06-07T10:19:00.273-04:00

I'm not talking writing tips here. I am talking dessert. Summery frozen dessert that will blow your mind with its simplicity, deliciousness, and brain-freeze potential. I don't care if you come here to read my thoughts on writing: I would be remiss and probably karmically damaged if I didn't share this with you. Here's what you do: you know those bananas that are sitting in your kitchen and

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-41781735055956835162011-06-05T22:03:00.002-04:002011-06-05T22:17:03.829-04:00

(Not sure what to say about post #200, except to note it? As some kind of accomplishment? Or something?) Okay, so...Story a Day in May. A little week three brush with something viral slowed my progress a bit - as did the fact that I was exhausted. Nonetheless, I am super happy with the raw stats: Raw word count for the month: 50,083. I drafted 19 stories in all. Four of them took me two days

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-87059810385728390322011-05-19T16:28:00.000-04:002011-05-19T16:28:21.812-04:00

I'm very pleased to report that Chris and Kris Hawkins over at the brand spankin' new One Buck Horror have accepted my story, "The Last Nephew." It's a semi-steampunkish musty dusty creep festival about ghosts and consequences.  I will let you know - loudly and unequivocally - when it comes out.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-39594823098959664362011-05-17T19:47:00.001-04:002011-05-17T20:00:11.954-04:00

First of all, allow me to apologize for falling off the internet. I have (ahem!) been writing. Story a Day continues. As I'm headed into the second half of this challenge, I am ecstatic to report that I've written somewhere in the vicinity of 33 000 words since the beginning of May, and I've completed 12 stories, seven of which I consider to be viable. Of those stories, two took me more than a

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-5660933030841070292011-05-09T11:02:00.000-04:002011-05-09T11:02:35.215-04:00

Love this: Via Stephanie Skeem. Also love Shit My Students Write (for the grammar nazi in you).

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-64849239773950480092011-05-07T11:19:00.000-04:002011-05-07T11:19:41.761-04:00

Are you following the ever insightful Margo Lerwill, the super savvy S.B. Stewart-Laing, the maximally effervescent Sommer Leigh, and the microbially fascinating Claudie A.? I've been dropping in on these fabulous writers for a while now. They all write speculative fiction, and share some very sharp insights via their blogs. They are about to combine their superpowers into one awesome, all-mighty

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-31429358468352104012011-05-05T12:42:00.000-04:002011-05-05T12:42:19.317-04:00

Soo......Story a Day!  This is a post to update y'all on my progress and to talk about what it's like to push yourself way beyond your usual capacities. As a writer I face a couple of challenges. One: I have chronic ants-in-pants. I find it physically difficult to sit with my arse in a chair for more than a few minutes. I combat this by working out a lot, to the point of exhaustion. Two: I am a

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-82501869569024457682011-05-02T11:44:00.001-04:002011-05-02T11:53:00.446-04:00

If you've been dropping in from time to time, you already know this, but: I thoroughly enjoyed this challenge. I used A to Z to focus on topical posts that range far outside of my usual discussions of the entertainment industry, the horror genre, and writing. It was nice to remember that I know lots of stuff about...stuff! (And also that I am an articulate person.) So I want to issue an

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-68961318197759479202011-05-01T19:40:00.000-04:002011-05-01T19:40:42.225-04:00

Source During the first four months of 2011, I have focused my writing efforts on editing, polishing, and submitting pieces in my existing stable of short stories, in the name of getting my name out there a whole heck of a lot more. I have come to the conclusion that pro markets are super, super hard to break into, and editing is even harder. I've learned a lot about taking my stories from

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-17175654464474594162011-04-30T14:33:00.000-04:002011-04-30T14:33:30.162-04:00

Isn't it time we went back to the origins of this extraordinarily well-worn trope? Hipster Psychonaut Hamilton Morris's documentary, Nzambi, explores those origins. As a postscript, I have to say I've enjoyed these A to Z days, and loved meeting so many new bloggers and writers and writer-bloggers. I am moving on (tomorrow!!) to the Story a Day in May challenge. I hope you'll join me.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-67258590777855616552011-04-30T14:07:00.001-04:002011-04-30T14:09:15.464-04:00

Source I've mentioned before that I've spent a lot of time training with a tai chi master who is also a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. Yin and Yang are the two primal forces that make up the phenomenological world (the world as we experience it). Mostly the western understanding of these two forces is pretty superficial. You've probably heard about yin and yang as feminine and

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-32830306259100051102011-04-28T16:00:00.001-04:002011-04-28T16:02:12.604-04:00

Source Xanthippe was the wife of the philosopher Socrates. Think about that for a second: you're a hot young thing, married to the ugliest and smartest man in Athens. He's running around town, being wined and dined by all the hip younger dudes, and he's screwing them, to boot. You're stuck at home with three kids and nothing to feed them. You want your husband to smarten up when it comes to

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-61756912565437407542011-04-28T12:34:00.000-04:002011-04-28T12:34:20.742-04:00

Got my dueling boots on and everything. Woot! Story a Day in May is swiftly approaching.  I officially challenge y'all to join me and a band of piratical fantastical writers in attempting to climb Mount Crazy.  Some of you are on the fence about this. It is going to be great. What's the worst that could happen? You flunk out horribly and end up with a mere five or six new short stories under

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-49718489952762603532011-04-27T11:53:00.002-04:002011-04-28T16:29:04.386-04:00

Source Putting this post together made me itchy. I've been thinking about wasps lately. It's just about time for them to make their annual assault on my backyard. The dog has been stung several times on his face. I'm not into spraying or killing bugs at all, and I could not figure out what they were attracted to in the yard. (We've got a lot of flowers, no fruit trees, but the flowers could

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-50314192554964714342011-04-26T21:53:00.001-04:002011-04-28T16:33:24.274-04:00

Source When I was studying early drama, my favourite character was always the Vice. In medieval allegorical drama, Vices are spin-offs of the Seven Deadly Sins. They have names like Mischief, Covetousness, Nought, Nowadays, and New Guise. They are nasty, troublesome characters who want nothing more than to cause the downfall of the protagonist by leading him into temptation. The thing about

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-74771423422071045752011-04-25T23:29:00.000-04:002011-04-25T23:29:39.740-04:00

Source As long as there have been people who could look up at the sky and wonder, there has been a concept of an underworld, a heavenly alter-ego, a dark shadow space where the bad things, the repudiated things, or maybe just the dark and squiggly things live. I'm not talking about the Romeo-and-Juliet-cum-werewolf-and-vampire movie series, much as I love Kate Beckinsale and love her even more

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-62970642428856031342011-04-23T23:51:00.000-04:002011-04-23T23:51:55.956-04:00

Source ...well, you probably can. But you might want to accept anyway. You might have noticed a certain shift in tone to my posts during the A to Z Blogging Challenge this month. Suddenly, I am writing about strange facts and concepts! (As opposed to my usual posts on the horror genre, weird dreams I had, and stuff I'm writing.) There is indeed a method to my madness. I've mentioned this

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-73737340051848658962011-04-23T22:53:00.001-04:002011-04-23T22:55:13.734-04:00

Source In certain Buddhist sects, including the Tibetan tradition, a tulpa is the concrete physical manifestation of a thought-form. All conscious beings - from the One Mind of the Universe to the deities to human beings - are capable of giving physical form to their thoughts. When a person / magician manifests a thought-form in reality, that thought-form is called a tulpa. The analogy most

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-81687338698543930672011-04-23T18:28:00.001-04:002011-04-23T18:32:14.446-04:00

Source The humble snake or serpent carries a lot of symbolic weight in this world of ours. In the west, serpents have taken on an extremely negative connotation from their association with the forces of evil, courtesy of the story of Genesis (3:1-5 - this is from the KJV): Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea,

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-29519215710290078412011-04-21T16:48:00.000-04:002011-04-21T16:48:23.342-04:00

Source Few emotions are as pure as rage. We love; we grieve; we fear; we worry; we rejoice. Seldom do we act decisively on these emotions, preferring to behave tentatively, quietly, or subtly. But when we rage, we often feel totally self-righteous. Never is the temptation to let our emotions loose on another human being so strong as when we are steamingly, overwhelmingly enraged. Rage has

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-23099253612265674002011-04-20T13:44:00.000-04:002011-04-20T13:44:25.195-04:00

Source No, not "queen." Quean. You'll see this word pop up from time to time in the language of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. A quean is a disreputable, upstart, boisterous, impudent woman. The term is also synonymous with "prostitute." Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time by Bronzino, c. 1546 Source A true quean always knows how to stir up maximum trouble. Even if she's a nun. From

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-53690427077078960912011-04-19T22:51:00.000-04:002011-04-19T22:51:41.166-04:00

Source Small pox, chicken pox: there are lots of different types of pox, but only one earned the name "The Pox" and "The Great Pox" - syphilis. As much as I admire the plague, syphilis has a special place in my heart as the Reigning Queen of All Diseases. She is enduring, she is mysterious, and she was a complete barbarian when she first hit Europe. The fact is, nobody knows where or how

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-35108932287234732582011-04-18T13:12:00.000-04:002011-04-18T13:12:21.894-04:00

Source Fear of rain. Like other weather-related phobias, ombrophobia often starts in childhood, as a result of a traumatic experience. The fix - like the fix for most phobias - is pretty nasty. Perhaps the most efficient means of extinguishing a storm phobia is the procedure called "flooding," in which the phobic is exposed directly to the maelstrom and not allowed to escape. When no injury

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-25151584901740553702011-04-16T12:53:00.000-04:002011-04-16T12:53:09.723-04:00

Source (By the way don't Google this topic. People are so, so gross.) We all know what this is, right? A paraphilia, or sexual fetish that involves corpses. Like many sexual fetishes, necrophilia has the potential to reinforce common cultural inequities. The overwhelming majority of images and commentary online to do with necrophilia are rape fantasies, or jokes that imply rape. ("She can't

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-25148639211766297052011-04-16T11:46:00.000-04:002011-04-16T11:46:21.763-04:00

Source Back in the Medieval and Renaissance periods, there was no understanding of microbes as a cause of disease. Generally speaking, disease states were understood as products of internal imbalance within the individual. If you had a cold, for example, it was thought that you had too much cold and damp in your body, which needed to be expressed as phlegm - one of the four humours (the other

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-19226358292792260692011-04-15T00:18:00.000-04:002011-04-15T00:18:23.705-04:00

Source I've been planning to write a story about Lulu Hurst for some time, ever since I first heard about this amazing woman from Ben and Aaron of Mysterious Universe. According to her autobiography, Lulu Hurst (The Georgia Wonder) Writes Her Autobiography and for the First Time Explains and Demonstrates The Great Secret of Her Marvelous Power (yes, that's the full title), Hurst was gifted at

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-76639246735083145142011-04-13T16:55:00.000-04:002011-04-13T16:55:27.530-04:00

Source In preparation for NaNoWriMo 2010, I read a book called The Evil That Men Do by Stephen Michaud, a study of serial rapists and killers, written in collaboration with Roy Hazelwood, a pioneer in FBI profiling. I knew that, even as she was gifted (read: cursed) with the ability to fight evil, my main character was also going to become a powerful magnet for evil. And it seemed logical that

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-82900618228761044352011-04-12T22:58:00.000-04:002011-04-12T22:58:49.124-04:00

Source In the English Renaissance, the concept of judgement was a big deal. Everyone knew that eventually, no matter who you were or what your station in life, you would eventually have to answer to one judge, or rather Judge: the Big Kahuna himself. Images of the Last Judgement flooded Renaissance society. From Hans Holbein's Danse Macabre: more info here. Adding to English cultural

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-25967659302670433962011-04-11T17:19:00.000-04:002011-04-11T17:19:15.069-04:00

Source In Greek mythology, Icarus was the son of Daedalus. Daedalus (contrary to the old Hercules cartoon I grew up with), was not an arch-villain, but an inventor, a genius, really. He built the maze for Minos when the king needed somewhere to hide the evidence of Queen Pasiphae's bestial transgression, the minotaur. And when Minos imprisoned Daedalus in the maze, Daedalus made wings for

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-3643168178529487692011-04-10T01:49:00.000-04:002011-04-10T01:49:26.620-04:00

The hair shirt, also called a "celice," is a garment woven of rough goat hair or horse hair. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the celice could be a literal shirt or a loin cloth. Its purpose was to mortify the flesh. By creating physical discomfort (think itchiness and chafing - ouch!), it reminded the wearer to resist temptations of the flesh, and was a sign of the wearer's penitence.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-68830642312596865972011-04-08T23:04:00.000-04:002011-04-08T23:04:51.180-04:00

Source I've been saving this as a story prompt for a little while, partially because it seems so bizarre I don't quite know what to make of it. Found: one grocery list, discarded in the parking lot of my local chain supermarket. Side 1: Side 2: Split personality? Husband / wife team? HOOVES?

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-28078790729530472162011-04-07T22:02:00.000-04:002011-04-07T22:02:08.245-04:00

Source I like to fight. When I was younger, I fought verbally. Since that gets kind of obnoxious and tends to alienate your nearest and dearest, I've learned another outlet for my bellicose desires: sparring. I train with a martial arts master several times a week. Technically, it's an internal martial arts class with a focus on tai chi, but we get to fight from time to time. (Well, generally

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-38443281648538666922011-04-06T15:49:00.001-04:002011-04-06T15:50:30.072-04:00

Today's post was going to be about effigies, eulogies, or elegies - any of which would probably have made an interesting story prompt. But I took the dog for a walk in the woods today, and I changed my mind while I was out there. I've posted about these woods before: they are a little corner of amazing wilderness tucked away at one end of our small city. A lot of teenagers party in them at

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-30432051397180714422011-04-05T19:12:00.000-04:002011-04-05T19:12:51.342-04:00

Source You're out shopping. A woman comes up to you, and says, "Hi Brunhilde." You have to explain that you're not Brunhilde. "Oh my gosh!" she exclaims. "You look just like her." (By the way this anecdote only works if your name is, in fact, not Brunhilde.) You've had a near brush with your doppelgänger: a double of you who is out there in the world, but who isn't you. Lydia Kang, over at 

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-82506450273322674562011-04-04T03:57:00.001-04:002011-04-04T03:57:00.149-04:00

Source Sometime around 330 BC, Aristotle turned from considerations of the nature of the soul, metaphysics, and other lofty philosophical concerns to composing a philosophy of tragedy, which the English-speaking world came to know as the Poetics. Back when I first realized my dream to write (sometime in the *cough cough* 1980s), Aristotle's Poetics and Strunk and White's Elements of Style were

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-50046888089522365192011-04-03T16:54:00.001-04:002011-04-03T18:06:52.308-04:00

I grew up during this era of Sesame Street. Love Richard Pryor.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-44382738906515909232011-04-02T14:49:00.000-04:002011-04-02T14:49:18.005-04:00

Bubonic plague. The Black Death. The Great Death. Yersinia pestis. The Pestilence. The Scourge of God. What kind of plague enthusiast would I be if I didn't take this "B" moment to write about bubonic plague? More protracted and sneaky than ebola, not sexy like syphilis, mysterious in its movements, and equally mysterious in its surprise dormancy in Europe after 1721, bubonic plague first swept

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-65082264314307027352011-04-01T10:52:00.000-04:002011-04-01T10:52:06.951-04:00

I just had to share this. You can't beat the Shat. Via the eternally amusing Senor Gif.

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-59319118970701712102011-04-01T03:11:00.001-04:002011-04-01T00:05:58.736-04:00

Source These days, agony is just a colourful term for pain or intense suffering. To agonize means to struggle, to suffer torment or even torture. But there's also an inflection of melodrama to the term. We use it when we want to inject a sense of urgency into our personal trials and tribulations: "I agonized over which shoes to wear with this outfit." This usage of agonize comes closest to

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-8297055688980263032011-03-31T13:14:00.000-04:002011-03-31T13:14:25.846-04:00

You all know about this, right? A blogfest that invites you to compose 26 posts in April - one for every day except Sundays - based on each letter of the alphabet? The fest is absolutely massive, with 860 people participating so far. Yikes! That is a lot of blogs to visit! But you should totally join. Click on the badge and go check it out and sign your blogging life away! I am really looking

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-39813190390997056252011-03-29T21:01:00.001-04:002011-03-29T21:13:08.858-04:00

An object lesson for writers over here at BigAl's Books and Pals. The moral of the story: if you're going to strenuously object to a review of your self-published book that points out its numerous errors, you might want to master grammar, spelling, and English idiom first. Recommended if you enjoy shadenfreude and delicious commentroversy. Be forewarned: it gets unfunny sometime shortly after the

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-39663760457496452692011-03-28T15:50:00.000-04:002011-03-28T15:50:32.302-04:00

We all know that reading is one of the cornerstones of good writing, right? And we all want to suck less, right? And we all know that writing short stories is a great way to get a lot of practice with all the stages of writing in a compressed manner, right? Obviously, reading short stories is key. Plus it's way, way less depressing than reading the news these days. Here are some of the stories

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-29559543295582696712011-03-27T22:22:00.000-04:002011-03-27T22:22:16.685-04:00

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-71625983883655399062011-03-23T13:15:00.000-04:002011-03-23T13:15:40.917-04:00

On Saturday evening, the night of the supermoon, Dave and I took a tour of the Customs House here in Hamilton, courtesy of a group called Haunted Hamilton. This building, built in 1858, first housed the federal centre controlling the flow of trade through our town. Now the building houses the Workers Arts and Heritage Centre, and I suppose you could go in there during the daytime to take a look

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-53653333801796370592011-03-14T12:10:00.000-04:002011-03-14T12:10:16.822-04:00

Source It is beginning to look like winter is finally loosening his stranglehold here in Southern Ontario. We're hovering around zero degrees centigrade right now, but I'm seeing double digits for later in the week. It's sunny and bright today, and that insane week of overcast, crappy weather we just had is finally over. I am happy to see the sun, but inside I'm feeling like I've been worked

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1729289955062416774.post-39885128416123864942011-03-13T01:45:00.000-05:002011-03-13T01:45:09.252-05:00

I mean...it's me! Jessica, aka Witless Exposition, over at Cerebral Lunchbox, has posted a short but pithy interview she did with me as part of the Writers' Crusade. Go read it. It's Elizabeth Twist, coming at you with music and fun, and if you're not careful, you might learn something before it's done!

Elizabeth Twisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03133959633383307056noreply@blogger.com3