Mind Sieve 10/5/15

Happy Monday!
(or is that an oxymoron?) :P

Fan Fun

Found these guys by accident. They have a Kickstarter for the game called "Essence" - looks fab! Here's a peek. Hope they make it!

The Revenant Official Trailer - looks rough~! People are gonna pay! Heh heh

A Christmas Horror Story Trailer - LOL! Santa and his bro in mortal combat! lol. 

Pay the Ghost Official Trailer #1 - guess that time of year is coming!

Social Media/Author Platform

Branding and the Brain—What We Post On-Line Matters by Kristen Lamb.


How to Manage Your Facebook Page Effectively by Kristi Hines at the Social Media Examiner.

Writing Advice

The Risks of Offering a Freebie by Jami Gold. Some great insight on why and why not to offer free stuff as an author.

Why Editing (By an Editor Who Isn't You) Matters by John Adamus at Terribleminds.com. Great info peeps!

Mind Sieve 9/14/15

Morning all!

Fan Fun

Tale of Tales Official Trailer - Ooooh dark fairy tales!

Dr Who Series 9 Prologue - can't wait!

iZombie Season 2 Promo - I do like this show, So cute and so dark.

Social Media/Author Platform

6 Tips to Improve Your Facebook Posts by Ishita Ganguly at The Social Media Examiner. Not all of this is applicable to authors, but some of it is definitely good to know.

Social Media For Writers is a Misunderstood Opportunity by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig.

Writing Advice

9 Ways to Improve Your Dialogue by Kristen Lamb. Pay super attention to the second half of #3!!!!!

Editing Mistakes: How Forgiving of a Reader Are You? by Jami Gold. Huh, a quite interesting discussion! RARE is definitely how I'd like to keep mine if at all possible. :)

Have a great Monday!

Mind Sieve 6/1/15

Morning all!

Fan Fun

Hannibal First Look at Season 3 (Preview) - I'm so looking forward to this! Great series! :)

Point Break Trailer - a remake of the 1991 film. (Which I never have watched. Eek!)

Pawn Sacrifice Official Trailer 1 - looks rather fascinating!

Cop Car Official Trailer 1 - looks like a weird puppy! lol.  

Social Media/Author Platform

6 Ways to Grow Your Blog Audience from the Social Media Examiner - article by Kristi Hines.


Branding 101: What's Your Brand's Voice? by Jami Gold - great stuff to think about in this one. :)

Writing Advice

How Mad Max: Fury Road Turns Your Writing Advice Into Roadkill by Chuck (NSFW) Wendig. ROFL! Yes, Mr. Beard, I totally agree. ROFL.

I thinks it's a wrap folks! Have a great week!

Mind Sieve 8/25/14

Greetings!

I missed last week as Animefest was four days and so things have once more slid to the pit. (Connectivity issues didn't help either.) But that's last week! This week, it's all back on! Booyah!

Fan Fun

Automata Official Trailer 1 - sweet!

Mortdecai Official Teaser Trailer 1 - this will be weird!

Houdini - History channel 2 day event. Looks great!

Young Ones Official Trailer - could be interesting.

Social Media/Author Platform

How to Combine Text and Visual Content for Better Social Media Engagement from the Social Media Examiner article by Keith Quesenberry.

12 Twitter Marketing Tips From the Pros at the SocialMedia Examiner - article by Cindy King.

Writing Advice

Let's Talk About Margin by Craig Mod. One of my publishers shared this with the authors. Really brings to perspective a side of the book business authors sometimes don't think about. Quite fascinating and eye opening, too. :)

Three Tips For Self-Publishing Success - Guest Julie Musil at Jami Gold's Blog -and the advice is good for more than just self-pubbers. :)

Have an awesome Monday!

Mind Sieve 6/16/14

Morning!
Sorry about no post last week. Let's see if I can get back in the groove.

Fan Fun

Home Trailer HD - Aha! I knew they showed the funny short on two different movies for a reason! Looks fun!

The Equalizer Official International Trailer - Action action and action!

Birdman Official Trailer - looks like a weird one!

The November Man Official Trailer - Oooh! Pierce Brosnan!

The Giver Trailer #2 (The black and white is one purpose!) Looks fun!

Social Media/Author Platform

From Kevin Knight at Pinterest - A Closer Look at Boards.

How to Succeed in the Ego-ravaged Drama Queen World of Social Media by Mark W Schaefer

Writing Advice

How to Tell if Your Story is on Target - What is Your Book About in One Sentence by Kristen Lamb. Good post, though I totally disagree on Maleficent being awesome. :( The film had a ton of giant holes and the telling too straight - no real surprises. (Though Jolie was fantastic!)

Ack, out of time. See ya soon!

Mind Sieve 1/6/14

Greetings!

Fan Fun

Dr Who Deleted Scene from the Christmas Special - too cute.

Teaser Trailer for Orphan Black Season 2 - Oh yeah! But not here till April. :(

Ripper Street Teaser - a show which we very much liked - Feb 22nd

Draft Day - for the sports fans! Actually, this looks like something I'd like too. :)

The Expendables 3 Teaser Trailer - looks like they're throwing even MORE names at this one. lol. Antonio Banderas, Wesley Snipes, Mel Gibson, and Harrison Ford!

Social Media/Author Platform

From Social Media Examiner - The Top 10 Social Media Posts: This Year in Social Media by Cindy King. More social media than you can shake a stick at! :)

From Kristen Lamb - Brave New Bullying: Goodreads Gangs and Amazon Attacks - What Are Writers To Do? An emotionally charged blog and possibility to anyone doing social media. Eek!

Writing Advice

From Chuck (NSFW) Wendig - Writing Resolutions for 2014. Brother Beard spouts some awesome wisdom.

Stay warm peeps! I hear this week is going to be COLD just about everywhere!

Mind Sieve 7/25/11

This may be a sparse edition. What with all the chaos last week at work, thyroid operation, recovery, etc, etc, etc.  But let's see how far I get.

Gene Lempp shared this link to the Chicago Sun Times and an article called CT Scans Unravel Mysteries of Field Museum Mummies. This is without taking them out of their sarcophagi so their preservation is not endangered. Make sure to check the attached gallery to the article. Several repeats but some cool photos as well.

John Carter of Mars preview!  YES!



I still have the vision of the Martians from the old time Edgar Rice Burrough's covers, so these guys look a little emaciated to me. lol. But with the lower gravity, it also makes sense. Looking forward to this one!

From the Peeps who made Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit – Pirates! YES! Looks too funny.



From FansOfMovies came a link for the Batman: Dark Knight Rises trailer. Sweet! With an article at the Holywood Reporter.

21 Google + Circles You Can Actually Use from Happy Place. Yes, very tongue in cheek, but quite funny too. Heh. Scarily, some of these will probably get used. lol

Tony Eldrige shared 6 Promotional Item Ideas for Your Book. I do some of these, others, I am probably not looking in the right places because I've not found them for cheap. Some of you may have better luck. And the M&M site? What fun!!!!  Uploaded a couple of covers and they look so cool! Haven't decided if I will buy though. Heh heh. But So COOL!

Pam Moore does a real nice breakdown on what is a Tweet Chat in Tweet Chat 101.  Very in depth and eye opening.

Debbie Ohi gives her take on Google + and what she's hoping to accomplish with it. (She's got a MG/YA project for authors/illustrators/etc going on it already!)

Ack!  Ran out of time! (Normally these buggers get set up on Thursday nights for Monday. I lost several nights here this past week and there's other things to do. Urk!) Will flood you next week with more Mind Sieve Madness!

Have an awesome week!  And feel free to suggest great blogs you've come across or other fun things for anyone who comes by here to see. I can't catch everything. :P

Mind Sieve 5/9/11

Let's see what fun stuff I can give you to play with this week. Might even get a little funky! :P

Anime/Manga

Found out from SoonerCon that they're doing a live action Cobra: Space Pirate! Won't be out until 2013, but check out the poster. Looks fab!

Fan Fun

From FansofMovies got the heads up that Javier Bardem has officially signed on to the movie and TV projects based on the series of books by Stephen King - The Dark Tower. Sweet!

Teaser video from Weird Al for his upcoming album called Apocalypse.

From Examiner.Com comes a article about a huge asteroid that will buzz the planet. No Need to Panic! Should be way cool.

There's a new Harry Potter trailer out! FansofMovies shared it this week.

New Transformers trailer out as well.

Author Platform/Social Media

Kristen Lamb talks about what I am doing right here! Heh heh. She calls it a Mash Up.

Pam Moore made a list of 21 Tips to Get Your Tweet On! Advice for Twitter usage.

10 Reasons People Hate Your Website by Nick Stamoulis. He's got some good points in this list!

Twitter Tuesday from Kristen Lamb where she talks about Uptight Twitters and Chill Twitters. Managing Twitter time!

Kristen also started a Twitter Revolution this past week - the Love Revolution. Using #MyWANA in a search column for Twitter to meet with other Tweeps and get some We Are Not Alone support!

Tony Eldridge has some advice and gives us 9 Non-Technical Tips To Finding Readers for Your Blog.

Larry Braune blogs about how we need to Start Selling Yourself.

Knowledge for Writing

Sean McLachlan gives us info on Medieval Handgonnes. Awesome info tidbits to fire our imaginations and make us more accurate in our fantasy writing!

Leather Armor in the Middle Ages by A J Walker. Some really interesting tidbits about leather armor and assumptions previously made. Great stuff!

Writing Advice

The 5 Stages of Writing a Novel. Rhonda Eudaly passed on the link to this video. Hilarious and horribly, horribly true! lol.

Elizabeth Spann Craig has a great post called Modern Mythology: Publishing Myths. She exposes myths held by author, even publishers. Good stuff!

Joanna Penn points out and gives tips on Five Common Writing Problems.

Sharla Rae has a great post called Put Your Flabby Writing On A Diet. Lists of words and examples of duplicate or multiple words best said with less. Check it out!

Chuck Wendig talks about What Novelists Can Lear From Screenwriters. And some tolerance on both sides too!

Nathan Bradford walks us through - How I Edit. It might work for you or it might not, but has some nice ideas.

Tony Eldridge gives us 4 Tips On Making Your Book Available To Book Clubs/Reading Groups.

Kristen Lamb walks us through How To Show A Character's Inner Demons. I'm like really partial to this one as she uses Black Swan as an example. (Loved this movie!)

Janice Hardy has a step by step program on pumping up the Narrative Drive. Good stuff!

The 3 Stages of Querying by Jody Hedlung. Funny even!

Gene Lempp talks about Designing from Bones: Aurignacian Lion Man. How archeology, history, even a picture of something can open up creativity. Good post!

Scams

Matt Leibowitz did a story at MSNBC on how crooks are using links in e-books to scam the unwary author and readers - Novel Scam: Cybercrooks Target Kindle e-books.

That should be it for this week. Have a good one!

Mind Sieve 5/2/11

I'm thinking of making a logo graphic for Mind Sieve and Picture Kaleidoscope blog entries. Have a wonderful visual that came to me this morning for the Mind Sieve. Let's see if I can actually finds pics to make it so! With any luck, maybe I can unveil it next week. Don't hold your breath though, this things can be harder to find pieces for than you might think. :)


Fan Fun

There was some bad news last week as Dr Who fandom lost Sarah Jane Smith (Elisabeth Sladen). Tom Baker, who played the Doctor from 1974 to 1981, wrote a beautiful letter remembering his time with Elisabeth.

If you enjoy ABC's Castle, you'll love this video about a possible spin-off called: Sex and the City with Boys. Cracked me up! hee hee!

Also, here's the evolution of the Batman Symbol. So Cool!


From FansOfMovies came a link with news about the animated film based on Frank Miller's Batman Year One.

From NCIS_CBS we get preview photos from NCIS all new episode on May 3rd. See Tony back in the day! DiNozzo before he joined NCIS! Flashback episode! Woot!

NCIS_CBS also shared a link with pics of Cote de Pablo on the Late Show!

Stana Katic shared a video made by fans for her Birthday last week. How cool is that?

Russ Pits Talks about Minecraft, society, and bears! (I don't he's learned that enough torches will keep the zombies out. Shshshshsh! Don't tell him!) :P



Author Platform/Social Media

Kristen Lamb talks about Schizo Tweeter on her Twitter Tuesday Blog.

Then she asks how we'd feel if we found out our favorite blogger wasn't writing his or her own blog.

Jodi Hedlund has some great advice we should all keep in mind with Social Media and building our Author Platforms - Loving and Taking Care of Our Readers.



Writing Tips/Advice

Kristen Lamb takes us through the 7 Deadly Sins of Prologues. Some good points here on how they get used wrong.

Jami Gold shared this post by Lisa Gail Green on Point of View. Hitting deep and fast.

Staci ONeale shares the Worst Writing Advice I've Ever Received.

Nathan Bradford says it like it is and talks about The Fate Factor. (Yeah that pesky part of the business we can't control!)

Jordan McCollum shares a multitude of revision styles in R is for Revision.

Coping With False Starts - Julie Eshbaughs's take on it and how it might actually be good for you.

Kristen Lamb talks more on plot - Choosing Our Path: Genre Matters. Some nice notes on what you should be doing in particular genres, or knowing what you're not doing.

Ten Steps for Editing Your Own Writing from Mark Nichol. Some very good tips on this list.

Great (yet mind troubling) post by Nathan Bransford on Spaghetti Agents!

And Chuck Wendig came up with a stellar list this past week! 25 Things Every Writer Should Know. (And he's not kidding!) Possibly NSFW!

Also Colleen Lindsay and TheSekritProjekt are now revealed! Go check out Book Country. A new place for writers to gather together, get and give crits, as well as converse about the craft of writing and more.

That should be enough to make your brain hemorrhage. Until next time!

Mind Sieve 4/25/11

Another busy week and tons of links to share!


Fan Fun

Candace Havens shared a new trailer for the Movie Priest. Looks totally AWESOME! Can't wait!

NCIS_CBS shared some casting news. Kerr Smith is joining the hunt for the Port-to-Port Killer. (Kerr Smith rocks! This should be FUN!)

Twaitter shared a link to an article about First Light Wave Quantum Teleportation being achieved. This will open up the way for ultra fast data transmissions. Mind boggling and totally rad!

FansofMovies shared a link to Rise of the Planet of the Apes! A story about how it all began. Looks good!

Also from FansofMovies come a link to the second trailer for Cowboys vs Aliens. I am so very much looking forward to this one! Woohoo!

ATATforAmerica got talked about in an article by Alexandra Petri titled - AT-AT for America: President Obama and all patriots, it's Time. The movement is crazy and yet fun at the same time. :P


Manga/Anime

Some sad news linked by SoonerCon. Tokyopop, one of the major manga translation groups is closing its doors in May 2011. As a super manga junkie, this is going to hurt.


Social Media/Author Platforms

Kristen Lamb talks about busting the Myth! Yes, Writers Can Make Time For Social Media.
Preview:
"I have to spend hours on Twitter and Facebook to be effective.
Um…that would be a negative. Total myth. In fact, if we do? An angry clown will jump out of our computer and bite off our face. Kidding! Though that would be cool. No, the angry clown is a total lie. But, it is likely people will unfollow us because we never shut up."

For Twitter Tuesday, Kristen Lamb talks to us about How Hashtags Need to Be Used Responsibly.
Preview:
"If our goal is to build an author platform in the thousands to tens of thousands, then we will have to approach Twitter differently than a faceless corporation or even the regular person who does not possess a goal of becoming a brand. This blog will help you rule the Twitterverse without devolving into a spam bot."

The Book Marketing Floozy listed a ton of links at her site. Now I just have to find the time to go click on them all~! DOH! (Go right on ahead and don't wait on me, or you'll be waiting a while. :P)

Professor Clay Morgan shows us How To Create Opportunities. (Really neat story!)

Does Likability Matter? Kristen Lamb explores this as she recounts her recent experience in LA at Romantic Times.


Writing Advice

KristenLamb asks: Want to write a novel that will grab an agent's attention? Grab a reader's love? Let's Talk Structure.
Preview:
Want a way to stand out from all the other writers clamoring to get an agent’s attention? Want to be a best-selling author with stories that endure the tests of time? Learn all you can about the craft, particularly novel structure. Structure is one of those boring topics like finance or taxes. It isn’t nearly as glamorous as creating characters or reading about ways to unleash our creative energy.

Tawna Fenske waxes on Hope, Bad Advice, and Positions that Cramp Your Thighs. Good stuff to keep in mind. Remember why you're doing this stuff!

Pimp My Novel gives a lot of common sense advice and truths as well! Schedule, Schedule, Schedule.
Preview:
"If you've been reading this blog for awhile, mes auteurs, then you're familiar with my opinion that, even beyond talent and luck, a writer needs discipline in order to succeed. John Gardner once wrote: "Most of the people I've known who wanted to become writers, knowing what it meant, did become writers" (bold emphasis mine). So: what does it mean to be a writer?"

Chuck Wendig gives us Six Signs You're Not Ready To Be A Professional Writer.

Amy Shojai does a comparison between veterinary medicine and publishing. Pretty cool comparison really.



Aha! That should keep you busy for a bit. I will destroy brain matter yet! Bwahahahaha!