E-books?

Hi hotshots!

I don't have a kindle, or a nook, or a kindle fire, or anything like that. What I have are three bookcases overflowing in my room. Which is better?
Well, I moved pretty recently, and that taught me hands-on that having 9-12 boxes full of books is both heavy and impractical. Imagine all those books on a Kindle. It would be cheaper to transport, less troublesome to pack and unpack. Well, unless I lost the Kindle. Then I'm obviously screwed.
Weight and cost versus losing all books and the electronic device at once.

On another note, what does having PDFs of a book ready on the internet mean? Music files are often pirated, because its so easy. What's to stop the book from becoming just as easily stolen?

In charity shops, books cost anything from £0.01 to £2.00. On the internet, there are self-publishing sites that sell books for just £0.99. In bookstores, books are usually about £8, and much higher for hardbacks. Libraries lend books for free.

The feel and weight of a book is...right. Words have weight. Why should they automatically need to be plugged in, like a computer? There is something special about holding a very old book, but an old computer file is just something in need of updating.
You can carry a book without fear of it being stolen, but a Kindle is a different story.
Does a book lose authenticity, its impressiveness, if it's just another file on the internet?

I don't know. I like having books around me, and I love going to bookstores/libraries. The attraction of having lots of book on a slim device I can fit into my pocket is still there.

Three bookcases could be converted into Kindle files. But.

But?

Websites I find useful.

Hi, hotshots!

I did a post about the advice I absorbed from books I had read for writers from authors (e.g. Stephen King's On Writing.)

However, books aren't the only media nowadays.
Websites I find useful are:

The Writer's Alley : an easy-to-use website with actual helpful tips.

Myers-Briggs personality testing : This is the test I use on my characters (sometimes). If I know my character's type, I have e better understanding of how they react in different situations. I like using psychology funstuffs to broaden out/flesh out/3d-ise characters.

National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo : This is something I learnt about halfway through November, and therefore will only be able to take part in Nov 2012. It's a month-long writing splurge that forces you to try and achieve 50,000 words of a story in 30 days. A crash course I can't wait to try out.

Writing Forward : a list of 42 pointers. This may sound like a lot, but it's a nice summary of a lot of advice which often gets sidelined.

Got any websites to recommend?

"dis buk hlps u"

Hi hotshot,

The title of this post -in case it's too colloquially spelt- is "this book helps you."

I have read two books by authors on being authors and the author world. I usually read what other writers say via the internet.

The things which I keep coming across, in all media, are:

1) Read LOTS.

2) Write LOTS. At least an hour a day, or Stephen King's idea of four to six. In my current schedule, 4-6 would mean failing school, but I guess he writes for adults more than under-eighteens.

3) Characters are not perfect because people are not perfect.
4) There is no "secret to great writing."

5) Write at regular times. Self control- stick to your schedule, writing is a priority.
6) Don't snub other's opinions if they think less of your writing than you do. At the same time, remember you can improve and learn as a writer. The famous writer ego must be taken out and severely maimed, but never shot.

What's after zombies?

Hi hotshots-

is it kind of feeling...dead in here? Or I that just the stench of zombie? 

These creatures have been taking over lately (and not just in the bitey sense). TV, books, even running apps have latched onto the latest entertainment craze. The warning signs were all there... the books,

the famous-Youtuber-playing-themed-game,

PewDiePie

the adapted classics,

handbooks....

movies,

teen romance-y zombie flicks, (what?!)

-and last but not least, a zombie running app.

What's next for the bookshelves? In order, -from where I live- we have had

-werewolves (Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater, for example)

-vampires (Twilight -S. Meyer-, the Morganville series, by Rachel Caine)

-angels/fallen angels/demons (The Fallen series, by Lauren Kate, and Hush Hush by B. Fitzpatrick)

-apocalypse/new society (Hunger Games by S Collins, Divergent by V. Roth)

-and now the zombies, some examples of which are above.

The brackets contain examples, but I'm sure there are plenty I haven't mentioned.

Some of these genres are still around, but it is zombies that are at their peak. How long do you think this will last?

Are there any books from each genre that you particularly like? Is there a theme you want to see come back, or one you wish would just go away forever?

Where does fiction have left to go? 

Witches are possible, with the recent popularity of Beautiful Creatures (a series and now a movie, too).

Hmmmmmmmm.