No!
It's not random.
Not at all!
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Gina Ochsner stopped by UM for a wonderful visit, including the craft lecture, "Mistakes I Have Made & Great Advice I Wish I Had Taken to Heart."
You don't have to miss out; give it a listen here.
Or just click play -->
If that's not enough, Ochsner Ted Talks, too. "How Song and Poetry Inspired the Baltic Revolution | Gina Ochsner | TEDxSalem"
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"Copying is how we learn" from Austin Kleon (Nope, I never get tired of this guy.)
Speaking of copying, copy this: "How I Wrote Arrival (and What I Learned Doing It)" in which "Screenwriter Eric Heisserer shares notes and extracts from early drafts as he breaks down how he adapted Ted Chiang's 'Story of Your Life.'" at talkhouse.com.
And even more Kleon, this time "Checking in with death." (It's not as grim as it sounds.)
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Two must-read interviews at vulture.com:
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Zadie Smith on Optimism and Despair, from Brain Pickings
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A stack of good reading from Lit Hub:
Rebecca Solnit: As Trump Tweets, America Burns | Literary Hub
Editorial Power Means Blowing Up the Machine from the Inside | Literary Hub
We Need to Amplify Voices that Interrogate Power | Literary Hub
Should You Write What You Know? 31 Authors Weigh In | Literary Hub
And more goodness from elsewhere:
Jasmine Guillory on How to Give Your Characters Interests and Passions
7 Literary Mashups We Need Somebody to Write Right Now
Writers Of Color Are Making Their Own Canon
Holy cow semi-random reads:
Meghan Phillips + Wigleaf = "Now that the Circus Has Shut Down, the Human Cannonball Looks for Work"
"On Lingerings" - Jill Talbot at The Rumpus.net
"Balancing Beams." Chloe N. Clark at littlefiction.com
Here you go. Two hours of mellow to wrap up your busy day. The Splendor of Color Kaleidoscope Video v1.3