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AI Not Protected Under Copyright…
Decision Upheld on Friday… Here in the States, and in different forms in Europe and other countries as well, all forms of AI generated art and text cannot be protected under copyright law and the Berne Convention and thus hold no copyright. You can’t own it. No one does. Last March the copyright office issued decisions on that, and a Federal judge on Friday stood with the copyright office. This is an oh-oh of major proportions for any of you using AI for art or text. To own a piece of work, it must have human creativity. You have an AI cover on one of your books and yet you…
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Some Questions About Details Classes…
First Two In Each Series Now Available… In fantasy, the first two Down in the Details classes are 1) Magic Shops and 2) Portals. In mystery, the first two available are 1) Unsolved Crimes and 2) Locked Room. In science fiction, the first two are 1) Invasion stories and 2) Exploration stories. Each class has a prompt for a story to write and send it to me for original anthologies in each genre. But I have gotten questions as to why I tell writers to not send the stories to me first. Yes, I pay 6 cents per word, and yes it will be original anthologies, and yes the writers…
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11 Years Plus…
Twelve Years Ago Bill Trojan Died… He was a sf and mystery fan, a collector, a hoarder, and a great friend. I spent most of a year taking care of his stuff after he died and settling his estate. 11 years ago on August 1st I started a blog streak, saying something here every night. 11 Years Have Gone By… I have never missed. Power failures, internet failures, computer crashes, being in the hospital, I never missed a blog. As of today, this is blog 4,030 in a row. I was 60 years old when I started this. In the last 11 years I have also written about 14 million…
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GRAND OPENING SALE!
Includes All Books, Merchandise, and Workshops! Pulphouse Fiction Magazine has a brand new Shopify store, and to celebrate, we are having a Grand Opening Sale of everything in that store, in our large bookstore, and all WMG Workshops. Go to www.pulphousemagazine.com and take a look. All the sale information is there at the top of the page. This new store is one of the many things we are excited about with Pulphouse. Fiction Magazine with our new monthly schedule. And wow do we have some fun new writing classes we are launching into this sale so you can get them half price. The code to get any class, workshop, subscription on…
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Katy Perry
Kris and I Went to Her Show Tonight… Katy Perry has had a residency at the Resorts World Hotel and Casino here in Vegas for the last two years. It is called “Play.” And it is a whacked out version of Toy Story combined with Pee Wee Herman’s Playhouse, twisted a couple dozen more times and then put on steroids. For the entire first two acts I sat with my mouth open in shock and awe at the writing and the over-the-top everything. And the background animation and the between-acts animated transitions were just stunning and clear. Sometimes the animation in the back screens I could not tell if it…
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Two Mentor Spots Open
Been a Year Since I Opened This To Three Writers… Since a number of the writers I was helping in this program from years ago are not writing me as often, I decided to open this back up again for two spots. I really enjoy working closely with writers over the years, but I don’t push myself on them. I am just there to help, answer questions, and point in a certain direction. Often my weekly responses are fairly short if things are going well for the writer. Sometimes I give my kind of advice. (grin) I want each writer to be the writer they want to be. And I…
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Welcome Back!
Time of Great Forgetting Almost Over… So many writers (very few full professionals, but a ton of early professionals) just check out of writing and publishing starting in April and sort of return to writing and publishing in middle-to-late July. Now it has logical reasons. Spring and good weather, family vacations, a ton of other things around the house that just need to be done right now. So all the great intentions of writers in January are just sort of forgotten in April. Also, for early stage writers, the writing and publishing have not hit a level of importance yet to either them, or their family, to push them through.…
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Pulp Speed Post Forward Again…
Been Over Two Years… A number of writers over the last six months have asked me to bring forward the old explanation of Pulp Speed in writing. So here it is… (I wrote this post around 2014, then brought it forward to 2016, then 2017, and just about every year or so since, skipping 2022.) Not at all sure why this idea of writing at Pulp Speed sort of hits me right. I think because it flies in the face of all the myths. A writer has to have all myths and critical voice under control to even attempt Pulp Speed One. So this post might just make you angry…
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What is Up To Speed?
A Good Question… I have said in a number of my reports lately that after all the issues with the eyes over the winter, I am now climbing back up to speed, starting slowly in April and adding a little bit each week. But what is my speed that I am trying to get back to? Let me do the math to explain it. Fact one… I write about 1,000 words an hour with a break. Fact two… I only count consumable words, such as fiction I finish (I finish everything) and nonfiction that will go to a wide audience such as an introduction to a book or this blog.…
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Smith’s Monthly
Ten Years Ago… Yes, one fine day in 2013 right about this time of the year, Kris and I were headed into Salem, OR from the coast to have dinner and see a movie. I had been noodling on ideas to get myself back really writing after spending most of the year before dealing with my friend’s estate, and then not really writing that much in the last half of 2012 and the early part of 2013. I needed something to get me focused. Earlier that day, while in my office, I had been sorting out my digest fiction magazine collection and came across some Mike Shayne issues. It was…