Worderella Writes

“Gender Genie” saves the day

So about a week ago I read about an author who was having trouble with her hero’s voice… that is, she couldn’t seem to make him actually sound like a man. And then she remembered a great online tool created from an actual study in which some academics discovered men and women do, in fact, speak differently: The Gender Genie. They even came up with an algorithm that predicts whether the person speaking was a man or a woman.

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From the Notebook: Victorians and the Environment

By the High Victorian era, which describes the 1870s and beyond, many activists and doctors were starting to connect the welfare and livelihood of Londoners to their environment around them. In the 1860s, the Thames in London was so fetid, so polluted, that Parliament scheduled its activities so the smell wouldn’t sit stagnant in the heat. It was too hot to sit in the rooms with the windows shut, but with the windows open, the smell was so unbearable that men compared it to actual torture. Cholera, spread by bacteria in liquids, was a great epidemic in the 19th Century because of the sanitary conditions.

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Book Meme!

So I normally don’t do memes, but Word Nerd tagged me and I like this one, so I’m doing it. Which, while I’m on the topic, how do you pronounce the word “meme”? Is it “mem” such as memory, or “me-me”? What is the history of this word? Why does it mean “fill out this fun questionaire that will take up space in your blog, thus allowing you to provide content without having to think too hard?” Perhaps that’s a bit harsh. But that’s why I fill out memes, haha. If that’s the plural of meme, that is.

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Quote: Failure to Please

A writer attempts to show how even a well-known classic author wouldn’t cut it in today’s cutthroat publishing business.

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Top Seven Traits

So your current work-in-progress looks like it might never see the light of day. Yet, when your friends and colleagues ask what you do, you itch to say that you’re a writer. How can you say that? What makes you think you’re a writer? What gall you must have! Here is a list of seven traits that I can relate to, and hey, I call myself a writer. Read the list and maybe you’ll have more confidence in yourself and your projects as well.

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In French, Chat Chapeau

I forgot to mention that this past week, The Cat in the Hat turned 50. I have very fond memories of that book, and the little musical cartoon movie. Dr Seuss’s nonsensical words, among many other things from my childhood (Sesame Street, The Letter People, Reading Rainbow, and Wishbone), gave me my love of language.

So, happy birthday, Mr Cat.

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Official Rules for Writing Victorian Historical Novels

This is hilarious and something all Victorian novelists ought to read.

OFFICIAL RULES FOR WRITING VICTORIAN HISTORICAL NOVELS
by Sally Zigmond1. There’s always trouble up factory/mill/mine (always referred to as t’factory, t’mill or t’pit).

2. Britain was a smaller place then. It consisted only of The Industrial North (Yorkshire, Manchester and South Shields) and London (West End, sleazy and rich; East End, sleazy and poor, but full of loveable rogues).

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Fairy Tales

Stuck in a rut? Want to begin a new novel (since NaNoWriMo is coming up)? I find that I love fairy tales, and that they have the best themes to make the backbone of any good draft. Tired of the Disney versions? Don’t worry, they are by no means the only and official version of these stories.

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Nifty Online Plotting Tools

I found these tools online by searching “character, writing tools” through Google. Some of these are actually meant for students to map/study an already published text, but I see no reason why we can’t also use them to analyze our own work. Includes the Drama Map, the Circle Diagram, and general themes to start from.

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