the-blog

Pottermore.com Will Finally be Open to Everyone in Early April 2012

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 21:24:51 +0100

After months and months of patience and frustration, the Harry Potter fans will finally be able to access the Pottermore website as well as the e-books and others merchandise in early April!

The Harry Potter fans were expecting the website to open in beginning of 2012, but it was sadly delayed for various reasons.

The news was announced on the official website of Pottermore and the post read "We’re pleased to announce that pottermore.com will be open to everyone in early April 2012.".

It looks like Potter's adventures will indeed continue.

Book "Souvenirs" By Barbara Phinney - Author Interview

Mon, 07 May 2012 20:36:54 +0100

Our interviewer team particularly felt in love with Barbara's books and we suggest that you try them out (you'll find the links at the bottom of this interview). We also suggest that you to try the books of every authors that we have interviewed. All links will be posted at the bottom.

Barbara writes romantic suspense and inspirational romantic suspense under her real name Barbara Phinney. She also writes time travel and sci-fi romance under the name of Georgina Lee. She has had 8 books traditionally published, and another 5 novellas and one novel independently published. So she has seen both sides of the track.

INTERVIEW FOR BOOK 1

BOOK 1: Souvenirs by Barbara Phinney

1. In Souvenirs Anna seems to overcome the abuse: “All through the long, cold spring and all through his anger management counseling, she'd battled with herself until she realized she didn't need Serge and his abuse, contrary to what he was always telling her. She was strong enough to stand on her own.” This is a giant step for anyone to overcome and many do not. Why did you want Anna to grow in this way in the beginning of your book?

Excellent question! I wanted hope to shine through. Anna went to some of Serge's counseling sessions, and while it was all about him, she learned a lot about herself. Serge was required to go, and despite all he'd said to her, she ended up learning more than he did. The irony shows through the book, along with other ironic things, just as such happens in our own lives. Still, Anna's story is one of hope.

2. For characters to meet quickly it can make a plot of a book progress quickly, did you intend to use this technique in your book Souvenirs?

This is my genre training coming through, I think. Readers of today have so much less time to read than times gone by, so we can't afford to lose them. Plots must progress swiftly, and there has to be the hope of success and happy resolution to keep readers reading. That's not to say the books of the past, such as Jane Eyre, which has a great deal of backstory before Jane even meets Mr. Rochester, are no good anymore. Rather, they allow us to slow down and savour. You want action, read an up-to-date romantic suspense. You want or even need to take your time, read a classic. But both of them will be good in their own way.

Back to my book, I like the physical manipulation of a story to show speed. Shorter chapters, scenes, etc., all add to the feeling of tension that will eventually rise to an exciting climax.

3. Some authors use pseudonyms (a name other than their own when writing a book). How beneficial is this and how can it harm an author?

There are pros and cons to pen names. I have mostly used my real name, Barbara Phinney, when writing romantic suspense, inspirational suspense, and romance. People who buy my books can expect emotion, suspense, action, with sometimes faith elements because they permeate our lives regardless of our beliefs. They will also get very little sex. I'm not comfortable writing sizzling, sexy books. I'm not good at it, either. I'm not a prude, just want to focus on what I'm good at, and that is conflict in stories, danger and tension. Also, I wanted stories set in areas that were atypical. To me, the setting can be as integral and important to the story as the plot. I want to read stories set in unusual places. That's why most of my books are set in Eastern Canada. That's what I want to read.

I do write sci-fi/fantasy short stories under the name Georgina Lee, and this is to define what you can expect from that name. It's beneficial to the reader, but it's harder to spread yourself out between two names. It means more promo, more work and sometimes, with less results over all. But it's for my readers that I use two names.

4. When writing one book, or even in another genre, how difficult is it to move on to writing another? Do you ever find yourself thinking about the previous book and wanting to edit it even though you are writing another?

I think most writers can switch back and forth without too many problems. I can, but I also have to curtail that so as to ensure there aren't any accidental crossovers. I usually leave a full day between genres to help clear my mind. While many publishers don't want writers to do this, writers can switch effectively. Publishers don't like that because it's a harder sell and writers are often just seen as commodities to exploit. Think of it as this: you don't want your tomato vine to be producing eggplants when you've promised your local store tomatoes. It's got nothing to do with quality, the item itself.

But writers generally enjoy writing in other genres. We just have to be careful when we switch back and forth.

5. When did writing become a big thing for you in your life? Was it a gradual awakening or a moment of epiphany?

I've always enjoyed penning stories, especially silly ones for my children when they were young. When I retired from the Canadian Army, I needed an outlet for my creativity, and writing was what I turned to. I began to write a silly slice-of-life column for my local newspaper, but wanted to move to novel writing. So I asked myself, what is the hardest genre? To me, that was romance. Readers may not think so, but a good writer makes the work look like it was the smoothest, easiest story to tell. Don't be fooled by the sheer numbers of romances out there. It's a tough genre to write successfully. All that emotion, and tension, and making a story riveting when you expect the couple to live happily ever after.

However, I love mysteries, suspense, action, and can't see anything more exciting that a couple trying to sort out their feelings while on the run. To me back then when I was starting out, mysteries weren't as hard. You simply work backward from the resolution to ensure all the clues are carefully set in place. Naturally, I have learned that mysteries have their difficulties. Oh, the plot holes I've left after finishing the first draft! You could drive a truck through them! What an epiphany that was to my tender ego!

So, to answer your second question, it's been gradual. It's always been there, but the process has been gradual as I learned my trade. I didn't have a mentor, so I learned everything the hard way.

And as I progress through independently publishing some of my stories, I need all the more to keep in touch with why I write. I love the process, but need to keep working at it. That means getting stories professionally edited, polishing over and over, getting the right cover. My next book, Hard Target, needed a cover that I couldn't do on my own, so I hired someone for that, too.

6. Now, how and where can people learn more about you and your books?

My website is a static website in the process of getting updated. It's www.barbaraphinney.com

I have a blog for Barbara Phinney http://barbphinney.blogspot.com

and Georgina Lee's is http://thetwinplanets.blogspot.com

You can find my personal facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000497524066

and my twitter handle, (a place where I spend a lot of time) is @BarbaraPhinney.

Write-A-Thon Write Your Book in 26 Days (and live to tell about it) By Rochelle Melander - ...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:14:32 +0100

Here we go again with another great interview! This time, with Rochelle Melander. Her new book Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (and live to tell about it) was out on October 18. Rochelle's interview is probably our "jucious"interview so far! Lots and lots of details!

Write-A-Thon

Write your book in 26 days

(and live to tell about it)

by. Rochelle Melander

Interview

1. In your book chapter summary, there are so many topics and things you go through, where did you begin and why? How difficult was it and did you have to restart several times? When did the idea come to you to write such a book and why?

In 2005, I knew I wanted to write a book about how to write a book fast. I created a huge mind map of everything I knew about writing. Then I grouped the ideas by subject and transferred the information into a chart. But, I still was not ready to write. I stared at that chart off and on for several years. I wrote chapters, but could not get the momentum going to write the whole book. Whenever I found an idea or article that I thought might help with the book, I stuck it in an idea folder. It wasn’t until 2009 that I got the idea to combine my interest in marathon running with a book on writing—thus Write-A-Thon was born.

I wrote Write-A-Thon during the 2009 NaNoWriMo (in just 26 days)! In January 2010, I wrote the book proposal for the book. During the long Wisconsin winter, I revised the book—cleaning up prose, clearing out repetition, and adding new material. Writers Digest Books accepted the proposal in February 2011. I had a month to add 25,000 words to the book and finish revisions.

Why a book on marathon writing? I’ve always liked marathon style writing. In college and graduate school, I chalked up my all-night writing marathons to procrastination. But in the past 15 years, I’ve been blessed with publishers who have given me insane deadlines! I’ve completed nearly every one of my thirteen finished books (ten of them published) in less than three months, most in 6 weeks, and one in just nine days.

When I found out about National Novel Writing Month, I discovered that I am not the only crazy person who likes to write marathon style. Every November (and now during the summer Camp NaNoWriMo), a whole bunch of folks attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. I signed up, figuring it would be one way to finish my mystery novel. I failed miserably—my poor victim is still languishing naked in a hunting cabin in the mountains of western Pennsylvania because I couldn’t find the courage to have my murderer kill him.

So, I tried to figure out how to succeed at writing marathons. I began researching writing, how famous writers worked, and what psychology had to say about how writers could work faster more efficiently. In 2007, I taught a class to help other writers successfully complete National Novel Writing Month. I have taught that class in local bookstores every year since.

2. Your book, Write-A-Thon, is meant to help writers to write their book efficiently and with haste, did you use your steps to help write this book? Do you use the steps when you write all the time?

The short answer is yes!

I’ve been writing books since 1995. Over the years, I have created a life that helps me to be successful at writing books fast. Many of the ideas from this system come from the world of positive psychology. In Write-A-Thon, I encourage writers to develop their own systems to set up a life that supports their writing. For example, I know that I write best in the morning, before checking Facebook, Twitter, and email. I treat this writing window as sacred and will not violate this time frame. In the book, I encourage readers to discover their own sacred writing time.

Write-a-Thon also includes specific steps for nonfiction and fiction writers to use to gather their ideas and write their books. Throughout the book, I remind readers to do what works for them. Not all of my steps will be helpful to other writers. Some writers will have their own tried and true systems. In the same way, when I work on a new book project, I use the steps in my process that I need for the specific book.

3. Do you feel that you could've added more to your book? Are you thinking of writing a similar book to Write-A-Thon?

Great question. Write-A-Thon started out as a 50,000-word book. The publisher asked me to add 20,000 words, and I ended up writing 25,000 words. Now that I look back at the book, I think I could write a whole separate book on How to Write a Nonfiction book. At this point, I am working on writing fiction and revising my memoir. I don’t have any specific plans for writing a new writing book—but who knows what will happen!

4. When first learning to write, the first basic skills are your point of view and your audience. How difficult was it for you to choose your audience? What kind of point of view did you want to create in your book?

That is so true!

For me, every book has a different point of view and audience. It took me a long time to realize that a book needs to have a very specific audience. A book written for “everyone” usually turns out to be for no one. For Write-A-Thon, I am writing for two audiences. The first audience is the people who are already doing marathon-style writing and want to do it better. These folks are already pretty tuned into the writing world. They go to conferences, read about writing, participate in a critique group, and write. The second audience is the people who have always wanted to write a book but do not know how to do it. They have great ideas but have not yet been able to figure out how to manage their life or how to put together a book.

In terms of point of view, in this book I am truly the coach—teaching, encouraging and guiding the reader to write now! I want the reader to feel like I am on their side—helping them get this book out into the world!

5. In your book you say: “...Deadlines work.” Do deadlines work for all authors you feel, or only some? How can other authors learn to make deadlines work for them?

I think we tend to take the time we have to finish a project, whether it is two years or two months. So, if writers have two years to write a book, they will take it. But if they have only two months, they will make that work. A deadline helps writers get their work done. Otherwise, we would probably revise ad nauseam because in our minds, nothing we write is perfect or even good enough!

Although I believe that deadlines work for everyone, I do know that deadlines can be scary for a writer. They force us to get serious about our writing. They also give us (and our work) a predetermined “date with the world.” When the deadline comes, we need to send our work out into the universe—to our critique group or to an editor or our agent. Yikes!

So how can authors make deadlines work for them? When I first started writing professionally, I always gave myself an extra deadline. I had the deadline the editor gave me. Then I gave myself a deadline that was a week or two earlier. That gave me extra time to revise the manuscript before the real deadline. It also eased my anxiety—because my deadline was extra early, I knew I would meet the deadline.

For writers who find deadlines very scary, I would encourage them to give themselves some deadlines to practice with. A good first deadline might be an agreement with a writing buddy. Promise each other that you will finish your manuscript by a certain date. Once you get good at meeting this deadline, you will be able to try something more challenging—maybe competing at National Novel Writing Month, where you try to write a whole book in a month. When deadlines feel less scary, writers can make them real by turning in their manuscripts or query letters to editors or agents!

6. What will be 2012 for you, as a writer and/or simply as a person?

January was filled with a lot of external work as a coach. I traveled a good bit, did some speaking, and met with a lot of people face-to-face. Some of this will continue for the rest of the year, but I am hoping to spend some time working on my children’s novel, revising my memoir, and reading. Later this year, I will be doing a second launch of Write-A-Thon, which should be another fun whirlwind!

Personally, I am working on keeping my life calm and grounded. I have a husband and two children, ages 15 and 10. I love spending time with them and our two dogs. I try to get out to walk the dogs at least once a day. I exercise at the gym 5 days a week. And, in the evening, I try to get in as much reading and family time as possible!

======

Links

http://www.writenowcoach.com

http://www.writenowmastermind.com

rochelle@WriteNowCoach.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Find me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

==========================

Bio:

Write Now! Coach Rochelle Melander is a certified professional coach, a popular speaker, and the author of ten books including, Write-A-Thon: Write Your Book in 26 Days (And Live to Tell About It). Melander who teaches professionals how to write fast, get published, establish credibility and navigate the new world of social media. Get your free subscription to her Write Now! Tips Ezine at http://www.writenowcoach.com and sign up to be a member of her Write Now! Mastermind class for professionals at http://www.writenowmastermind.com

Willowtree By Mike Bove - Author Interview

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:52:56 +0100

We are always happy to interview a new author. What is fascinating with authors is that no matter how many authors you've talked to, you realise that they are all different even tough they live for the same passion: Writing.

We have interviewed Mike Bove, a self-published author. His first cozy mystery was self-published in August 2011. He is currently working on the second in the series. The senior sleuth, an avid golfer, likes to cook, and lives in a fictitious Arizona town.

WILLOWTREE

A BRUCE DELRENO MYSTERY

By MIKE BOVE

INTERVIEW

1. A major part of writing is publishing, could you describe your experience with publishing with your book WILLOWTREE?

When I began writing WILLOWTREE I was not sure about ever having it published, but feedback from readers of the unfinished manuscript convinced me to give it a try. With a limited budget and a lot of research about print-on-demand, I decided self-publishing was possible. Thinking I would purchase a package from a POD publisher, I did even more research, and realized I had the software and skills to produce a print ready manuscript. Create Space was a good fit for me, since the tools or abilities I lacked were available from them. It was a very much more complicated process than I imagined, but I struggled through, learned a great deal, and loved every minute of it. The frustrating part was re-editing a proof that I thought was perfect, three times.

2. Why did you choose a fictional place? Was it easier for you to choose a fictional place rather than just a town already made that you could use as a model for your book?

Willowtree, Arizona is a fictional town located in a part of the Prescott National Forest that I had admired for 18 years while commuting to work. I imagined a town there, or rather I was happy that there was no development on that beautiful and unique land. That was long before I had any thoughts of the story that became my book. The location is perfect for a town, real or fictional, surrounded by rugged mountains to the north, and the towns of Sedona, Cottonwood, Clarkdale, and Jerome, all visible from there. I designed the town and it's golf course in relation to the real mountains, river, creeks and elevation of the area. However, I also had the freedom to make up the landmarks and history of the town, which certainly affect the characters.

3. Does golf play a big role in your writing?

Golf is my cozy mystery angle, the factor that separates my book from others in the genre. It is a golf mystery. There is not much besides a nice golf course in Willowtree. Many scenes take place on or near it. Bruce DelReno is retired and plays a lot, since his wife chooses to keep working full time. So, that is where he finds his friends and dead bodies. I play a lot myself, so the game and the culture of a golf club are a big influence. There are many more aspects of the story that are not golf related.

4. How do you begin writing? Is it difficult? What are some strategies you use?

I am now working on the second book in the series. Of course I have a concept of the story in mind, but no rigid outline. As with WILLOWTREE, the story likely will go somewhere I never imagined in the early stages. To begin a writing session I must be relaxed, so other responsibilities must be taken care of first. I prefer mornings only because for some reason they have been the most productive times for me. Since I do not write for the book every day, I constantly review, add to and rearrange notes and research. That process often breeds new ideas for incorporation into plot or characters. I frequently leave my chair to lay on the floor where my notes and research are spread wide, including character sheets, scene outlines, chapter progress, a calendar for the chronology of the story, and dictionary. I also have many bookmarks for online reference. It's not difficult with enough coffee.

5. Have you ever written something and just felt it was inadequate? How did you over come that obstacle?

Yes. First step is to ignore it for a while, do something else, then come back. Sometimes this brings a fresh perspective to it, and it can be reworked. Sometimes I just delete and start over. Same idea, new canvas and palette.

6. Mike, do you have any resolution for 2012 as a writer? What will 2012 look like for you?

I didn't write anything down, have it notarized and tack it above my desk, but I did secretly promise myself that I would waste less time. Since the publication of WILLOWTREE, I have been seriously involved in marketing, some of which is productive, some a waste of time. I'm learning to differentiate. I have a long list of books I wish to read, and one I'm working on, so wasting a lot of time is not cool. I would like to publish the next book by August. I have several chapters done on the next Bruce DelReno mystery, tentatively titled STINGER MAGUIRE. MaGuire is a pro golfer who returns to his hometown of Willowtree and unfortunately turns up dead.

==================

To Get in touch with Mikes Bove

Mike's website: mikebove.net

His blog: http://www.mikebove.net/blog mikebove.net/BLOG

Twitter: twitter.com/bovemike

Facebook: facebook.com/mikejbove

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com

A Spy At Home By Joseph Rinaldo - Author Interview

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:36:12 +0100

So this is our first interview of 2012! What is better to start the year with an interview with a sel-published author such as Joseph Rinaldo.

Joseph has two ebooks available for sale on Amazon: A SPY AT HOME and HAZARDOUS CHOICES. Hazardous Choices is also available on Smashwords and Barnes & Noble, and both are available on Goodreads.

A Spy at Home by Joseph Rinaldo

Interview

So, let's start it Joseph!

1. Your opening of your book immediately catches the audience. How much practice and thinking does it take for a writer to come up with an opening? Was the opening a kind of “Ah ha!” moment for you? (A moment of brilliant writing).

I wanted an opening that would immediately involve the reader in the life of the main character, Garrison, and foreshadow events that were to come. This sort of mini-synopsis gives the reader a chance to get to know the character and begin to make judgments about his personal life and where the book may go from there.

2. With our rights as writers is freedom of speech and press, how difficult is it to write about the government even if it is fiction?

I didn't find this difficult at all. That's the beauty of fiction. If a writer is also an avid reader (which I am and all writers must be), he has already probably encountered information that he can use to flesh out the story in his head.

3. Rejection is a hard thing for writers to handle, how do you in particular handle rejection? Would you rather have true hard rejection, or fake flattery?

Rejection is painful, but as a writer, you have to develop a thick skin. When you ask someone (a friend, family member, or reviewer) to read your work, you have to be prepared for their opinions, positive AND negative. You must be able to sort out the constructive critique you can use to make your book better.

I tried traditional publishing when I first began my career as a writer, and I received many rejections. The worst were the generic form letters. These were not helpful at all, and they only served to show me that agents and publishers can be carelessly unkind. The "best" rejections are the ones that offer words of encouragement and direction. These don't hurt nearly as much.

4. If you could be a character in one of your books, who would it be and why would you choose that character? Is there something you could learn from their character traits?

I think I would be Garrison, the protagonist in A Spy At Home, because even though he made mistakes, he knew what he wanted, and he went after it with determination and courage. From Garrison, because of his mistakes, I learned that family is the most important thing, and something that must be nurtured and treasured.

5. How important is it for you to write as close to reality as possible? Do you like to write on the edge and try to make it believable or do you try to be pretty normal and keep it sane?

There are elements of truth and reality in both my currently available ebooks; I have incorporated traits of people I know into some of my characters, but as far as the distinction between reality and fiction in A Spy At Home, I am not at liberty to say.

6. What will be 2012 for you, as a writer and/or simply as a person?

I am continuing to write novels, and I will be editing and releasing the six other novels I have completed as time and money permit. My next release, Mountain Meadows Aftermath, is in the editing stages now and will be released this year. This modern-day novel is based on the actual massacre of innocent Americans by Mormon zealots in the Utah Territory. In present-day Nashville, Tennessee, Jeremiah grows up with a prejudice against the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the murders in 1857 of his ancestors at Mountain Meadows. Until the 1995 Oklahoma City attack, this was the most deadly act of terrorism against US citizens.

============================

We know that you enjoyed reading this interview! So here are some links to get in touch with Joseph.

His Twitter handle is @jmrinaldo.

His Facebook author page is located at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Joseph-M-Rinaldo-Ebook-Page/105978502763910.

His Website: http://www.josephmrinaldo.com The book A Spy At Home is also available for sale on his website. The cost is only $1.99, no matter the source.

His Blog: http://wwwjosephmrinaldocom.blogspot.com

Buy Links: A Spy At Home - Amazon - http://amzn.to/rYD4ZW

Barnes & Noble - http://bit.ly/vN02Bu

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/106484

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8928799-a-spy-at-home

The book A Spy At Home is also available for sale on his website. The cost is only $1.99, no matter the source.

His second ebook, released in October of 2011, is called Hazardous Choices, and it is also available on his website and at

Amazon - http://amzn.to/pkEfgD

Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12901781-hazardous-choices

Barnes & Noble - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hazardous-choices-joseph-rinaldo/1107159028?ean=2940013567238&itm=1&usri=hazardous+choices

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/102371.The cost is only $1.99, no matter the source.

Here is a brief synopsis of Hazardous Choices: Darnell Jackson is a young African-American man living in a gang-infested area of Chicago. To save his life, he joins a gang and is forced to do things he abhors. When an opportunity to escape this deadly world is offered to him, he accepts gladly. A football scholarship to a small rural Kentucky college could be his ticket out and a life free of violence and fear. But will his gang let him go, and worse, when they find out he lied to them to break away, will they retaliate?

What is The Next BIG Thing For 2012?

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 05:37:24 +0100

In the year 2011 we had the end of a glorious reign of magical creatures, wizards, witches and Hogwarts and the start of a crazed teen (and even crazed mothers) book series of vampires and werewolves that transpired into movies.

With so many teen books becoming movies, what is the next BIG thing for 2012? The Hunger Game Trilogy is to become a movie soon and many are excited and in anticipation. Perhaps this series will be the new “Twilight” craze? Only readers will tell. 2012 is rumored to bring fairies, mermaids (see Stephenie Meyer Goes From Vampires to Mermaids) and who knows what else!

There's many sites with Top Ten lists for 2011, but we would like to get your input, so tell us YOUR Top Ten list for 2011!

What will 2012 bring?... One thing is for sure, we will continue to bring you all the news about books, writing, and anything related to that!

Best Wishes - Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:01:56 +0100

Me and Aerica would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our visitors. We hope that the upcoming year will be a new, shiny and happy year.

Best Wishes!

Ali & Aerica

The Top 10 Most Popular Fallacies Of Argument And How To Detect Them

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 04:37:06 +0100

During an argumentation, you or the person you are arguing with might use some fallacies argument. Fallacies argument are “false” argument. It means that it's a reasoning that appears true and logic, but that is in fact not valuable (not logical). The second characteristic of a fallacious argument is that it is not a MISTAKE: It is used INTENTIONALLY to deceive and/or take advantage during an argumentation. We will give you the ten most popular fallacies of argument used by people every day, whether they are talking or writing.

We wrote this article to help you detect more easily fallacies of argument, but we also want to play a little game with you: Once you finish reading this page, we defy you to conduct a research on the internet or to listen to people around you for fallacies of argument. If you find any, comment back this blog post and tell us what type of fallacies argument was it that you've observed. You will realize a very shocking truth: lots of people use fallacies arguments to prove their points! Your teachers, your family, your friends, yourself, etc.

THE TOP 10 MOST POPULAR FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT AND HOW TO DETECT THEM

1 – Using a False Relation of Cause And Effect

This is when somebody links two events together and pretends that the first event has caused the second one. For example: “If the human beings' nose has the shape that it has, it was meant to be able to wear glasses. Our body has shaped our nose this way so that we can wear glasses”.

Now you might laugh at this and think that somebody can't seriously believe that...well you might be very surprised.

The false relation of cause and effect are very popular and most superstitions are built this way. Do you have a superstition? Well this might be created from a false cause and effect. To avoid this, you need to use the logic of the science: repeat the experience over and over again and see if the event is indeed happening over and over again no matter who does the experience.

2 – The False Dilemma or False Dichotomy

Let's say that you are arguing with somebody and the other person says that there are only two possible ways to solve the problem. A dilemma is then presented by the person, to solve the problem. That means you have to choose between “this” or “that”, you have to choose between A and B. The problem with this way of reasoning is that if “A” is false, then the answer has to be “B” and vice-versa. The people using this technique during an argumentation to prove their points are trying to make the others believe that there are only two possible ways of seeing and understanding the problem. They are trying to make the others believe that there are only two possible solutions to the problem. If the solution is not “A”, then it must be “B”. And, of course, the solution B is their point and the solution A was your point.

One of the most popular false dilemma is saying that “If you are not with me, then you are against me”.

3 – Using The Authority As An Argument

This is when people pretend that their argument is valid based on their authority. For example: “I am older than you and so I have more knowledge and so what I say is true” (and blah blah). Or “because my teacher said that so it must be true.” We are not saying that an expert that his basing his experience on an argument is using a false argument. Saying that you are an “expert” in a field and base this as an argument is OK as long as your argument is strictly based on that field. In other words, if your argument is about your domain, then it's not a false argument.

The authority is a false argument when:

you “pass the line” of your competence. This is the same thing if you are basing your argument on an expert sayings, you must make sure that the expert was indeed in his area of competence and that he/she's enough experienced on the subject.

When the expert is influenced by something else. For example, saying that cigarettes don't cause cancer, despite the fact this expert works for a tobacco company...

When the “expert” is not clearly identified in your argument (You can't just say: “an expert said that” or that “all experts agreed on that”).

When the area of competence is not “legitimate”. Example: a so-called “spiritual healing guru” said that.

4 – Using The Popularity

It's when you are using your popularity or someone's popularity to justify the validity of an argument. This is a very popular fallacies argumentation, especially on the internet. In this world of democracy, we tend to listen to the majority and that's why this type of false argument is so popular. People tend to believe in this type of false argument too easily, but they shouldn't. For example: “Because a certain product is popular and sold a lot, it's probably because it's good and so it will be good for you.”

5 – The Straw Man Technique: Intentionally Weakening The Others' Arguments

The person will intentionally repeat your argument, but will not say exactly what you have said and, instead, weaken your argument. The person will repeat your argument, but will intentionally weaken it to make it easily refutable by HIS/HER argument. Example: “if you doubt the sincerity of this woman despite the fact that she says that she has been raped, then you are not helping the raped-woman's cause and you are defending the rapers”. Or “how can you allocate more budget to the military? Then you are not thinking about these hungry kids and families.”

You got the idea.

6 – The Abusive Generalization

This is a very popular false argument. The person will generalize too fast and abusively without making enough observation. That is where most stereotypes come from. Example: “This blonde cashier didn't give me the right amount of change! That's the proof that blond girls are not good in Math.” It was pretty hard to find a good example to explain this, despite the fact that there many stereotypes out there...But you got the idea.

7 – The Slippery Slope

This is when somebody attacks someone's argument by saying that if we apply this argument, then the consequences will worsen in the future. Example: “if we allow people to smoke pot today, then in the future we might as well allow them to smoke other types of drugs!”

8 - The Red Herring or The Smoked Herring

the name of this logical fallacy comes from the South of the United States because, in the past, prisoners, to escape the prison, would leave smoked herring behind them to distract the dogs retriever. A person using this strategy will bring you on another subject other than the one that is currently discussed. So if you're arguing with somebody and smells that fishy smell...you'll know it!

9 – Inconsistent Criteria

That is when somebody applies rules or criteria to something, but do not follow the same criteria to other things for no objective reasons. For example, the person might say that everybody should respect the speed limit, but that the people working for the government shouldn't have to.

10 – Personal Attacks

This one is also popular and maybe probably the most irrelevant and disgusting method of argumentation. It's when the person has nothing else to say other than using personal attacks. Example: “How can you believe what he says. He has been to jail in the past so he's not trustworthy!”.

Have you observed more fallacies of argument? Or have more examples of fallacies argument presented in this blog post? Please comment and share with us!

Happy argumentation!

The Future of 3D Media by Keith Fredericks - Author Interview

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:54:40 +0100

Today's interview is with Keith Fredericks. For the 3D fans out there, you have to read this interview!

Keith wrote "The Future of 3D Media" to expose 3D glasses as "one of the biggest marketing blunders of all time" and to show how 3D will be adopted by consumers through a series of short pieces with different styles. His latest piece, "3D Glasses 404," is a scifi pastche of "The Emporer's New Clothes," where he looks back from the near future to see how stereoscopic 3D was first mass-adopted by consumers.

The Future of 3D Media by Keith Fredericks

Interview

In your book, what kind of tone or voice did you want to display in your writing? When you first began writing, did your voice change in any reviews or drafts you made of your work?

I wanted to display the voice of the activist, ready to act on existing information. The voice in the writing changes throughout the book as various styles are used, from a straight reporting style to a style reminiscent of C. S. Lewis in the Screwtape Letters.

What experience do you have dealing with 3D specifically?

I have over 25 years experience in the 3D industry, from creating a 3D digitizer in 1983, through founding the Virtual Reality Lab at Cray Research in 1989, to working at a leading 3D display company for 7 of the last 8 years. General 3D, the company I started in 2010 created an entirely new way to distribute stereoscopic 3D to a wide range of 3D devices.

Did you make research and conduct interviews for your writing? For you as a writer, how important do you feel researching your topic is? Would you recommend other writers to research before writing such an in-depth topic as you?

I did research for some sections and other sections were opinion pieces with less research. I feel that researching a topic is extremely important, but you also have to be purpose-driven to package the writing and publish rather than doing an exhaustive study, especially when the topic is “in the moment” as 3D is. Absolutely, I recommend that others do research before writing on such a topic.

How did you decide what audience group to write for? Did you try to focus on the upcoming generation, or perhaps the current generation to try to explain 3D to people?

At first I focused on my peer group in the 3D display industry. As I developed the series of articles on subjects surrounding the future of 3D media, I saw more and more the need to address the large group of consumers struggling to understand the basics of stereoscopic 3D and decided to create an introductory section to the book so as to make it accessible to a much larger audience.

How long do you think before the 3D becomes “obsolete”? Because the technology changes so fast. Do you feel your book will be looked upon even in the upcoming years?

One of the key issues I explore in the book is the misconception of 3D as a fad. I approach the issue from the point of view that we are beings with 3D visual systems and so naturally predisposed to 3D display technologies. Just as with many other human inventions such as the telephone, record player, telescope, and computer, 3D display of information is an extension of human capabilities. The previous attempts to bring 3D to the consumer failed simply due to a lack of required technology. Now we have the technology. It is simply a matter of applying it in the appropriate way.

I think that this book has a "shelf-life" where it will be more apropos. The period of interest here is the time of consumer uptake of 3D technologies. That period still has some time to go. As mentioned in the book, the key events for this period is the introduction of the killer app for stereoscopic 3D along with the introduction of the consumer autostereoscopic display system. As the series of events surrounding this unfolds, this will become more and more of a historical document. As it is now, we are still on the predictive side.

You might have heard about the death of, Steve Jobs, the co-founder chairman and chief executive of Apple Inc. What do you think of an iPhone filming in 3D or even taking pictures in 3D? Is that possible?

Throughout the book there are references to Steve Jobs and his approach to creating the killer app along with the disruptive device introduction. That introduction of iPod and iTunes and later the introduction of the iPhone and iPad stand as the example in the industry of how to innovate, disrupt and dominate an industry. You already find this as the staple example in business books on innovation.

Not only is it possible...it is expected that Apple will come out with a 3D device. Apple is clearly the one company with the requisite mojo to introduce a 3D device into the marketplace and be incredibly successful with it. There has been a great deal of speculation already (and even in my book) regarding the possibility and timing of a 3D iPhone (or iPad).

Pottermore Maintenance is Over But Still Not Open To The Public

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:04:07 +0100

J.K. Rowling. By Joel Ryan, AP.

The Pottermore website is now back online after the maintenance on November 2^nd, but is still not open to the public. The Pottermore website was on a maintenance for three days straight and was back online on November 5^th.

Based on the official blog of Pottermore, they have made some changes during the maintenance to the Hardware so that participants no longer risk getting stuck at points on the website. However, the website access is still limited to 1 million users which means that it is still at the stage a BETA version.