It is very hard to make a website that holds people's attention. I have been laboring over a website for the MMORPG that I am designing with the help of a few friends. It is called Islands of Ansual. It is extremely hard to keep people's attention and also include all the information that is needed. It seems like an either/or situation that just cannot be won. Should I put a picture here? How big should the font be? It is excruciating. The list of the top ten things that are needed for a successful website is very true. If those things can be accomplished, the website will be successful.
As for zines, I have been looking into submitting a sci-fi story to a zine, but have not had much luck. Many of the zines I have been looking into have not done any publishing in years. Does anybody else have this problem? There must be some out there that are willing to look at my work and put it online, but it is hard to find.
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I have recently had the privilege of testing an Acer Netbook. I have to say that I m impressed. It only weighs about 2 pounds, for one thing, and as a student, this is very important. When I take my 15.4" Dell Inspiron to school, if I have to walk any more than a hundred feet, I feel my back whining constantly. "Why are we still walking? You stuffed all this weight onto me just for school?" Looking around to make sure no one is within hearing distance, I say, "Just deal with it, ok! There are no other options!"
But there is another option. People may complain about how much power the Netbook has, but at 1.6 ghz and 1gb of memory, it really can get its job done. Another huge bonus that comes along with this laptop is that it is only about $300 depending on which one is bought, with the larger 10" screen costing closer to $350.
I am extremely tempted to buy one, even though I already have a nice laptop, because it can be taken anywhere so easily. I would use it to write wherever and whenever I wanted to. Other laptops are large and clunky in comparison. If you are looking for a smaller laptop that can get the job done, and all with a great price, the Acer Netbook is for you.
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When was the last time you searched something on the internet and the information you were looking for led you straight to someone's personal blog. I have done this many times and am amazed at how much information is located on the average Joe's (no pun intended) personal blog.
Technology and the web has changed our lives. We have become frighteningly reliant upon it and everyone struggles to keep up with the everchanging forms of communication. One day it is Myspace, the next it is Facebook, and then Twitter, and so on. It never ends. People can now publish books online almost easier than printing it out with their own printer. It's just amaqzing.
Books are things that have changed dramatically. Many books are now becoming available for online download. More and more books are free on different websites, and Google has been working on a project with major libraries around the world to digitalize every book they can find. Nothing can beat good ol' paper though.
Newspapers have been hit hard. It used to be that Creative Writing Majors switched to Journalism because there was no hope for them otherwise. Now, Journalism Majors are switching to Creative Writing because there is no hope for them in Newspapers. Many papers are going out of business. Others are shrinking with every release, alog with their subscriptions. people do not read the newspaper anymore because it is available online, with multiple viewpoints and commentary so that the information can be cross-examined to be more accurate.
The web is a wonderful and scary thing. What is coming next?
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In Charles Dickens' Great Expectations, the published ending is a joke. The entire book is a melancholy look at different aspects of humanity and how people hurt each other constantly. To end the book with even slight hope colors the ending different than the rest of the book. Also, the fact that he only changed the ending because one of his peers told him that he couldn't end the novel that way is stupid. Dickens should have stuck with his original ending.
How believable is it that after everything that has happened, Pip and Estella might finally be together. No, the entire point of the book is that the great expectations that Pip has are all dashed to pieces. He may learn things throughout the course of the book, but the great things that he wanted never came to being. Having the hope of Pip and Estella coming together is a sacreligious ending to a melancholy novel.
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