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Bookshelf Battle
The only site where new bestsellers are forced to do battle for space on a nerd's bookshelf.
Tag Archives: writing
My Big Book of Badass Writing Prompts is Free All Week!
Hey 3.5 readers.
Your old pal BQB here. My big book of Badass Writing Prompts is free all this week on Amazon.
Free. Gratis. You pay zilch, zero, nada. So, if you want to help keep the lights on around here, all you need do is go and download a copy, for free, and that’s it. Leave a review and you’d be helping a lot but otherwise, just give me a download to add to my states.
Thanks, 3.5:
Daily Discussion with BQB – New York Times’ “Nazi Next Door” Story
Hey 3.5.
BQB here.
“Show, don’t tell.” It’s the number one rule of writing. Trust your reader. Show what’s going on…and you won’t need to tell them.
It’s the difference between grabbing attention and in so doing, getting the point across, or just lecturing in a boring college class style.
The New York Times ran a “Nazi Next Door” story, dubbed “A Voice of Hate in America’s Heartland” by Richard Fausset.
The story chronicles the life of a young man in his mid-20s. He’s recently married. He and his wife shop at Target. He likes Seinfeld and pop culture and oh, yeah, he’s a white nationalist.
Critics were quick to get up the Times’ butt and look I’ll be the first to criticize the Times or any other paper because journalism on the whole is on the decline. However, the criticism that came at the times is that this story “normalizes” Nazi-ism, racism, etc by talking about this guy as though he is just a normal guy misses the point.
The point, in my opinion, when you read the article, seems to be that one should be very afraid that there are seemingly normal people like the subject of this article – on the outside they get married, they go shopping, they watch TV, they do all sorts of normal things but in their spare time, they pursue activities in racist organizations so…yeah.
Like, a Nazi with a swastika tattooed on his forehead wearing a German WW2 helmet and a Hitler mustache waving a “Heil Hitler” flag should scare you….but at least you can see that guy coming. You can spot him from a mile away and step to the other side of the street.
The guys that are, by all outward appearances, normal, who blend in and engage in the usual activities but, oh yeah, they also are actively involved in racist movements…those should scare you even more…because that guy could be shopping right next to you in the store or what have you and maybe you know him, trust him, what have you and then boom…he’s not what you thought he was. He was a white nationalist all along.
That’s what I took away from the story. Be very afraid of the “Nazi next door” the evil dude that might be under your nose plotting evil doings and you might not know about it until it’s too late.
People, you’ve got to get smarter. The Times showed. They didn’t tell. I read it. I got the point. If you thought they needed to slap a big banner on the article, “Hey in case you missed it this guy is a racist!” – you missed the point. The point is there may be a lot of people who hold themselves out to the world as normal but in the meantime they pursue evil activities.
At any rate, I don’t believe the Times meant to say, “This guy is a great guy! He’s super normal!” They meant to say, “Um, it’s a little creepy that there are guys like this who at a first glance appear normal and you wouldn’t know what their up to just by looking at them…”
Learn to read with an eye for the point.
Discuss.
The Last Driver – #455 on Wattpad SciFi
I’ve ventured into science fiction, 3.5 readers. “The Last Driver,” my testosterone fueled tribute to 1984 and Fast and Furious, is set in a world where self-driving cars are the norm. That seems like a boon to the intrusive dictatorship, the One World Order. What better way to keep tabs on the citizenry than to have their cars report where everyone is going?
In a world where everyone has forgotten how to drive, the last man who remembers how is ready to start trouble.
If you’re on Wattpad, I’d appreciate a vote, a comment, whatever you can spare. Thanks!
Get Inspired with My Book for NanoWriMo!
Hey 3.5 readers.
Are you participating in National Novel Writing Month?
Cool. So you have no social life. That’s ok. There are more important things afoot.
Wait, what? You haven’t come up with an idea to write about yet? That’s cool. No worries.
Just consult my Big Book of Badass Writing Prompts! Inspiration awaits for 99 cents.
We all know you’ve made more unsavory purchases for less money so this is a great deal.
My Book is Scarily Awesome!
Hey 3.5 Hallo-weiners.
BQB here. Boo! And so forth. Sorry, I’ m out of candy because I ate it and told the kids to get jobs and buy their own because this isn’t Russia and we aren’t filthy commies.
But that’s ok because I have the best treat ever. My book of Badass Writing Prompts is only 99 cents and well, if you’ve been reading this blog, and I know 3.5 of you have, then, you know, I don’t mean to be a dick, but come on, open up your wallet and make a tiny contribution towards keeping the lights on in BQB HQ.
There’s nothing scarier than a writer who has not read my badass book of writing prompts, that’s for sure:
Kickstarter and Patreon
Hey 3.5 readers. I hate to turn into that guy who begs for money like a common hobo panhandler but I’ve seen others do it successfully and have been wondering if I have been leaving money on the table that could help the Bookshelf Battle Enterprise.
What say you? Has anyone out there been able to use Kickstarter or Patreon successfully?
Bookshelf Battle Log #1 – 10/28/17 – Zom-bo-ween
Happy Halloween weekend, 3.5 readers.
Oh what a holiday. Started by Puritans to ward off evil spirits and now grown ass adults use it as an excuse to have as much cheap, meaningless sex as possible. How times have changed.
Alas, I won’t be at BQB HQ this ‘Ween to pass out treats but fear not for there will be no tricks. My trusty security chief, Bookshelf Q. Battle Dog, will be left behind to dispense treats and his own brand of canine philosophy to any little miscreants who happen to stop by.
What could get me out of my compound on my favorite holiday? Zombies. Yes! Zombies. It seems there has been a zombie invasion in Pittsburgh so the good people of this fair city got together and asked yours truly to save them. Gotta say that is literally the one and only reason I’d ever actually visit Pittsburgh because, let me tell you, this place is the pits.
While I’m away, why don’t you read some of the fabulous interviews I conducted of zombie authors in October of 2015? Yes, people with actual successful writing careers were willing to talk to me. 31 zombie authors to be exact, one a day for 31 days. Plus, you’ll find the journal I kept while East Randomtown was being ransacked by hideous brain chompers.
Remember, 3.5 readers, wear your helmets because this zombie hunter can’t be everywhere. Protect your gray matter because without it, you won’t be able to think and more importantly, you won’t be able to read my blog or my book and, well, come to think of it, critics have called my work pretty brainless so…sure, I guess if you want to give up your brains to a hungry zombie, be my guest. Who am I to stand in your way? I just don’t advise it from a medical standpoint. I mean, I’m no doctor but I just can’t help that physically losing your brains would be good for you.
I don’t do. Don’t take my word for it. Don’t take a zombie’s word for it easier because, you know, they’re biased. Also, the only word they can say is, “BRAINS!” Just do your research.
Have you read my book yet?
Hey 3.5 readers. Your old pal BQB here.
Do you want to write like me? Well, you can’t. The only way you could conceivably ever be able to write like me would be to invent a time machine and arrange for Ernest Hemingway to bang Jane Austen and somehow become the resulting love child.
No time machine? Well, sorry, you’re screwed, but that’s ok, I’ll still give you some of my best ideas for the low, low, incredibly low price of 99 cents. My prices are insane and I’m practically giving my writing prompts away.
You know, 3.5 readers, I’m not trying to guilt you but I do have expenses here at BQB HQ. I have to keep the moat stocked with toilet gators to keep zombies and solicitors at bay. I have to keep my yeti cage electrified. I need to scrape the barnacles off my feet. Seriously. This place is hemorrhaging money.
So help me by putting your finger in my financial dyke and buy your copy today. If you can’t afford 99 cents then take stock of your life choices and stop drinking and get a job so that you can afford a copy of my fine book.
Thank you, 3.5 readers.
My Prices Are Insane!
I’m Crazy BQB and my prices are insane! Last chance to get yourself a free copy of my book, 3.5 readers:
Bookshelf Battle 