I love, love, love finding cool, interesting information. The internet is an endless resource, surprising me over and over with things I never knew. Some I can use in my writing, some it’s just fun to know. The cool things I’ve found on the internet this week include:
Cool things I’ve found, writing related:
An article that describes a way for a pantser to have some (gasp) control of her book? Yes!
Book marketing on a budget. Blogger Jen Beach offers eight tips and how-to’s on how to market your book on little or no money.
How to repurpose your blog content into social media content. Blogger Brian Appleton offers tips within tips on how to reuse your blog content for social media. I’m all for working once and getting multiple exposure!
Cool things I found researching my WWII book, Brilliant Wreckage:
Lava lamps didn’t exist until 1963. I wanted to place one in the movie theater in Elmwood, the fictional town in my book. One always sat at the ticket booth of the Kent Theater, where I saw movies during my childhood. Alas, I’ll have to find something else to add color to the scene.
Scrabble the board game was invented in 1938 but didn’t become popular until 1952 when the president of Macy’s played it on vacation then wondered why the store didn’t carry it. Because the game wasn’t widely available in 1945, when Brilliant Wreckage takes place, I changed the game Annie and her future mother-in-law play to Monopoly.
Workers lost their jobs in WWII because they couldn’t prove they were born in America. Mike, the father of my heroine, Annie, lost his job because he did not have a birth certificate. In the wake of paranoia about German spies, some companies would not keep you on the payroll if you couldn’t prove you were born in America. In a time of home births and the lack of paperwork, some lost their jobs.
Other cool things I’ve found:
From Wikipedia:
The speech known as Abraham Lincoln‘s “Lost Speech” was given at the Bloomington Convention on May 29, 1856, in Bloomington, Illinois. Traditionally regarded as lost because it was so engaging that reporters neglected to take notes, the speech is believed to have been an impassioned condemnation of slavery. It is possible the text was deliberately “lost” owing to its controversial content
Trees that eat things. No, not people. Rather, trees that have grown up and engulfed inanimate objects like bikes, cars, and benches. Too bad they’re not on a time lapse videos!
The most badass Norwegian ever. Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) was one tough cookie. Nordic athlete, explorer, and Nobel Peace Prize winner, his life was so big, you’d have to make THREE movie about it. From attempting to reach the North Pole to saving millions of Russians from starving after WWI, he was a busy, busy man.
I love to share these tidbits I find on the internet. I hope you’ve enjoyed them.
What cool thing did you discover this week?
Blessings,
Cheryl
by 