ZenaShapter
Zena
Zena Shapter is a British-Australian fiction writer and published author. She...
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What Writers Can Learn from Downton Abbey
.W.I.P. It: The Top 10 Query Letter Tips for Cretins
"The View From Here" Literary Magazine - A Considered Interview...
The lovely Jen Persson has interviewed me over on The View From Here literary magazine: http://www.viewfromheremagazine.com/2013/01/interview-with-zena-shapter.html Jen read my website, my blog and...
Scientific evidence that you probably don't have free will...
Humans have debated the issue of free will for millennia. But over the past several years, while the philosophers continue to argue about the metaphysical underpinnings of human choice, an increasing number of neuroscientists have started to tackle t...
Why a Gun Loaded With Blanks Can Still Kill You
The phrase "shooting blanks" has passed into colloquialism. But, literally speaking, what does it mean to shoot blanks? And why can people who get shot with blank ammunition still die?
The Woodward Effect allows for endless supplies of starship...
One of the major problems with traveling through space is the need to carry fuel. Scientists have endlessly sought after sources of perpetual, portable fuel for spacecraft.
Writer Beware ® Blogs!: 2012: Year in Review
Official Doctor Who stamps are the next best thing to a...
The Doctor has battled Daleks, Cybermen, rogue Time Lords, and even farting aliens. But can he handle the nightmare that is the U.K. postal system? From BBC News: Tom Baker, David Tennant and Patrick Troughton are to feature on a special set of Royal...
27 Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012
We may never have our flying cars, but the future is here. From creating fully functioning artificial leaves to hacking the human brain, science made a lot of breakthroughs this year.
On The Definitive Rules For Writing Magic (Or, Some Shit...
I led a discussion earlier this year with the CSFG Novel Writing Group on what are the characteristics of a good system of magic in fiction. We discussed a range of examples of what we thought were...
What Does Space Travel Do to Your Mind? NASA's Resident...
Space travel is tough on the human body. But what does it do to the human mind? Gary Beven, a space psychiatrist at NASA, answers our questions about how humans adapt to space, and what we have to do to go to Mars. Doctor Gary Beven has to have one...
8 Incredible Nanotechnologies that Actually Exist Today
The trouble with the word "nanotechnology" is that it refers mostly to an idea from science fiction and futurism: nanoscopic, self-replicating machines that can turn any piece of matter into another piece of matter in seconds.
The Other Side of the Story: Let Me Check the Numbers: Is...
Top 10 ways to Successfully Pitch to an Agent or Editor
1. Arrive late. It's what a movie star would do after all - and the best way to achieve success is to model yourself on the successful people who've come before you. Agents and editors ...
The Next Big Thing
So, the incredibly talented Ditmar award-winning Joanne Anderton just tagged me in this Next Big Thing thingy (thanks too Amanda Bridgeman and Amin Chehelnabi for also asking me), meaning I now hav...
American Sketchbook - Part 1: World Fantasy and Toronto
How I got my call » The official website of Nicole Murphy...
20 Essential Books About the Next Step in Human Evolution...
Evolutionary theory teaches us that life never remains the same. It is constantly changing and adapting. So what might be the next stages in the evolution of humanity and our planet?