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MorlockP's profile
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs
@MorlockP

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ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs

@MorlockP

Two-time Prometheus award-winning hard science fiction author. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6  Learn how to homestead https://www.amazon.com/dp/B093BC3K1T 

Aristillus Crater, Luna
amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6
Joined June 2012

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    1. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      30/ one way to re frame this is "any person lives in an N dimension space, looks down, sees N-1, looks up, sees N [ because they can't appreciate the extra dimension ]" pulprev / red tribe / indy SF often does this: they tell action packed stories, look up and see ...

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    2. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      31/ stories that may or may not have tons of action, but also CLAIM to have character development and plotting and good writing style ... and they don't see these things, because their eyes are not attuned to them, and say "LOL, b̵i̵r̵d̵s̵ style aren't real!"

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    3. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      32/ the thing is, style ARE real. Technique ARE real. Good writing ARE real. They are ORTHOGONAL to pulp vs non pulp. Pulp partisans often posit a 1-D space of action vs non-action. But let's talk 2-D: action vs non, good vs bad I was actually re-reading >

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    4. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      33/ a classic pulp tale last night, "Tumithak of the Corridors" (1932), and it's still fun, easy to read, and WELL WRITTEN. It's got a mighty barbarian hero, paper thin science, a big sword, spider villains. PURE PULP. ...and it's well written.

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    5. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      34/ read thispic.twitter.com/6oPMtCOb8y

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    6. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      35/ What interesting world building! Man kind lives deep underground, and has, for centuries. He has returned to a form of barbarism. Yet there are machines that somehow keep them alive. What an interesting world - it raises so many questions. What do we know of the hero?

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    7. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      36/ "Of course he will come..has Tumithak ever failed to [ keep his promises ] ?" The whole arc of the story is spelled out. What is it that makes a man, Mr Lebowski? Is it wearing power armor as torches "gasp" in a pit of putrid soil, in a crude cavern, in a mazelike warren?

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    8. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      37/ well, that ... and keeping his promises

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    9. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

      38/ I first read it in the Asimov edited anthology "Before the Golden Age" https://twitter.com/ArkhamRealty/status/1253013439792009218 …

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    10. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      39/ Now compare Tanner's very technically well done pulp with Bad Author's pulppic.twitter.com/70R1FiYFcr

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      ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

      40/ Tanner gave us a hero in a world Bad author gives us a playable character in a level

      10:33 AM - 22 Apr 2020
      • 7 Likes
      • Scholar-At-Arms Alexander Schneer 🌲FLOPCOPTER™️ STOTTINMAD "Doctor" Quixotic Prescient Analysis Àdhamh Cynebeald Your Disapproving Dad
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        2. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          41/ I read bad author's first novel. I thought it wasn't bad, for a pastiche of bad pulp writing. It was only when I started reading a second novel by him that I realized that it wasn't a joke, it wasn't a pastiche, it wasn't a parody - it was serious.

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        3. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          42/ There's no narrative arc, there's no foreshadowing, there's no rising tension and then resolution. Just no talent at writing fiction qua fiction at all. It's a video game with continuous boss fights. Compare that to Tanner - writing totally cheesy pulp - who tells a STORY

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        4. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          43/ Story telling is a TECHNOLOGY. Stories are CRAFTED. τέχνη is real. We humans have 4,000+ plus years of experimenting, learning, perfecting story telling techniques.

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        5. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          44/ and attitudes like this get it exactly wrong --->https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253010811133534209 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP
          You care about a standard you have set. So you dont need to read his writing. That's fine. Yet he has found a niche down here among the unenlightened masses so good for him I say. I have nice day and keep finding enjoyment in looking down on people striving to succeed.
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        6. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          45/ This are not about standards that ** I ** have set. This is about standards that are inherent in humanity, and which we have laboriously researched and started to understand after literally millenia of trial and error, experimentation and research. Humans LIKE plot.

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        7. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          46/ Humans LIKE fractal, self-similar design, where details at level N reflect details at level N+1. Humans LIKE Chekhov guns. Humans LIKE twists that they can almost, almost not, see coming. Humans LIKE rising tension. Writing may not be a science, but it also isn't >

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        8. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          47/ a free-for-all anything-I-do-is-equally valid as anything-you-do. There is a large body of research, explanation, and instruction. Dedication to a craft, and success at it requires: * an appreciation of the standards * apprenticeship and study to learn the techniques

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        9. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted That Dubious Cat™

          48/ this is geniushttps://twitter.com/ThatDubiousCat/status/1253016269659439109 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          That Dubious Cat™ @ThatDubiousCat
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          Bad pulp reads like it was written by an author selling by the word. Good pulp reads like it was written for an editor paying by the word.
          3 replies 2 retweets 16 likes
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        10. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          49/ So, folks who like pulp: * that's great! * I like it too * some aspects of writing technique are objective * pulp doesn't mean "bad writing is goodf" * learn to write better * don't read terrible how-to books by a terrible author * read good how-to books by good authors

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        11. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          50/ Well, first of all, not many people are buying what he writes. He brags a lot about how much he sells, but check out the Amazon sales rank on his books. >>>https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253017371494752259 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          Well if said author is turning a profit apparently some people have a diffrent take then you. What I find funny is that you could be objectively correct and it doesnt matter if the market consumes his work.
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        12. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          51/ The book I quoted from earlier has an Amazon sales rank of #183,573 here's a rough guide to estimating sales from sales rank rank ebook sales per day 1 10,553 10 4,028 100 1,074 1,000 200 10,000 26 100,000 2 note that left column is log - each is 10x

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        13. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          52/ These numbers aren't precise, and are gathered from a few sources, but they mostly check out looking at my own sales and those of fellow author friends. E.g. my first novel https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005JPPMS6  has a sales rank of #12,769 which predicts around 20 sales/day >>>

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        14. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          53/ and I sold 30 copies 2 days ago (a very big, outlier day) and 20 copies yesterday so ... reasonably tight fit

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        15. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          54/ B.A. has a sales rank of #183,573 on the quoted book, which works out to ... about 0.9 sales per day. The ebook sells for 99 cents. He gets a 30 cent royalty on that. So he's selling ~25 copies per month and making $9/month of of it.

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        16. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          55/ so if you're saying "but clearly the market wants this", my response is * no, not really

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        17. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          56/ I quote tweet so that I can make a coherent thread that is easy for my followers to read and understand. I AM speaking to a room, NOT to an individual.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253018829304860677 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          1, why do you quote tweet like you are shouting over someone to speak to a room instead of an individual. 2, I sayed profitable, meaning he is making enough off it to keep doing it even if it is supplemental income.
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        18. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          57/ Dude, people do all sorts of things that pay nothing, or close to it, for all sorts of reasons. If B.A. wants to write terrible books that almost no one reads, and earn $9/month from it, yes, obviously there is no law of physics that prevents that.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253018829304860677 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          1, why do you quote tweet like you are shouting over someone to speak to a room instead of an individual. 2, I sayed profitable, meaning he is making enough off it to keep doing it even if it is supplemental income.
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        19. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          58/ On Writing by Stephen King Story by Robert McKee Creating Character Arcs by Weiland There are a dozen others but titles escape me ; maybe later I can take a picture of my shelf. https://twitter.com/CDan1333/status/1253018320464482304 …

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        20. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          59/ http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html  https://twitter.com/RedeemedCat/status/1253017887616331777 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

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        21. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted RobH

          60/ as I've explained three times already (This is now #4) I'm not bashing him, I'm bashing bad art & bad technique. Why? Because Quality is an objective thing, and it is obedience to God to produce good art, and a sin to produce trash and call it good.https://twitter.com/RobHaines905/status/1253024897657380869 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          RobH @RobHaines905
          Replying to @MorlockP
          Ok so why bash him? That's what I dont understand. Maybe it's me but save that stuff for things that can get people hurt like being a bad mechanic, doctor or even teaching a fake martial art. Those have real world repercussions, bad writing doesn't.
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        22. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted

          61/ well said! https://twitter.com/CDan1333/status/1253024763875917830 …

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        23. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Camping Roomba

          62/ Exactly! One of the many failures of B.A. is that he tries to do action, but doesn't. Hero "repels attacks". Could be describing lawyers in a corporate merger, a space frigate with force fields, or a clash of steel sword against wooden shield.https://twitter.com/ctdonath/status/1253026353210941440 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Camping Roomba @ctdonath
          Replying to @MorlockP @paulg
          Striking: so much verbiage describing static qualities (size, appearance), so little addressing events. “repelled every attack” - that’s it for several minutes of engaging interaction, with exposition of how variety of clever & strong attacks would be deflected. But no, 3 words. pic.twitter.com/bTrtZ8OCrF
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        24. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          63/ Contrast BA's terrible impossible-to-picture-because-nothing-is-described writing to that of Charles R Tannerpic.twitter.com/wLHpnREI04

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        25. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books

          64/ nicehttps://twitter.com/JASutherlandBks/status/1253028146456248320 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          J.A. Sutherland SciFi Books @JASutherlandBks
          Replying to @MorlockP
          For the record, I had Saoirse throw me into a wall this morning to make sure I got the written steps of repelling a particular attack right. Art requires sacrifice.
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        26. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          65/ how does BA write action? we know what color the dirt is (though that doesn't matter), we know that the torches "gasp" (tho it doesn't matter), we know that the pit reeked (tho it doesn't matter), we know that the hero's footwork "stirred the bones" (tho it doesn't matter)

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        27. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          66/ and when we come to the ACTION - the ACTION which pulprev loudly and proudly asserts is the core of all fiction, what do we find? "the opponents ... clashed" "the demon's attacks ... dwindled" "the knight...counterattacked" thousands of words on lighting, dirt, smell >

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        28. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          67/ and zero words describing the ACTUAL ACTION this is like porn that spends 50 pages talking about the candles, the shape of the sofa, how it was that the lusty widow happened to be home alone...and then says "he banged her"

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        29. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          68/ now, let's look at Tanner: Yakran rushes Tumithak ...a terrific blow, dodged under Tumithak on one knee...another sweep of the enemy's sword .. fall back a step...lunging rushes around the table, close to the pit, now far away a plan! ... forced to the pit a lunge!

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        30. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          69/ This is PURE ACTION. No skulls underfoot being "stirred", no "feathery demons", no "like an iguana head, covered in chitin". It's a STORY, not an excitable 6 year old recounting a scene from a movie.

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        31. ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs‏ @MorlockP 22 Apr 2020

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs Retweeted Sunglass 2020 Night Mode Edition  🌑

          70/ there's an old saw that bad writing is * X happened * then Y happened * then Z happened but good writing is * X happened * therefore Y happened * therefore Z happenedhttps://twitter.com/SunglassPri/status/1253030415037878275 …

          ⓘ Dogs don't have thumbs added,

          Sunglass 2020 Night Mode Edition  🌑 @SunglassPri
          Replying to @MorlockP
          to play devil’s advocate, simply describing a series of actions in chronological order is pretty awful to read too. What’s your suggestion for hitting a happy medium?
          3 replies 0 retweets 16 likes
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