I keep saying I'll install Gimp and LEARN HOW TO USE IT this year. Heh. Anyhow, I finally did download it. Still looking to learn how to use it and suggestions for resources are quite welcome, but I thought this turned out pretty for first noodling around with photos.
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"(On the writing F&SF workshop) Wanted to crow and say thanks: the first story I wrote after taking your class was my very first sale. Coincidence? nah….thanks so much."
Today I am letting myself slack a little, feeling caught up from the weekend’s excesses and so I can game tonight.
Today’s wordcount: 2592
Current Hearts of Tabat wordcount: 119954
Total word count for the week so far (day 3): 13568
Total word count for this retreat: 60229
Worked on Hearts of Tabat, “Moderator,” untitled piece
Works finished on this retreat: “California Ghosts,” “My Name is Scrooge,” “Blue Train Blues.”
Time spent on SFWA email, discussion boards, other stuff: 45 minutes
From the untitled piece:
The magician gestured, and out of the pool came musicians, the very first thing the tip of a flute, sounding, so it was as though the music pulled the musician forth, accompanied by others: grave-eyed singers and merry drummers; guitarists and mandolinists with great dark eyes in which all the secrets of the moon were written; one great brassy instrument made of others interlocked, so it took six to play it, all puffing away at their appointed mouthpiece, and all of them bowed down to the priestess who stood watching, her sand-colored eyes impersonal and face stone-smooth.
“Very pretty,” she said, and yawned with a feline grace, perhaps even accentuating the similarity in a knowing way with a tilt of her head.
The magician smiled, just as catlike, just as calm. “You can do better, I am sure,” he said.She shrugged, her manner diffident, but rather than reply, she pursed her lips and whistled. Birds formed, swooping down, and wherever they swooped, they erased a swathe of the musicians, left great arcs of nothingness hanging as the seemingly oblivious players continued, their music slowly diminishing as they vanished, the instruments going one by one, and the last thing to hang, trembling in the air, was an unaccompanied hand, holding up a triangle that emitted not a sound.
Landing, the birds began to sing, and though the music was not particularly sweet, there was a naturalness about it that somehow rebuked the mechanical precision of the song theirs succeeded. As they sang, more and more birds appeared, and the music swelled, washing over the pair where they stood, like a river.
The priestess patted the air with the flat of her hand and the birds winked out of existence, leaving the two of them in a great white room, the antechamber of her temple.
“Will you go further in, then?” she said, and her voice was still casual.
The magician’s eyes were green as new grass and the black beard on his chin, which grew to a double point, was oiled and smelled of attar-of-roses. He considered her as though this was the smallest of debates, and finally stepped forward.
“We are still evenly matched,” he said.
...
People sometimes ask whether or not the membership fee for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America is worth it. I think it is, but mileage will vary. That mileage is certainly dependent on how effectively you use it. So here’s a sample action plan I’m putting together for my next book.
4-6 months ahead of time
2-3 months ahead of time
1 month ahead of time
The day of the release
After the release
...
5 Responses
Nice! My friend Fred used Gimp to make the covers of his three ebooks. I still think getting a pro to do covers is a good idea for those who can afford it, but Gimp appears pretty versatile. I’ve had it on my laptop for a while but haven’t tried to do anything withit yet. Let us know if you come across a good resource for noobs.
People have been telling me for a long time how wonderful GIMP is and how it can do everything Photoshop can. Maybe it was designed to, but the implementation isn’t there, at least not in the version I have. Quick Mask, for instance, does not exist. There’s a button to turn it on, but the button does nothing. This is true of a number of other features I consider essential. I try to follow tutorials only to discover that what they want me to do cannot be done. Frustrating and disappointing.
I don’t know Photoshop at all — I think the first thing I need to do is get my head around how layers work.
Hi Cat … just read your story in DSF … nicely done!
Thank you! 🙂