Writers and editors rely on manuscript format as a common ground for reading and preparing texts for publication. Unfortunately in today’s world of electronic submissions, each individual market sometimes demands a different format for their manuscripts, complicating the submissions and editing process for writers and editors alike. There is a Standard Manuscript Format, and most [...]
Archive for the ‘Journal’ Category
Plain Text for Writers, Part II: A Proposal for a Plain Text Manuscript Format
Posted in Journal on 6 December 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Creativity On Demand
Posted in Journal on 5 November 2011 | Leave a Comment »
It was another great weekend at Liz Engstrom‘s Ghost Story Workshop. Once again, a band of 13 writers gathered in Blue River to write complete short stories in a 24 hour period (<3000 words). As usual, I stayed up until about 3am Friday working on my story. I even started a second one Saturday afternoon [...]
Plain Text for Writers, Part I: An Argument for the Use of Plain Text
Posted in Journal on 8 October 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Writers have a vested interest in the tools they work with and the preservation of their work. Today, almost all writers use a computer at some stage of their work, but in the age of ubiquitous word processors, few have considered the benefits of plain text. When you use a word processor or save a [...]
Borders Liquidation
Posted in Journal on 25 July 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Took a stroll through the local Borders liquidation sale today. There was a strange feel in there. The cafe was closed, many of the shelves were in disarray, and it felt a little like a sign of the times. Is it the end of books as we know them? Paper books will surely persist for [...]
Going Paperless?
Posted in Journal on 22 May 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I have always been a staunch supporter of the paper and pen, so when my latest short story went from rough draft to final draft without ever being printed on paper, I had to wonder if I had taken a bold new step into the future. To be fair, I had made a number of [...]
Idea to First Draft
Posted in Journal on 8 March 2011 | Leave a Comment »
My writing methodology has evolved over time and by necessity varies from story to story. That being said, there is generally a definable process. At the beginning is always an idea: it could be a situation or a setting, a character, a feeling, a fragment of a dream, or any number of other things. But [...]
Paper Books Endangered?
Posted in Journal on 10 January 2011 | Leave a Comment »
A gift certificate led to an interesting trip to the local Barnes & Noble today. I hadn’t been there in a while and was surprised to find very few books when I walked in the door. Half the front of the store was a display for their ebook reader and the other half seemed to [...]
A New Year in Writing
Posted in Journal, News on 31 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
It’s been a good year for writing. In 2010 I finished Book 2 in The Three Earths trilogy along with a handful of short stories. I’ve been busy editing for the last few months and am getting close to moving on to further projects. I’m looking forward to a lot of exciting work in 2011, [...]
“Crawlspace” was first published in S&M Horror where it placed 3rd in their monthly short story context. It is no longer on their site, but can now can be read here. (There’s also a link on the sidebar.) I had the idea for this story while standing in my living room one day and thinking [...]
“The Music of Timothy Shean” is here for all those who missed it when it was first published in Dark Recesses Magazine in August 2009. My own history of playing the piano is long in years but short on skill and practice. I played for two or three years when I was in middle school. [...]
MATTHEW LOWES
-
Recent Posts
Twitter
- Working up in Oakridge today. Systema class tonight! Posted 23 hours ago
- Spending the evening working on various writing endeavors. Was at the B&N cafe...now at home. Posted 6 days ago
- Giant Morton Bay fig tree at the train station in Santa Barbara. http://t.co/OLgwbawJ Posted 2 weeks ago
- Story submission sent out. Heading to the coffee shop to write for a while. Posted 3 weeks ago
- It's snowing in Eugene! http://t.co/CuZQWHqD Posted 3 weeks ago
