Here’s the fourth (and last) of my fifth Wednesday posts for 2018. Alas, my bottomless bag of online treasure continues to fill despite my efforts to pluck and share.
■ For Writers
Shakespeare Insult Kit
Chris Seidel presents a list of Shakespearean insults he attributes to Jerry Maguire, an English teacher at Center Grove High School in Greenwood, Indiana. Mr. Seidel has also added his own insults after the original list. To let the fun begin, combine a word from each of the three columns and preface the insult with “Thou.” Click here for a pdf.
Stephen King’s “Everything You Need to Know About Writing Successfully—in Ten Minutes”
The folks at Aerogramme Writers’ Studio reproduced this article by Stephen King that was first published in The Writer magazine (1986) and later included in The Writer’s Handbook (1988). From the introduction: “I really am going to tell you everything you need to pursue a successful and financially rewarding career writing fiction, and I really am going to do it in ten minutes, which is exactly how long it took me to learn. It will actually take you twenty minutes or so to read this essay, however, because I have to tell you a story, and then I have to write a second introduction. But these, I argue, should not count in the ten minutes.”
■ Science
It’s Made Of SCIENCE: Zombies
In this article, Nathan Scalia writes about “examples in nature that give us a template for a potential zombie infection outbreak.” He concludes the article by noting: “Zombie fiction generally gets a pass from scientific judgment, because most zombie stories aren’t about the science of zombie infection. They’re usually horror survival stories, and if that’s the type of story you intend to tell, then by all means, use magical zombies…if the mechanism of your zombie infection isn’t important, then there’s nothing stopping you from creating a…zombie story without the need for science.”
For the Living, a Donated Face. For the Dead, a Lifelike Replacement.
“NYU surgeons hope a 3-D printed reproduction will encourage people to donate the faces of dying family members for use as transplants.” In this article from January 2018, Andy Newman and Marc Santora give us a look into face transplants—how they’re currently performed and how 3-D reproduction could improve on the process.
■ For Fun
Harry Potter Snowflakes
Artist and designer Anthony Herrera says, “Since creating snowflake designs out of mainly Star Wars characters, the most requested theme I get is Harry Potter… As always I recommend using scissors, a sharp x-acto knife and patience. And just Have fun!” Once on the website, scroll down to preview the snowflakes and download your free design(s) from the list below the images. Look around, you’ll also find patterns for Guardians of the Galaxy and Frozen.
■ Yummies
Tasty Howl-o-ween Recipes
If you need some last-minute ideas for a Halloween meal or snack, check out my post on ThisNewMountain.com from several years ago.
What’s in your magical bag of online treasure?
Speculative Fiction Writer
KL Wagoner 
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