The *&#$^*@ Semicolon.

Most writers have dealt with the issue of the semicolon by ignoring it; they've replaced the semicolon with the period, the em-dash, and the comma. But the semicolon has a role to play. Here's an excellent and amusing resource for learning how to use this most benighted bit of punctuation:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

I'm Back.

From the mainland and the excellent Santa Barbara Writers Conference. They always say don't mention travel plans on the Internet or hordes will pillage your vacant home, but I'll say that I will be attending again next year. Such a brilliant conference. And I want to mention something about a good writers conference that you might not have heard before.

You get a big list of recommended books. Here's the stack I created of books I heard about during the week of the SBWC, minus a couple I'd already read before I took the picture. Saul Bellow's Mr. Sammler's Planet is on the read piles already.