Floss Manuals

"FLOSS Manuals is more than a collection of manuals about Free Software, it is also the community. The writers include professional authors, editors, artists, software developers, activists, and many others. Anyone can contribute to FM to fix a spelling mistake, change details, write a new chapter, or start a new manual.

Our core aim is making it easy to maintain and contribute to manuals, text books, teaching materials by providing an easy to use interface for collaborating on the creation of texts about Free Software."

About FLOSS

"FLOSS Manuals (FM) is a collection of different language communities that produce original documentation about Free Software. This site is the home for the FLOSS Manuals Foundation (FMF), which oversees and supports the general activities of the various language communities:

English: http://en.flossmanuals.net | 

Farsi: http://fa.flossmanuals.net| 

Finnish: http://fi.flossmanuals.net | 

French: http://fr.flossmanuals.net | 

Netherlands:  http://nl.flossmanuals.net |"

http://www.flossmanuals.org/

Just Stuff Blog: Joomag

Just Stuff Blog: Joomag: Wanted to share this website I just discovered. Joomag is similar to Issuu® and Calaméo®. From their About Joomag website...

Pixar Story Rules One Version

"Pixar story artist Emma Coats has tweeted a series of “story basics” over the past month and a half — guidelines that she learned from her more senior colleagues on how to create appealing stories:

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on - it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Presumably she’ll have more to come. Also, watch for her personal side project, a science-fiction short called Horizon, to come to a festival near you."

http://www.pixartouchbook.com/blog/2011/5/15/pixar-story-rules-one-version.html/

Just Stuff Blog: Free Vintage Posters

Just Stuff Blog: Free Vintage Posters: " FreeVintagePosters.com offers 100% FREE high quality downloads of printable vintage posters, free printables, vintage advertising, ...

Sips Card Spring 2013 Deadline March 8

From their website:

Who does Sips Card do?

Sips Card puts short fiction and poetry into local coffee shop venues around the country (and in Scotland). We are a publication run by artists, for artists. Each card contains a QR code, loaded with a short story, or set of poems, from a writer meant to last as long as a cup of coffee. The cards include the issue’s author, story title, and website/e-mail.

What is a Sips Card?

- A business card linked to media. This media is free and accessible with a barcode reader on any smart-type device for your personal enjoyment.

What is a QR Code?

A QR code is a square barcode that can be scanned by a variety of devices to access free media that has been assigned to the unique code.

Devices that scan QR codes

-Smartphone

-iPods and iPads equipped with cameras

Barcode scanning software

-KaywaReader is free to download and install on your device. Click HERE to download the reader and be sure to rate their reader in the app store.

http://sipscard.com

Scribus Video Tutorial - Part 1

If you cannot afford Pagemaker, Quark, or Indesign, consider learning to use open source, free, software - Scribus.

This through video deals with  basic introduction and setting preferences.

http://youtu.be/3sEoYZGABQM

Avoiding Bad Desktop Publishing Part 1

"The first part of a presentation at the Nagoya International Personal Computer Club on how to avoid bad desktop publishing, both in print and on the web. This part included what is bad desktop publishing and why it should be avoided, and the first two rules to avoid it."

http://youtu.be/N1PxU4k9iHY