What to Blog About -- Beginning Writers

Okay, so I started this blog as just an outlet for whatever random stuff was rattling around my brain, and I figured I'd just start with whatever came out and figure out later how to organize it (if I decided I wanted to organize it).  And so far I've enjoyed it, so I'm going to keep it up...but I'm going to try to write more about writing fiction.  For reasons similar to those that got me to start this blog, I've been writing science fiction stories for a few months now as a way to feel like I'm using my brain for something creative (at least on some level), and I've learned some things about the process of getting published.  So I'll include whatever insights I think are relevant here, while tracking my progress as a beginning writer so hopefully someone else can learn from my mistakes or maybe take my attempts and find a new way of their own to make it work.

Naturally, as a beginning writer, I'm keenly interested in other beginning writers and in what it means to be a beginning writer.  But there doesn't seem to be much (at least with regard to specifics) out there on how to get started, so hopefully this will contribute somewhat to that topic area.  So far, I've come across several professional authors who are more than willing to impart their knowledge regarding how to get started (see for example here and here), but they seem pretty dismissive of trying any way other than the way they recommend, which rubs me wrong, first since the field of writing in general has changed so much in the last few years, and second since my interests haven't really lined up with what they think.  And isn't writing supposed to be creative anyway?

It could just be that I'm a beginning writer and don't know what I'm talking about, but I like to think I'm just being open-minded.  We'll see how it works out....

Top Ten German Compound Words Used in English

I love how when Germans want to make a new word, they just add two existing words together and create an entirely new concept.  This happens in English (and I'm sure other languages) as well, but it doesn't seem to be near as common -- or as effective -- as it is in German.

Here's a list of my ten favorite German compound words (most of them are commonly used in English):

In no particular order:

1.) wunderkind (literally "wonder child," a prodigy)
2.) gegenuber (literally "against over," meaning across from)
3.) blitzkrieg (literally "lightning war")
4.) doppelganger (literally "double goer")
5.) dummkopf (literally "dumb head")
6.) rinderpest (literally "cattle plague," the name of a cattle plague)
7.) schadenfreude (literally "harm joy," happiness at someone else's misfortune)
8.) ubermensch (literally "super man")
9.) schlitterbahn (literally "water road," the name of a waterpark in Texas)
10.) wanderlust (literally "travel desire")