SACHA BLACK

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3 Reasons To Use Crop Circles to Build Worlds – Weekly Wonder #11

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Crop CirclesI’ve always wanted to find a crop circle. I mean, realistically I’d find it, do a flappy hand jig, then pause and have a horrible “oh” moment as I realise I’d have to be in the air to actually appreciate. But still. It’s on my bucket list.

They’re works of art, whether they’re made from the hand of a human or from the oddly artistic feet of an alien space craft, there’s no doubt they still look awesome.

But what is the significance of them? Why do they cause such controversy? and why the shit is it relevant to my writing? [Read more…] about 3 Reasons To Use Crop Circles to Build Worlds – Weekly Wonder #11

F*** Fermi – I Never Liked A Paradox Anyway

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Fuck FermiI get questioned a lot on whether or not I believe the stuff I write in my weekly wonders. Mostly, I just like writing controversial or thought provoking stuff. But primarily, I research it cause it inspires my own stories.

But, one thing I don’t mind admitting, is that I am 100% certain we are not alone.

You can’t tell me in that infinite void we call the universe, no one else climbed out of the primordial slime. No chance. I mean, does anyone actually believe that any more?!

But then, if there’s life out there… where the hell is it?

And that’s the question Fermi tries to answer with his paradox. [Read more…] about F*** Fermi – I Never Liked A Paradox Anyway

Flat Earth & The Great United Nations Cover Up

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Flat EarthThere are a couple of films that after the first time I saw them, I felt a little bit less sane. The two biggest culprits being: The Matrix and The Truman Show. They messed with my head, my perception of reality in a way I cannot explain. In my defence I was only 12 when they were released in 1999. It’s weird though isn’t it. When something so ridiculous, so controversial it couldn’t possibly be true, sews just the tiniest seed of doubt.

220px-Flammarion
Curtsey of Wiki: The Flammarion engraving (1888) depicts a traveler who arrives at the edge of a flat Earth and sticks his head through the firmament.

For a few thousand years, we thought the world was flat. All 5 big religions, had accepted and promoted theories of a flat Earth. They believed the Earth was flat and at the edge was protected by something called the firmament – whilst they might have differed in their beliefs, they were united on this.

It wasn’t until Copernicus in the 16th century realised the world spun at over 1000mph and 60,000 mph round the sun, that he proposed the globe model. From these calculations he surmised the world was round. That’s it. No more proof no more evidence, it was accepted into mainstream society and still is to this day.

It’s one of those fundamental ideas we are taught on the first day of primary school; the world, is 100% round.

But, humour me, what if it’s not round? What if we got it right the first time? The Earth is flat. As conspiracy theories go, this one takes the biscuit.  [Read more…] about Flat Earth & The Great United Nations Cover Up

Hollow Earth and the Secrets Hidden at the Centre of the Planet

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Hollow Earth Theory

I am well overdue a weekly wonder. So I thought I would bring you a truly bizarre theory.

I stumbled across the Hollow Earth theory trying to research the Hollow Moon theory some time ago (more on that another time).  There have been many theories proposing different ideas around the Hollow Earth, William Reed and Edmond Halley being some of the first to note it. The Hollow Earth theory is a conspiracy claiming that the Earth is in fact, Hollow. The way I see it, this hollowness is in two parts: [Read more…] about Hollow Earth and the Secrets Hidden at the Centre of the Planet

Adultland Part 3

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Adultland Part III - Sacha Black

A few weeks ago I wrote a piece of flash fiction which I called Adultland, the story continued in Part II, but today, I bring part III. You can catch up on all the past instalments here.

We left Lou, pacing outside her parents flat building, waiting for the mist and Hunters to come and kidnap her parents. Can she save them? Read on to find out. [Read more…] about Adultland Part 3

8 Steps To Cracking The YA Mindset

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8 Steps To Cracking The YA MindsetYoung Adult fiction is wildly popular. I write it, and I know several dozen other writers that do too. It’s becoming the front runner for the biggest share of sales across the whole book/ebook market. So what makes it so popular? And how does one write the YA genre well enough to get a share in the market?

You have to be in their mindset. The YA mindset. See, I have this theory that people stop ageing. I mean, yeah, sure, chronologically we ‘grow’ old. But how many people do you know in their 60’s, 70’s or 80’s who actually act like it? My guess is not many. It’s because people stop ageing. We get to a certain level of maturity or chronological age and then poof. Things stop developing, we think as we did at that age, we just add more experience to help reason our decision making. So what does this mean for writing effective YA stories? [Read more…] about 8 Steps To Cracking The YA Mindset