Site of the Week: The Turkey City Lexicon.
I’ve used the Turkey City Lexicon for years. Growing out of a science fiction writer’s group in Austin, Texas, it’s an invaluable resource for all writers.
It’s a collection of humorous writing tips, apt names for writing errors and a kind of secret handshake for writers all rolled into one.
For Example:
- The Kitchen-Sink Story
A story overwhelmed by the inclusion of any and every new idea that occurs to the author in the process of writing it. (Attr. Damon Knight)
- And plot
Picaresque plot in which this happens, and then that happens, and then something else happens, and it all adds up to nothing in particular.
- Eyeball Kick
Vivid, telling details that create a kaleidoscopic effect of swarming visual imagery against a baroquely elaborate SF background. One ideal of cyberpunk SF was to create a “crammed prose” full of “eyeball kicks.” (Attr. Rudy Rucker)
And it’s now been released to the public at the SFWA website.
Popularity: 10% [?]
