James Cameron's new film, Avatar, is generating a lot of social media buzz especially after the release of a trailer.  Most of the discussion is about the effects.  Although certainly important, the special effects or all the tech buzz will not ultimately determine the movie's success or failure.  Take a look at The Hollywood Reporter's analysis.

Just got this notice from a fellow writer and a great teacher:

Veteran writer, Rafael Alvarez, is offering tutoring in fiction, journalism, memoir and screen writing.  He is the author of the "Orlo & Leini" tales and a former staff writer for the acclaimed television series, The Wire. The 50-minute classes take place in person in the Baltimore metro area, as well as on-line. Cost is geared to what the student can afford.

Alvarez, a former City Desk reporter for The Baltimore Sun, is also the author of Storyteller, an anthology of newspaper stories, as well as A History of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
His website is alvarezfiction.com, and he can be reached via e-mail at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

For more information CLICK HERE

Former Cheers star, Shelley Long is returning to television comedy.  She plays the ex-wife to Ed O'Neill's character on the new ABC sitcom Modern Family.  Long is fondly remembered for her portrayal of Diane Chamber, a repressed uptight Power of Conscience character.

This just in from Cynopsis Digital

"The Gutenberg revolution continues. Google is now enabling authors and publishers who sign off under various Creative Commons licenses to distribute their works for free using the Google Books platform." 

Creative collaboration, mash-ups, remixes and reuses is this a good or bad thing for writers?  You decide.  Full article is below.