Category Archives: Writing
Writing Update: Dog Days of Summer
The other day I went to update my word-count tally and realized I hadn’t updated it in two weeks. Had it been that long?! Thinking back, yes, it had. Part of that was due to our family camping trip, but … Continue reading
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Turning-points: The Sword of Shannara
Getting ready to go camping last week I decided I should take a book along, just in case (the forecast called for rain every day). I wasn’t sure I wanted to take my brand-new hardback copy of Dan Wells’ new … Continue reading
Publishers and the benefits of specialization
I read yet another article recently about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. I won’t bore you with the details, as it had nothing new to say that hasn’t already been discussed here. The bottom line is that if you’re going to … Continue reading
Vignette: A little Noir
I want to try something new. From time to time I’m going to write something random. It may be sci-fi/fantasy, it may not. It may be fairly normal, it may be entirely off the wall to make it a challenge. … Continue reading
My face file (or, I am not a serial killer)
I’m not an artist. I’ve practiced drawing some, but I’m nowhere near good enough to make what’s in my head come out on paper. Yet I find it so much easier to write a character if I can see a … Continue reading
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Here’s to producers
…and editors, arrangers, engineers, layout designers, cover artists, and everyone else who is involved behind the scenes to make the artist look their absolute best. Recently on Pandora I was presented an “unplugged” version of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles”, … Continue reading
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Being mean to your characters
Having recently read Dan Wells’ “Mr. Monster” and some character summaries from the Wikipedia entry on “Game of Thrones” I have coming to the conclusion I have not yet begun to be mean to the characters in my novel. Granted, … Continue reading
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When barriers mean better
There’s a maxim to the effect of “Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.” This holds true in self-publishing as well. It’s true that Amazon has removed most of the barriers to getting your book published and … Continue reading
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Writing: Outline Updates
Well, the second draft of my novel is progressing nicely. I have a feeling this draft is going to be a fair bit longer than 100,000 words, as I’m a third of the way to that already and the main … Continue reading
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A Million bad words
Someone once said that writers need to write about a million bad words before they finally learn to really write. I’m going to assume they meant “throw-away” words and not obscenities, or else I’m never going to make it. Now, … Continue reading
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