Hi, everyone. As you know, I've recently been part of the writerly chain of blogs where a succession of writers get to talk about their next work in progress — The Next Big Thing. Each writer answers a standard set of questions about their latest work. My turn came on the 28th November. I thought... Continue Reading →
Just When You Thought
it couldn't get any worse, this hits the news. Here we have one of the major traditional publishers joining up with known scam artists to run a self-publishing scam under its own alleged imprint. I'd ask if they're that desperate for money, but I already know the answer. These people, after screwing the reading public... Continue Reading →
The Unwritten Genius
Most of us want to write smart characters – of course. This wasn’t always so. The worship of the mind has to date from no further back than about a hundred years, perhaps two hundred. Why? Because before that the advantages intellect conferred were mixed. Yes, if you were of a class and in a... Continue Reading →
Open Floor Tuesday
After reading Dave's post yesterday, it sounds like his last few days are pretty much like my own. I'm going to throw the floor open today for you guys to discuss all things publishing related because I'm waiting only long enough for the doctor's office to open so I can go in and see him.... Continue Reading →
Melange
I'm not too sure on length of tonight's post, as I have a very sore, swollen left hand (got it trapped between a boat-trailer and the ute (AKA 'truck') thinking I was faster than I am. I then went to sea, and caught this little 8 and a half pound fellow, and just after seven... Continue Reading →
Next Big Thing Is Coming
I’ve recently been roped into a writerly blog chain called the Next Big Thing. It involves writers doing a Q&A about their latest work in progress, then tagging five other writers at the bottom of their post. The Q&A posts from those writers, then appears exactly one week later and so on. . . It’s... Continue Reading →
Coming back from Burnout for Thanksgiving
The thing about burnout is you don't really get how bad it is until you start to recover, even if you know you're burned out. It's one of those things that's harder to see from the inside. I'm realizing now that I was seriously, severely burned out, and now that I've had a smidge over... Continue Reading →
Midnight Story Parts
Someone asked me about filing the serial numbers from fan fiction. The subject is not exhaustive, but it does bear, perhaps, walking through. “Filing the Serial Numbers” is something you do when you just wrote something set in someone else’s (or even one of your own’s – I’ll explain later) universe, and can’t legally (or... Continue Reading →
Tuesday morning publishing news
Yesterday, I had that oh-so-wonderful experience of having to take my car in for repairs. That meant I spent several hours in the waiting room while they checked it out before coming to tell me just how much lighter my wallet was going to be. That gave me time to do two things: people watch... Continue Reading →
Character building
Back when I was a gossoon, and the world was yet young and unformed in places, whenever your parents, teachers etc wanted you to do a spot of septic-tank diving or eating earthworm-spaghetti in the ante-chamber of hell, or to take a long swim in water that could freeze impure thoughts solid and leave you... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 