I recently finished a book. It was a feeling of great relief, since I had begun to wonder if I would ever finish it. I'm still a relatively new writer, and I was slowly convincing myself that the other books had been a fluke. I couldn't do this, I wasn't a real writer... It took... Continue Reading →
Jumping the Shark
Jumping the Shark Pam Uphoff "Wait! I know! I'll write a mirror image story! On this world Ra'd will be a criminal . . . and his sweet little sister will be number one on the shoot-on-sight list! Yes!" This is how you know you've used up all your ideas and need to back off.... Continue Reading →
Unexpected Findings
Research is a challenge for me. Not the actual tracking down of weird and obscure information: I enjoy that, and do pretty well at it. No, for me the challenge is avoiding the rabbit hole of related interesting tidbits. Of which there are an abundance. One of the fun aspects of the current work in... Continue Reading →
I Am The Voice That Cries in The Desert
How many times do I have to say it? If you're going to write something, research it. Sure if it's historical or science and even if you are an expert on both or either, you're going to make mistakes. Partly you're going to make mistakes because you're human. Even say, about Elizabethan England, where I... Continue Reading →
Beginnings, endings and everything in-between
I'm not sure I've mentioned it here -- I know I have over on my blog -- but I got jumped about 9 days ago with a new novel. Well, new in the sense that it hasn't already been written. Not new because I knew I had to write it and had planned to get... Continue Reading →
Truth in advertizing
Now there’s lies, damned lies, and statistics… and as far as most of us are concerned, beyond that, advertizing. Especially if it comes with ‘But wait, there’s more…” Of course there always IS more. Usually the parts you find out later, when it is too late and you’ve parted with your money for handy-dandy gutter-swizzle,... Continue Reading →
Scaling the Rim
As we come up on Valentines Day, I want to take a moment to acknowledge all the gentlemen and ladies (and dragons, and other) in the audience who see a hint of romance in their scifi or fantasy and immediately ask: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJixQ16L5zc As The Princess Bride proves, it's possible for a wider audience to really... Continue Reading →
Gothic Dreams
I had gothic dreams last night. Most likely the product of working on the finale of my novel. Not that it's gothic at all... For those of you aren't familiar with gothic romance, it's all dark and stormy nights, tons of angst, and heroines who are too stupid to live. Literally. I'm not familiar with... Continue Reading →
Breaking through the blockage
Two of my esteemed fellow Mad Genius Club authors have tackled the problem of "writer's block" over the past two days. First, Sarah Hoyt discussed "The Curse of the Second Novel". Second novel curse is the near ability to complete a novel after either your first sold novel or a novel that either performed or... Continue Reading →
When You’re Lost In The Depths Of The Pants
First, blame Sarah. Her post yesterday started this, particularly the commenters who identified themselves as pantsers (or in some cases, Panzers, which are clearly Germanic pantsers with really big guns. I’m presuming the DD caliber rack-mounted weapons I possess count, and I’m pretty sure there’s Germanic somewhere in the family tree). Of course, when you’re... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 