We, who choose to stick words together and call them stories, know that there's no end to them. Days where you can't find any words, sure. But they never go away entirely. That's why they call us writers. If we could make the words go away - and trust me when I say most of... Continue Reading →
Cover Art Tool: MidJourney
I had first heard about this particular AI art tool a few weeks ago, but I've been aware of the useful things AI can do for an artist for some time. I've dabbled in a few programs, looked closely at one in particular (which needs a much more powerful graphics card than even my gaming-level... Continue Reading →
A plethora of ideas
I woke up late this morning, and feeling drowsy and satisfied with life in general, I thought I'd amuse myself and you, dear readers. What follows are a selection of writing memes that I've saved over the last little while, for inspiration and to chuck at my writer friends when they need a laugh. A... Continue Reading →
Grouped, by Type
The topic of writing groups came up, as it will, this week. I'm of mixed mind on them. I've been involved with very good ones, but also very bad ones. It seems when I talk to writers who've been around for a while, like me, that they have seen similar things. Writer's groups who were... Continue Reading →
I’ve lost the plot
Right now I'm about ready to go looking, because it may have chewed a hole through the fence and gone a'wandering. And worst of all, it's taken the other one with it. I wonder if I put up flyers, looking for the return of one space opera, novel-sized plot, and one urban fantasy, novella-sized, if... Continue Reading →
Hunting Anthology Blues
So a while back (a few months) I decided I'd pick up the gauntlet that had been thrown regarding a hunting anthology. The challenge involved is a simple one: hunting stories tend to be short. Like... really short. Of the submissions in my spreadsheet I have one that weighs in at a hundred words. Balance... Continue Reading →
Cooking with Fire
Turns out if the teenager says 'we have plenty!' you do not, in fact, have anywhere near enough to even cook hamburgers, let alone a whole-day smoking of 20+ lbs of pork meat in various cuts. So the time I'd planned for writing the blog is going to be spent instead running off to the... Continue Reading →
FenCon
I will be at FenCon this year, September 16-18 2022, in Irving Texas. Very much looking forward to it. I recommend it to anyone who'll be in range. I've got a booth, along with the rest of the North Texas Troublemakers, and we'll be selling books and other merch. Come by and say Hi! I... Continue Reading →
A Mad Scramble
Which, I suppose, could be describing a breakfast, but in this case I was thinking about the Kitchen Island Caper of this last week, and how it applies to me as a writer. Which might, perhaps, be illuminating for other writers. I'm not terribly good at doing more than one thing at a time. Note... Continue Reading →
Brainwaves
This is my brain, waving. Hi! No, seriously. What else would you be reading, if not the complicated interaction of mental impulses transmitted to fingers with just enough force to depress the keys of my laptop (I really need to set up a keyboard...) Oh, look, a stray wave. One thought, conflicting with the overall... Continue Reading →