We Write!
Alma T. C. Boykin How many of us are blessed with the gift to instantly see what needs to be corrected after we finish a manuscript? Yeah. I'm not either. My habit is to finish the rough-rough draft. Then a day later I go in and fix the last little stuff that I realized I... Continue Reading →
For everything there is a time and a season . . . but unless you are Larry C. or Deadpool™ interrupting a fight scene for a magnificent description of something is not the place for Churchillian eloquence. There are times in which soaring to flights of Latinate rhetorical magnificence is desirable. There are times for... Continue Reading →
What is a cozy? It's a fabric thing you put over a teapot or boiled egg to keep it warm. Duh. *Hears frantic off-stage whisper, listens, blinks* Oh, sorry. Wrong cozy. You mean like a cozy mystery, which has one or two crimes, lots of cute, a little flirting, a small setting, and a happy... Continue Reading →
Alma T. C. Boykin Anyone who has read my books, especially the Merchant series and the stand-alone Chinese story, knows that I am a compulsive researcher. I wouldn't have survived two graduate degrees in history without suffering from this affliction. Or perhaps reveling in it. However, there are limits to what you need to write... Continue Reading →
Alma T. C. Boykin The short answer is "probably nothing, unless you've paid for the story and I need to e-mail/ship it." However, a lot of people, even those who will answer "nothing," believe in an understood contract with readers, especially those of us who are indie writers. Traditionally published writers are a little more... Continue Reading →
Alma T. C. Boykin Ah, the fortunate soul who makes so much lucre (filthy or otherwise) and who can retire from Day Job to do nothing but write! Sometimes I envy those few, those happy few, that band of authors. All five of them in the world. 😛 Or their spouse works and lets them... Continue Reading →
While rereading a seasonal poem, I realized that it fits the pattern Karen pointed out last week with "Lady Diamond." It also fits what Sarah was taking about with the shadows, the quiet darkness, that casts the light and action into higher relief. "Then he said “Good night!” and with muffled oarSilently rowed to the... Continue Reading →
Alma T. C. Boykin No, not creepy characters, but characters who 1) won't stay the way you originally planned, 2) won't stay in the proper role, or 3) insist on expanding the story. Also known as "this was supposed to be a short story, not a 40K word novella!" Or worse. I sort of envy... Continue Reading →
[Alma T. C. Boykin] Short version - if it happens, file off the serial numbers, and give credit. Think of musical story ideas as a sort of fan-fic. You can write them for fun, or as a training exercise, keep them for yourself, and there's no problem. Or you can file off the identifying marks,... Continue Reading →
[Alma T. C. Boykin] N.B. I'm not talking about true writer's block, or burn out. I've never blocked completely yet. I've had months where I "piddled around" and didn't accomplish as much as I wanted to, but never had a total brain lock. Yet. [taps wood] There you are, typing away on your Work-In-Progress (WIP)... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 