We Write!
My day started at three in the morning with a dog barking, a moment of unreasonable panic, and then snuggles that led to sleeping in. So this is a late post. I could talk about the human psychology of my own reactions - because they bear on writing fully developed characters - but instead I'm... Continue Reading →
Over this summer, in between the unavoidable interruptions of Real Life, I had begun to wonder if I was really going to write this book or if I would simply spend the rest of my life taking notes about Renaissance Italy and the Turkey of Mehmed II. Then things began to fall into place. The... Continue Reading →
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 →
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 →
Decisions, decisions. We make them constantly. Most of the time, they are thoughtless decisions. Once in a while, though, you founder on the shoal of a big one, one you know has the power to change your life forever, that can make or break you. It's at these points, as a writer, that you have... Continue Reading →
I'm tired, first of all. Secondly, I'm always tired. And finally, that means that when I'm writing, I'm writing through a fog of fatigue. This is... not always true. Sometimes, briefly, I am not feeling tired and I am usually dictating in my car on the way to work when that happens. I have to... Continue Reading →
I've been working on two projects recently, in the writing department. One is about a quarter of the way done, the other is nearly finished. Which prompted my brain to contemplate 'what's next?' yesterday as I was trying to puzzle the story arc to the end. I'm resisting the urge to release the muse from... Continue Reading →
While trawling KU for something new to read, I recently picked up an urban fantasy that seemed to have a promising start. OK, it wasn’t exactly groundbreaking; an informal, totally non-precise study shows that 66.66% of contemporary urban fantasy novels begin with the (of course) magically talented protagonist fighting for her life against attacking demons... Continue Reading →
It's been a rollercoaster of a week. I've been trying to write-by-speaking, and accordingly have been testing various set-ups in my car to take dictation. The phone with voice recorder app failed. Too much road noise. Mom, who I have offered to hire to transcribe, reported back that the recording was very difficult to understand.... Continue Reading →
It seems like a trite observation, but if you think about it, there’s a lot of truth to it, as there is with so many sayings we dismiss as ‘trite’ or ‘overused’ or ‘cliche.’ Think about it both in terms of storytelling as a writer, and in terms of business as a writer. Remember Dumbo’s... Continue Reading →
Mad Genius Club 