Tag Archives: writing

Blocks and Breakage

Posted on June 17, 2013 by
antique bookpile

In talking about the changes in the publishing industry and their devastating effect on midlist authors, I’ve touched on the phenomenon of writer’s block. I talked about it briefly in a guest blog elsewhere. For authors whose careers have been … Continue reading →


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Posted in Publishing, Rants, Writers on Writing, Writing life | Tagged , , , , | 45 Comments

Making Word(s) Count #2: Playing the Trump Card
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Posted on May 22, 2013 by
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Action and suspense sequences and scenes with high emotional content (as in romantic situations) are probably the most important type of scene that can be sabotaged by excess verbal baggage or convoluted sentences. There are also sentences that are intended … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

On “casting” while you write. Or not.

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

by Laura Anne Gilman When I first started out in this biz, I heard a lot of writers talking about “casting” their books, and researching for visuals (typically actors, but not always) as part of their research prep. And this … Continue reading →


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Posted in Inspiration, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Writing, Obsession, and Velveteen Moments
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Posted on April 24, 2013 by

Several of us Book View Café “staffers” were discussing why we write. Specifically, Amy Sterling Casil wondered aloud (as it were) if we wrote because we had that certain type of experience that caused us to sit up and take note, … Continue reading →


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Posted in Inspiration, Uncategorized, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Don’t Know, Can’t Care

Posted on April 23, 2013 by

by Laura Anne Gilman Yesterday, someone asked me what the on-spec manuscript I’ve been working on, was. My answer: a story. No, they said, what kind of story? With words, and characters, and Stuff Happening and their world changing, even if The … Continue reading →


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Posted in Publishing, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Writing in the Digital Age: Nook Press – A Boon, or Boondoggle?

Posted on April 12, 2013 by

Will Collaboration Tools in Nook Press make it the Next Best Thing? I dithered about whether or not to make Nook Press my topic today. There are other exciting things happening in the world of writing in the digital age … Continue reading →


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Posted in News, Writers on Writing, Writing life, Writing Nowadays | Tagged , , , , , | 20 Comments

Random Hydra Rides Again: Or, Why Better Isn’t Always Good Enough

Posted on March 14, 2013 by

And so the saga continues. There is a new contract. It’s better than the old one. It is not, however, even yet, a good contract. Scrivener’s Error, the publishing blog for true wonks, is not terribly impressed. What it looks … Continue reading →


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Update on the Random Hydra Affair

Posted on March 12, 2013 by

It seems Random House has not only been listening to all the, ahem, feedback (which has reached howling-scream levels in some places), but it has decided to take action. Good action, so far. Big changes in the terrible, horrible, awful, … Continue reading →


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Posted in Publishing, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Random Hydra and the Terrible, Horrible, Awful, No-Good, Very Bad Contract

Posted on March 8, 2013 by
Oh noes!

There’s been a great deal of excitement on the interwebs for the past couple of days, as major publisher Random House has announced a wonderful! new! line of ebook imprints for various genres including science fiction (Hydra) and mystery (Alibi). … Continue reading →


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Posted in Publishing, Writers on Writing, Writing life | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Writing in the Digital Age: All that Bling is — ooh…shiny — Distracting

Posted on February 15, 2013 by

One of the adages for writers looking for a career nowadays is to release several books a year so you don’t lose your readers. Even stalwarts of the New York Times list are being asked to deliver more by their … Continue reading →


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Posted in Publishing, Writers on Writing, Writing life, Writing Nowadays | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments