(Picture from here.) The 1978 Clarion Workshop Rules for Writing: Use other words In a different order, too Oh, yeah. Characters. A while back I talked a bit about my writing process. I left out how I create characters. Sure … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) Let’s wander back into the SF stories of the 50s and 60s. This was the age of the competent protagonist. Engineers were good at what they did. The world was pristine and pure—surely nothing as lovely as … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) Recently, a friend of mine lamented that he’d fallen into a particular way of writing books. He didn’t like it. He found it inefficient. The conversation left me wondering how I write books—or any fiction, really. I … Continue reading
It’s THAT time of year, so I’m combining two of my loves: writing and baseball to reprise this post from several years ago with some additional thoughts. The title phrase of this post is from one of my three most … Continue reading
[Vaccine update: Fully vaccinated!] Rather than speculate on upcoming travel plans, like wondering what it will be like to eat at a Palm Springs restaurant—outdoor dining? What steps are involved for eating while masked? How to assess for ventilation?—I am … Continue reading
There are many, many things for the prudent author to consider when naming a character. I’ve blogged about some of them before. I’m writing a long series of novels (the first one will be out this month!!) and have been … Continue reading
These days there has been a lot of talk about daring narrative voices and experimental playing with fiction and truth (as in real life experience, to skirt around the gigantic elephant of what constitutes “truth”), and it’s great that more … Continue reading
So I used the time I am spending inside my house – covid, and toxic air, and all like that – in order to try and earn some money. I am doing critique reports for manuscripts through an agency that … Continue reading
While discussing writing with a good—and excellent—writing friend, I felt inspired to write shorts again. The thing is, I had no ideas. That said, I remembered something a writer wrote about writing some years ago, paraphrased as “writing is like … Continue reading
So, you may have noticed that I just, JUST, had a new novel come out – “The Second Star“, now doing the rounds in paperback, ebook and audio editions and garnering reader responses and reviews that are making me very … Continue reading
