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Last summer, I got stuck in the novel I was writing. It had all been going so well, for quite a while there. That is, after the first few months of the pandemic, which distracted me so badly I couldn’t … Continue reading
Category Archives: craft of writing
(Picture from here.) I’ve been looking for this novel for a bit now. Of course, it would have been helpful to know the title or authors. I had vague recollections of the plot and characters: ancient Chinese man, extraterrestrial parrot, … Continue reading
so how do you count novel years? Does a novel get born and then age like fine wine, and only gets better with age…. or is it lucky if it still holds its own a year after its publication date? … Continue reading
(Picture from here.) I’ve been reading several alternate world stories lately. Spinrad’s The Iron Dream, Dick’s The Man in the High Castle, Tidhar’s Osama. Not sure why these have shown up but that’s the way it is sometimes. These are … Continue reading
(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