Writing

articles on writing

Art Imitates Life 2: What Faith Brings to the Table

During interviews I’ve given—both live and digital—interviewers sometimes expressed  interest in how I treated issues of faith in my work, up to and including the Star Wars novels I wrote with the late, truly great Michael Reaves (Patterns of Force, Shadow Games and The Last Jedi.) I’m a Bahá’í, by faith, so my worldview informs …

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Art Imitates Life 1: Science Fiction, Fantasy & Faith

After I’d written several Star Wars novels and a short story with the late, wonderful Michael Reaves, I was asked to give a number of interviews. These included radio shows and online interviews on the official Star Wars site and fan sites, as well. Several of the interviewers were interested in the way I treated …

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The Mathematics of Writing: One Picture = 1000 Words

One picture is worth a thousand words.  This is a commonly held aphorism. In the life of a writer this is a real-world formula. Often what kicks off the creative process is, if not literally a picture, something equally dense and vivid—one line in a movie or book, documentary, article, or scholarly volume, one paragraph …

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The New Worlds series is brought to you by my imaginative backers at Patreon! www.patreon.com/swan_tower

New Worlds: Blood Sacrifice

When it comes to blood sacrifice — animals or humans — the logic is the unchanged from other forms of the practice. Nothing good comes without a cost; the powers that be require appeasement to turn their wrath aside, payment to bestow their blessings.

New Writers Ask: What is Scene Craft and How Do I Get Some?

“How would you define scene development and what is the key to making it consistently good throughout a novel?” If you’ll recall, this was a question from a client who struggled to understand how to know if a scene was good, bad or meh. Last time I discussed some of the elements of scene craft;  …

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