articles on writing
We’re all surrounded by a cloud of vocabulary. The words you know well, that you use daily, float nearby, coming easily to the hand. This is the great barrier to learning a foreign language. Vocabulary is why I’ll never be fluent in Chinese or French; my cloud of French or Chinese nouns and verbs is …
Here are my notes from the Scientists and Engineers in SFF at Arisia 2023. (Picture from here.) Observations: While science is often prevalent in SF, scientists are less so. My experience is that while you might find scientists in SF, you don’t often find engineers as such. That said, characters can be labelled scientists but …
As the saying goes, my right to swing my fist ends where your nose begins. Turns out, that’s also the distinction between assault and battery.
Join me for more about my novels and writing life! NOTE: This series started on Dec. 31. I’m honored to have my seriocomic novel of midlife reinvention PAUSE, published by Book View Cafe, selected by The International Pulpwood Queens Book Club as a December 2022 title. http://www.thepulpwoodqueens.com During my featured week in late December, I was …
When we turn our attention toward the more violent end of crime, things get pretty dark, pretty fast.
Join me for Day 1 of my featured week as a Pulpwood Queens Book Club author for my novel PAUSE. I’m honored to have my seriocomic novel of midlife reinvention PAUSE, published by Book View Cafe, selected by The International Pulpwood Queens Book Club as a December 2022 title. The club was started over 20 years ago …
The Rambling Writer’s Featured Week with The Pulpwood Queens Book Club, Day 1 Read More »
We’ve probably all heard the famous Arthur C. Clarke adage: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Given that the New Worlds series is made possible via Patreon, it’s about time we discussed the role of patronage in the arts!
If singing and drumming are simultaneously honored and deeply suspect, the kinds of instruments we’re looking at this week often waltz across the line into elegant respectability. (But not always.)
We’ll never actually know if I’m right about the voice being the oldest musical instrument . . . but if it isn’t, then that title goes to drums.
Over time, the list of things unique to the human species gets shorter and shorter. We’re not the only tool-users; we’re not the only ones with names or culture.
NaNoWriMo Everybody’s Doing It Irene Radford If everybody’s participating in National Novel Writing Month, then why aren’t I? When NaNoWriMo began, about fifteen years ago, it was marketed for beginning writers who couldn’t finish a book. All of us who have tried to write a book have heard about the people who get a “Wonderful …
Q: Do you agree that religion influences culture? Does culture influence religion? If so, how much do or should you take that into consideration while preparing your book? I think religion is at the heart of what we call culture. Our world culture is so steeped in religious principle that there’s no way to separate it …
