What to do if you should encounter a Neurotypical in the Wild: A Field Guide
1. Speak softly and slowly. Make no loud noises. Neurotypicals startle easily. 2. Avoid direct discussion of special interests. Neurotypicals may become confused if conversation has depth, continuity, or visible enthusiasm. 3..Offer small talk as enrichment. Weather, errands, and “busy lately?” can soothe them in unfamiliar environments. 4. Do not make prolonged eye contact. They may interpret this as either aggression or networking. or worse …. 5. Use vague emotional […]
The Trunk
Most Authors have one. It’s very rare for a writer to write their first book, and have it published, especially in the years where traditional publishing was the only game in town. In this day and age, where indie publishing is a viable option, I suppose more people might be publishing their beginner work. This is usually a mistake. Your first efforts at writing novels are almost without fail, terrible. […]
In Which I Get Knocked on my Ass
I’m on record as saying that 2025 was, for me personally, a really great year. I released four books and started finally finding my audience. I wrote two complete books. I started working professionally in editing and graphic design, including making all my own book covers, making new covers for many of my older books in the process, as well as covers for friends. I created an author career plan […]
You Will Have to Make Your Own Path
About a year ago a super famous author spoke to my writer group (Apex Writers) during a zoom meeting. This man has sold millions of copies of his books and he’s a household name at least in the SFF world. Now, our group is made up of a lot of different writers at various levels in their careers, to people just starting out to people like me who’ve published 10+ […]
Craft 101 – Satisfying Installments
A while back on Threads (of course) I saw a craft-related comment that went something like this: People are leaving one and two stars reviews on my book because they say the plot wasn’t resolved, but it’s clear this is the first book in a series. Of course, the plot is not resolved! How do I get my readers to be more patient? And, like, bold of you to assume […]
Craft 101 – Writing ‘Filler’ Scenes
A 101 Level Craft question I see all the time! I see a lot of mostly newbie writers asking version of this basic question: How do I write filler scenes, or scenes in which nothing important happens but feel necessary (for some reason) to pad out the word count and not make everything seem rushed? How can I make those scenes interesting? and my sibling in Christ I’m going to […]