This one’s kind of a quickie, because I’m probably going to need to go into protective custody once you’re all done reading it, and I really need to pack. Writers, I love you, I really do, so take this advice in the spirit in which it is intended… Writing Advice No One Wants to Hear If you’ve been working on the same book for ten years and it’s still not […]
Writing Advice No One Wants to Hear Read More »
They followed the road into the forest. Everything was quiet, except the wind, which had kicked up a couple of hours ago. Should they be preparing for a spring storm? A glance at the sky revealed only wispy, distant clouds. Malcolm caught up to Moli. She was wearing her dark green forester’s tunic and brown pants, the badge of her office pinned to her cloak. She scanned the ground around
An Excerpt from The Lion and the Sparrow Read More »
Ok, so I have once again adjusted my writing plans taking me through 2039. I’m thinking of this as the current cycle of my life, which really started in 2019 when I started making my writing the focus of what I was doing. This schedule is based on how long it actually takes me to work, so feel confident that I can meet these dates. But if life attacks and
A Reflection from the Middle Read More »
All of us who are trying to be creators, of whatever stripe, need to manage our resources carefully. We come from all sorts of backgrounds, have whatever amount of money available for our pursuits (or not at all) We have different resources of time whatever our concordant responsibilities, but there’s one thing absolutely everyone has, and it’s unreplaceable. Your most important creative asset is yourself. No one else can create
You Are Your Most Important Creative Asset Read More »
There’s one question writers seem to get a lot. We all get it. We all have a rote answer for it, that differs from writer to writer. Here’s the question: Where do you get your ideas? My answer to this is: from everywhere. Ideas are literally everywhere. I have twenty ideas for stories every morning before I have my coffee. They’re not GOOD ideas, all the time. They need to
The Truth About Ideas Read More »
For many years, I struggled to be consistent with my habits. I could do something for a couple of days, or even a couple of weeks, but then I would lose steam, and I would just kind of stop, sometimes without noticing. Part of the problem was that I was under so much stress and living a life under duress that didn’t satisfy me. My needs weren’t being met, which
The Importance of Rituals Read More »
In the past couple of years, I’ve sort of become a one-stop shop for producing books. I write them. I do the covers. I format them. I create my own promotional social media graphics. The only thing I outsource these days is editing, and that is an expense I’ll continue to pay for because I have no confidence in my own ability to edit myself properly, plus I have an
My Favorite Tools for Writing and Publishing Books! Read More »
There are all sorts of productivity routines out there. Most of them say something like, ‘Do your most important work first when you’ve just gotten up and are fresh for the day,’ or ‘Get up at 5am and knock out a couple of hours of work before everyone else has started their day.’ Now, there’s nothing wrong with these strategies. They work for a lot of people, but they’re sold
Maximizing My Schedule Read More »
I’ve seen a lot of superhero movies, to put it mildly. A lot a lot. I love superheroes as a concept, and so the focus on them in the last twenty years or so has been like catnip to me. Some of them, I’ve loved (on this list, duh). Some of them I’ve scratched my head at (All the X-men). Some of them I loved at the time but had
My Top 5 Favorite Superhero Movies! Read More »
It’s been a rough time to be a person with any sense of empathy and moral responsibility. I probably don’t need to go into the reasons why. The worst people are in charge and they’re proud and boastful about the harm they’re doing to the most vulnerable. Many of these people are supported by friends and family we once thought we could trust, and that betrayal hits harder than almost
Don’t Let the Bastards Grind You Down Read More »