I’ve talked several times in the past that my real gateway into “traditional” fantasy was David Eddings. One of the complaints laid against him, which is a pretty fair complaint, […]
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Sometimes the bear gets you
Many things are happening right now– some good, some stressful, some just Work That Needs Doing. This includes finishing the galley proofs for A Murder of Mages. But that means […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Over- and Underexposition
We’re all familiar, especially in genre fiction, with the Infodump. The paragraphs on end describing some piece of backstory or worldbuilding information that may (or may not) be relevant to […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Rituals and Totems of Writing
For anyone who hasn’t reached the point where writing full time is a lifestyle they can embrace, carving out time and space in which to write can be challenging. This […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Going From Outline to Novel
So, a few weeks ago at Connooga, I got to talk about structure and outlining for novels, which is a thing I love talking about. Now, I’m a big believer […]
Read moreFlash Fiction Challenge
I’m a big believer in exercises to keep writing skills fresh, so a bit of flash fiction using six assigned words is a nice break from the usual. — Smell […]
Read moreTHORN OF DENTONHILL Review Roundup
So, now The Thorn of Dentonhill has been out just a bit over a month, and there are a fair amount of reviews out there. On the whole, I’ve been […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Inner Motivation and Inner Conflict
Stories need to be driven by choices and consequences. The consequences are the external stuff, but choices are internal. And nothing kills a story’s investment like a lack of choices. […]
Read moreFive People Who Deserve the Campbell (far more than me)
So, the nomination period for the Hugos and the Campbell is just about closed. If you are eligible to nominate, you’re probably wondering who amongst those eligible for the Campbell, […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Outer Conflict in Defining Character
Outer conflict is easy, especially when you’re writing a character whose go-to solution to problems is “punch in the face”. Of course, “punch in the face” is rarely an effective […]
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