I brought up query letters last week as part of the whole Heinlein’s Five Rules posts, so it’s worth talking about them. Query letters are evil. I’ve never met a […]
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Heinlein’s Fifth Rule
Final installment in our Heinlein Rules. To backtrack: First, Second, Third and Fourth. Heinlein gives his Fifth Rule as such: RULE #5: YOU MUST KEEP THE WORK ON THE MARKET […]
Read moreHeinlein’s Fourth Rule
Continuing the discussion of Heinlein’s Rules of Successful writing (First, Second and Third rules.) So, now you’ve written something, you’ve finished it, and you’ve stopped fiddling with it. This can […]
Read moreHeinlein’s Third Rule
Continuing from the previous posts (Heinlein’s First and Second Rules), let’s move on to Heinlein’s Third– and to some, the most controversial– Rule to succeed at writing. RULE #3: YOU […]
Read moreHeinlein’s Second Rule
Continuing from the last post on the Heinlein rules writers need to follow for success, let’s move on to his second rule: RULE #2: YOU MUST FINISH WHAT YOU WRITE. […]
Read moreHeinlein’s First Rule
If you go to workshops– especially SF/F related workshops– or otherwise seek out Writing Advice, sooner or later you’re going to hear Heinlein’s Five Rules for getting published. The rules […]
Read moreWorldbuilding: Aliens and Environments
Now I’m working on Banshee, a space-opera novel that, on a fundamental level, is about putting a human being on a ship with a whole lot of different aliens and […]
Read moreFuture Worldbuilding: Choosing the Future
I’ve now switched gears, in earnest, with my “primary” writing project. I’ve written four books in Maradaine and the world around it (six if you also count the two trunked […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Clarity and Transition
Earlier this week I was reading a piece with a very troubling section. Troubling in a technique and clarity way, not content. In the scene in question, two characters were […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Writing Race in SF/F
A little story from some 20 years ago: My college roommate and I were watching Deep Space Nine, and in the episodes a small group of Bajorans were meeting with […]
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