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 moreCategory: perils of the writer
Perils 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 […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Failure vs. Defeat
Last week I talked about failure, and how to find value in failing. I should point out that failure is not the same as defeat. Failing is when you get […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Finding Value in the Faceplant of Failure
Failing is important. Not just failing, but the full-on, spectacular faceplant of FAIL. Because that kind of failure can only be managed by really trying something. Take, for example, the […]
Read moreWorldbuilding/Perils of the Writer: One-Story Worlds vs. Many-Story Worlds
There are pretty much two ways a sf/fantasy writer can go about writing and worldbuilding: come up with a story, and build a world for it to be in; or […]
Read moreWorldbuilding And Overdecription
So, when I talked earlier this week about the perils of overdescribing, of course some of the chatter I heard came back to worldbuilding. Specifically about walking that balance between […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: The Overexplanation of Genre
I recently discovered a little gem of satire: How David Weber Orders a Pizza. Go check it out. I’ll wait. Back? I’ll admit, I laughed a lot there, because it […]
Read moreWorldbuilding: History and Perspective
History is an integral part of worldbuilding. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to hash out 10,000 years of Everything That Happened to be able to write your story… and […]
Read moreSo, Some Books Are “Girl Books”? I don’t get that.
I work with children during the summer, and it’s always fascinating to see the natural patterns of how children behave. Some things are very common amongst any group of children. […]
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