Back at the ArmadilloCon Writers’ Workshop, one piece of advice I felt comfortable dispensing to the crowd of students was about any social media presence they might have. Namely, I […]
Read moreCategory: perils of the writer
Worldbuilding: Skip the Travelogue Plot. Just Write the Honest Travelogue.
In my worldbuilding efforts, I’m often trying to think of new ways to present the information about different places in dynamic and interesting ways. I’ve considered the wiki route, writing […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: The Creative Freedom of Deleted Scenes
Of late, I’ve been a bit blocked, creatively. Not exactly writers’ block– but more a sense that the flow isn’t what it should be. Even writing this is taking more […]
Read moreThe Plotless Meander
“Celeste And Jesse’s script… is shapeless and witless, aiming for an offhandedness in the interactions that instead comes off as contrived, or sometimes just bland” – AV Club review of […]
Read moreVillains with Clear Motives
This weekend I watched last year’s premaquel* of The Thing. It was… fine. That’s really all I can say about it. It achieved its goals, given that its goal was […]
Read moreVisual Influences and the Failure of Words
Every writer has their weak points. Visual descriptions is definitely one of mine, I’ll own that. I can muddle my way through describing people and clothing all right. In those […]
Read moreEvolving from a Fandom of One
Back at the ArmadilloCon Workshop, the fantastic Mark Finn talked a bit about that moment that many writers dread: when someone approaches you with “the idea”. Now, in this case, […]
Read moreRecognizing our Blind Spots
Every writer has their blind spots. Weak points in their writing born from their style, their biases, their personal preferences. For me, I know exactly what my big one is: […]
Read moreSitting at the Grown-up Table
Two weeks from tomorrow ArmadilloCon kicks off*, starting with the Writers’ Workshop. I’m really excited. This is my second year on the teachers’ side of things for the Workshop, and […]
Read moreWriting with Clarity: Harder than it looks
The other day I read an article about the difference between “literary” fiction and “commercial” fiction. The main gist of it was how there was a school of thought– from […]
Read more