I’ve gone over this before, but it bears repeating: cultures have rituals to mark almost every important occasion: marking adulthood or marriage, for example. Or, it the case of the […]
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Perils of the Writer: NaNo No No No
Right now, on November 25th, the rough draft of Banshee stands at 54,932 words. If I were doing NaNoWriMo, that would be pretty impressive. But I’m not doing NaNoWriMo, and […]
Read moreWorldbuilding: Origins of Herbs and Spices
Food is a crucial part of worldbuilding. This is a point you can be certain that I will keep coming back to. And all foodstuffs, while helping define a culture, […]
Read morePerils of the Writer: Writing on Shuffle
I am not a NaNoWriMo person. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to do, per se, but I do think it sets an artificial ideal of breakneck pace over, […]
Read morePerils of the Genre Writer: Prophecy and Inevitability
Given my frequent mentions of Edding as, if not an influence, at least an inspiration, it’s no surprise that I think about prophecy as a tool in the fantasy writers’ […]
Read moreDueling Query Letters!
This time around we have two variant query letters for the same project, courtesy of Amy Judd. Let’s see what we can do for her: Version One: Genieve Hart is […]
Read moreHeinlein’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. […]
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