As of this writing, I am in the middle of NaNoWriMo. It is November 15th and I have learned a lot about myself the last 15 days. First, I should tell you some background. This is my first year doing … Continue reading
Category Archives: General Writerliness
Before National Novel Writing Month, I was a spineless little wannabe writer with delusions of casually wandering through the first draft of a novel and rocking a publishing deal after an intense spellcheck. Those were my early teen years, filled … Continue reading
National Novel Writing Month. You know what I’m talking about. That crazy, insane, impossible challenge where you have to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. Which is 1,666 words per day. That’s actually, for a non-professional author, a … Continue reading
Starting something is, for me, the hardest aspect of writing. All too often I’ll take a decent idea, do some worldbuilding, invent a couple of characters, and sit down to write…. only to find I have absolutely no idea where … Continue reading
Quick! How many stories can you think of that begin with a prologue? Books or movies, it doesn’t matter. Just spend a minute making a list. Done? Now tell me how many of those actually needed that prologue. My guess … Continue reading
Do you ever just open a novel, or watch a movie, only to feel like that instead of being captivated by plot and character, you feel like you’re listening to a sermon or philosophical speech? It happens to me a … Continue reading
An early version of this post originally appeared on my personal website. Let’s talk a bit about perfection. It’s become such an ideal in our culture. It’s not usually stated outright (aside from ‘Oh, he’s the perfect guy’ or ‘She’s … Continue reading
Hey there! Did you miss me! I know I’ve been MIA for quite a while now. But I have a good excuse…I’ve been in London! (London, England, not London, KY as so many of my co-workers seemed to think when … Continue reading
Darkness and light, good and evil. The struggle between the two appears in all speculative fiction, though it’s most obvious in fantasy. And just as every source of light casts a shadow, every force for good has its evil opposition. … Continue reading
Close your eyes. We’re going on a road trip. Wait. It might be kind of hard to read the rest of this article with your eyes closed. You can go ahead and open them. Okay, so you’re sitting in your … Continue reading