Independent author
One of the questions I’ve been pondering as I’ve worked on my next short story/novella/whatever it turns out to be is, well, what it’s going to turn out to be. Is there actually enough story here for it to unexpectedly sneak its way to novel status, or will it just settle in as a longer short story? [Read more…] about Do You Have Enough Story for a Novel?
During a recent Facebook discussion about my new book, “The Slingshot” (available now on Amazon), an awesome fellow writer named Aurora Gregory said, “I swear, opening sentences are your super power…seriously…what a start!” It’s nice to know I have a super power, though I’m not sure Opening Sentence Man (“Leaping comma splices in a single bound!”) is gonna get invited into The Avengers any time soon. [Read more…] about How to Hook the Reader from the Start
One of the biggest differences between my first novel, Killing the Immortals, and this novel draft I’m almost done with, possibly called Separation, (but who the hell knows right now?) is the number of characters. [Read more…] about How to Juggle Lots of Characters
I have a confession to make … for much of the time I was writing my next novel, I was a bad writer. That’s not to say not to say I was writing a bad story (though I haven’t read the thing, so I wouldn’t put it past me), but that I was doing a bad job at the physical act of writing. [Read more…] about Why I Write Every Day (And Why It Matters)
Making the rounds of the indie publishing world lately has been this HuffPo piece from Laurie Gough about the scourge that is self-published books, and how those books are “an insult to the written word.” It’s, shall we say, harsh toward indie authors. It’s also typical HuffPo click bait. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all wrong. [Read more…] about Behold, as I Insult the Written Word
One aspect of writing that’s been more of a challenge for me with the next novel, as opposed to “Killing the Immortals,” has been striking a balance between keeping the suspense taut for the reader, while also giving the reader the details they need. [Read more…] about Suspense vs. Development