So Scalzi opines on Atlas Shrugged (which I’m currently reading for the first time, via a 64-hour long audiobook. If you’re curious, the book that filled the Atlas Shrugged slot in my teenage-reader political awakening was the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Yeah, I’m weird that way.) and while I don’t have a Read more…
Note: This post may contain spoilers, you’ve been warned. A while ago, I posted some tips on writing “tightly-plotted” fiction. This was in large part due to some reviewers using the term to describe my shaggy-dog space opera Apotheosis. However, after listening to the audiobook American Gods by Neil Gaiman Read more…
For my birthday I got a subscription to Audible.com and I’ve lately been listening to American Gods by Neil Gaiman, turns out to be a great choice for an audio book given how deeply rooted the whole narrative is in storytelling. I daresay you won’t find so many stories-within-stories this Read more…
Well, I’m getting the chance to practice what I preach. I’ve said that the most important part of being a writer is actually writing, butt in chair, day in and day out. Right now it would be very easy for me to slack off. I have one proposal and a Read more…
For audiobook fans, I have good news. Blackstone Audio has just contracted to do an audiobook version of Wolf’s Cross. I’ve also added buy links for the Audible.com versions of Prophets and Heretics. I also finally added this widget: . To the Wolf’s Cross page.
For some reason, lately, I’ve been running across a lot of info on writing query letters. I’ve written myself about them, but I thought I’d pass on linkage to some of the items I’ve run across lately. Joe Moore at Kill Zone gives 8 tips on writing a strong query Read more…
TV Tropes is a massive time sink, but there are some gems in the general pop-culture amusement that I think could use some wider currency with those of us who workshop or otherwise talk about the nuts and bolts of story construction on a regular basis. Some of these are Read more…
From conversations I had at a party this weekend: 1) After you establish a character in a story, make sure you ask yourself the following two questions before every subsequent appearance of that character: Where were they since we last saw them? And what were they doing during their time Read more…
Been a while since I posted some writing-related spam. Unlike a lot of fly-by-night endeavors designed to separate a newbie writer from their money, this one is not really a scam. At least, I’m sure they’re giving you something for the money. A lame something, but something. That is perhaps Read more…