A piece of advice I have often heard is that your story must clue the reader in to its genre quickly. “In the first line, if possible.” I remember getting quite tangled up in my thoughts, trying to introduce character, Read more
In October of 2012, I got my first pro-rate acceptance. I waited breathlessly to be able to announce it to the world once I’d signed a contract. That day never came. The magazine folded, and I received a kill payment Read more
When I was an unpublished, aspiring writer, oh lo those 15 years ago, I was soaking in desperation. I thought-screamed, “What do you want from me?!” over every rejection letter. If they’d only say, I could write it! I tried Read more
I’ve talked and blogged a lot about the 2012 Clarion Write-a-thon, which was such a pivotal moment in my development as a writer. Recently, I took a look at my personal records of that experience and realized it was ten Read more
I applied to do a “Big Idea” blog post on John Scalzi’s blog for The Gods Awoke ,as I did for Galactic Hellcats. Well, I didn’t get it, but this is what I would have posted. If gods were real, Read more
I had three-quarters of five novels in my closet, and twenty or so halves of short stories in my desk drawer. Let’s not mention the stuff in my sewing room… my life was full of unread books, unfinished mending, and Read more
A friend of mine had recently gotten into cycling, and asked me, “I’m confused. Isn’t it that the lower a gear is, the more you have to pedal to move forward?” “Yes,” I said. “And higher gears allow you to Read more