So there I was, at the Barony of the Cleftlands Yule Revel. I hadn’t been to any SCA meetings in a very long time, mostly because we moved date night to Wednesdays. I was a little nervous how I’d be received, the prodigal squire, and excited to see friends I Read more
Soliciting for ideas for blog posts, I was asked, “How do you create a writing practice?” and “How do you make writing a habit?” And I thought to myself, “Self, you used to wonder that, and you did it. So, what finally worked?” To that end, I went back to Read more
Another “Total Request Marie” topic! How is it different revising a poem verses a novel verses a short story. The short answer is, a poem is like a painting, a short story is like an invisible vase, and a novel is like a topiary. The long answer beings, “Let me Read more
Nyla requested this one, a post on mistakes middle class writers make when writing about working class people. And oh wow. If you’ll listen to me I will talk your ear off. Though first, obviously: I can only write from my own perspective. I know what it’s like to be Read more
I was at a con, talking to a lady who runs a grant program for under-represented and minority writers, and she said, “Oh you totally count. You’re still working-class in background, even if you’re white-collar now.” I demurred, and said I’d rather more needy people applied. It got me thinking, Read more
Blog post idea suggested by Karrin. I’ve gotten rejection letters that said “It’s a good story, but it just isn’t science fiction enough.” I think that might be where this question is coming from? How much is enough, then? Let me take the science out of the equation; how much Read more
I was plotting out my novel “Vampires Vs. Maturity” in preparation for NanoWriMo, and I thought about character-oriented plotting, a model for which I had learned back in Clarion. (Follow the link for more detail, but the basic premise is, you draw an arrow between every character in the story, Read more