First of all, though, I’ve been remiss on telling you guys about stuff. I have a new free short story, called Band of Turquoise, up at Turtleduck Press. Go read it! (It’s nice and short.) SF Signal featured Band of
The Reliability of Beta Readers vs Length of Book
Ah, beta readers. An essential tool for most writers, and yet, sometimes, one of the most infuriating. A beta reader, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, is a reader to whom you give a draft of your story,
How Important is Your Writing Space?
We’re just going to question everything, apparently. I’ve seen a lot of talk lately about the importance of setting up your writing space. In theory, I think this is supposed to increase your productivity or the ease of your writing
Do Writing Prompts Work?
Ah, writing prompts. They’re everywhere. Daily ones, writing exercise ones, lists of prompts, music prompts, picture prompts. But how effective are they? Well, it depends. It depends on lots of things. What your goals are. What you’re hoping to get
Looking Forward at 2015
Woo! Does anyone else find the holidays absolutely exhaust them? I look forward to them every year, but by the end, I’m happy to return to the normal routine of everyday life. So! We’ve got a bright, shiny new year, full of
Writer Problems: Weird Searches
Sometimes, Squiders, I’m thankful I’m a fantasy author. Well, a lot of the time. But, in this case, I get to avoid some of the more macabre searches that mystery and other genre authors probably have to do. Luckily, in
Writer Problems: Too Much Research
So, my husband and I were chatting last night, and he repeated something someone had said about guardian angels. Me> Did you know that the Muslims believe that you have two shifts of guardian angels? And people are most at
Nano: The Aftermath
Ah, December. Sweet, sweet freedom. And yet, it highlights yet another less attractive aspect of Nano, aside from the fact that it is unaccountably exhausting. And that is that you feel restless when December comes. I am not one of
Nearing the End
My apologies for this being a little late, Squiders. I spent yesterday pulling out 5,000 words around everything else, so I’m afraid blogging fell by the wayside. Something always does, during Nano. This year it seems to be blogging (sorry!)
More Structural Thoughts
Another issue I’m running into with my Nano is my structural beats, or acts, or whatever you want to call them. You see, when I plotted Nano this year I tried a new technique. In the past I have phase
