I’ve always thought that Nano is a great time to try something new–new structure, new genre, new chronology, whatever–because I feel the format of Nano forces you to keep going where, at other times of year, you might turn back
Science Fiction is Hard
So, I’ve started my space dinosaur story, and in general things are going well, but I’ve discovered I was underprepared in some aspects. Yes, I had the history of the world between now and the start of the book, had
Obligatory Nanowrimo Post
Alas, October draws to an end. And Nanowrimo looms. It’s interesting–I learned about Nano in 2002, started doing it back in 2003–and back then it was the weird indie thing, and maybe there were a couple thousand of us doing
The Wisdom of the Future Dinosaur
Landsquid was tentacle-deep in flour–it was Thursday, his weekly baking day–when his doorbell rang. Most of his friends knew not to disturb him while baking was in progress, so it was either a stranger, or it was important. He didn’t
Happy October! (Updates and Misc + Sale)
First of all, Squiders, if you haven’t taken advantage of the Turtleduck Press sale (also featuring my Shards and Hidden Worlds and several anthologies I have stories in, including our newest, Under Her Protection) you have a few hours before the prices go back
Previously Discovered Territory
So, I’ve been working on determining a project to work on for Nanowrimo. And, since I haven’t started a new rough draft in four years, I’ve got a huge list of story ideas that I’ve written down, to get to
Spring Cleaning
Yes, I know it’s almost fall. Shhhhh. My husband and I were going through our guest bedroom earlier today. Said bedroom is one of our stuff-gathering places in the house–you know, one of the places things just get shoved to
Nano Pondering (and a ROW80 Check-in)
My husband said I couldn’t have any more tea until I wrote my blog post. Can you imagine? Noooo I’m dying Let’s do the ROW80 check-in first. For those who have missed previous ROW80 posts, ROW80 is a writing challenge
Why You Need to Know Your Focus
Let’s face it, Squiders–everyone writes a little differently. What works for one person does not work for another, and how someone sets up their story may be completely different for the next person. But I do feel like focus is
How Your Subconscious Affects Your Character Interactions
When I was editing Shards last year, I came to a realization about my own writing, and I’ve since talked to several other authors who have confirmed that this happens to them as well. As an author, you’re privy to



