Every April since 2006, I’ve been participating in a writing challenge known as April Fool’s. You can choose your word count goal – anything from 500 words to 300,000. (Or more, if you really want, but that’s already 10K a
Turning on the Backburner
I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m not here. When this goes up Friday morning, I will be far away from here, hopefully most if not all the way up a mountain. “What does that have to do with
Reluctant Muses
Turns out it’s hard to follow Alpaca Poetry. Ever had a story you really want to write – premise, characters, setting, the whole nine yards – but something was missing that was keeping you from actual writing. Aggravating, isn’t it?
Using Fictional Places in Realistic Fiction
So you’re writing a book. Aside from plot and character, one of the most important things is setting. This determines the when and where of your story. Let’s say you’re writing urban fantasy or contemporary fiction or something that takes
The Value of Story Research
A few weeks ago I was at a write-in with my sister. She wasn’t writing anything, and when I asked her why, she said she was waiting for books from the library so she could do some research. “It’s not
Tales of a Writers’ Conference Newbie – Fears
So, yesterday I signed up to attend the Pike’s Peak Writers’ Conference, held in Colorado Springs, CO over the weekend of April 29-May 1. I have been thinking about attending a writers’ conference for about a year and a half.
Collaborative Writing – Characters
It’s been very interesting working on a collaborative novel. One of the most interesting things I’ve found, though, is how characters have worked. We each have a viewpoint character. I think a lot of collaborative novels work this way, at
Outlining
As with almost everything, outlining is a process that tends to be individual to each writer, if they do it at all. In the seven years that I’ve been writing seriously, I’ve gone from a complete pantser (i.e. someone who
Stereotypical Creatures in Fantasy
My apologies for missing Monday’s update and for the fact this is late. I blame jury duty. And hockey. But can you really blame me for the hockey? It is the landsquid’s favorite sport. Anyway, onward to content. It’s come
The Art of the Write-in
We all hear that writing is a solitary activity, but this is a new age of social media and I end up talking to other writers all the time. I suspect, if you’re here, you’re the same way. One of
