Yesterday I took my first business trip with my new job. I fly fairly often, but it makes me nervous. (Unnecessarily so. I am, as I have mentioned before, an aerospace engineer. I know how commercial aircraft work. In terms
Ghost Stories
I have been reading a ridiculous amount of ghost stories lately. Usually in the bright daylight, because I’m the sort of person that will freak myself out and then I will end up spending the night with the lights on
Word Count Challenges
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.
Friday Round-up
My thoughts and prayers are with Japan today. Here are some options for helping them. Space/Science Secret Space Shuttle Blasts Off for Second Mission Alien Microbe Claim Starts Fight Over Meteorite Solving the Mystery of the Most Violent Event in
Friday Round-up
Science/Space Pictures of Discovery Approaching the ISS Henry Morgan’s Cannons Found in Panama (Yay, pirates!) Picture of Discovery docking with the ISS taken from Earth! Scifi/Fantasy 2010 Stoker Nominees Review of Elizabeth Bear’s Grail Review of The Best Science Fiction
