SIX OF THE BEST… things about finishing a novel
For the past year, I've been working on-and-off on a middle-grade portal fantasy novel. What does that mean? Well, it's aimed at kids a touch too young for true YA (more on that later), and [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… abandoned column ideas
I've been writing this column for more than three years now. I'm actually kind of amazed that I haven't stopped doing it. But that's beside the point. What I'm actually saying right now is that, [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… musical episodes
It's no secret that I enjoy musicals. I can still sing along to most of my favorites, although honestly not very well because I'm not a great singer. I also enjoy musical episodes of TV [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… reasons to outline your novel
I recently started writing a new book, and in preparation for it, I wrote an outline. Some writers do this; some don't. Some only do it for books; some do it for everything. It really [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… reasons for giving up on a story
I love to read. This is known. I read very quickly -- I can get through most normal-sized novels (350-400 pages) in a little over four hours -- and I read a lot of different [...]
Fact, fiction and fan fiction
I recently saw someone online talking about how they'd written a Doctor Who fan fiction story. Of course, they're a “real” writer (or so they claim) and made a huge deal that fan fiction was [...]