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… types of columns I wrote in 2017
The more you practice, the better you tend to get. Sports, art, whatever. I've been writing this column for almost four full years, and I feel like my work has, on the whole, improved. Maybe [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… rules for naming your characters
With NaNoWriMo just around the corner, I'm sure many of the writers in the crowd are working up their outlines and prepping for the marathon task of writing at least 1667 words per day through [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… things I found while packing for my upcoming move
My family is moving to a new house in two days, and when you move, you have to pack. When you pack, you find things that you'd forgotten even exist. When my wife went through [...]
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… lessons learned from Super Mario Run
I've been playing a lot of Super Mario Run lately -- it's just the sort of mindless hedonic treadmill that I need to keep my brain from engaging too much in all the horrible things [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… things about writing by hand
I've written over 20,000 words of fiction in the past two weeks. I hadn't written that much fiction in the past six months. What's my secret? I'm doing it by hand. Here are six of [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… columns I wrote in 2016
It's been a year since my last "best-of" post, which can mean only one thing: time for six of the best "Six of the Best (or Worst)" columns that I wrote in 2016. Here goes... [...]
SIX OF THE BEST… things newer writers should avoid doing
A couple of days ago, my review of Laurell K. Hamilton's latest novel, Crimson Death, appeared on Escape Pod. One of the things that I always complain about with Hamilton's books is that they're more [...]
SIX OF THE WORST… things about social media (for writers)
If you're a writer, having a social media presence is pretty damn important. After all, where are your readers going to go to learn more about you, your books, what's happening, and what you're working [...]