I'm just going to leave this here. "Ask Polly: Should I just give up on my writing?" It's easy to get overwhelmed by the rejections. It's easy to look at the success of others and compare it to your own position on the imagined ladder of success. It's easy to find your own work inferior to the... Continue Reading →
You care about the environment, but are you ready to punk it? Solarpunk!
One of the many magical things that happened at Readercon this year, and which subsequently popped my poor brain like an overripe grape, resulted from being exposed to a new type of “punk"... solarpunk! For those of you who don't know, all the sub-genres bearing the -punk suffix share a set of characteristics. Steampunk, cyberpunk,... Continue Reading →
A New Length for Fiction: The Commuter Novel
If you look up how many words you have to write before you have a novel, the lower threshold goes down to around 50,000 words. That's sort of an average, genre notwithstanding. But there it is. Write 50,000 words and, poof!, you've got a novel. That may be why NaNoWriMo sets that lofty goal for... Continue Reading →
My Convention Schedule for 2015
Ah, conventions. Where writers let their hair down, and occasionally get their nails painted. They also meet other writers, and readers, and fans. And agents and editors and publishers. And generally really cool people. It's like a vacation, where you go to school with like-minded people. For a social person with a solitary hobby, it's... Continue Reading →
Bored and Brilliant
Under what conditions does creativity thrive? That's a question that has been asked by most people engaged in a creative activity, particularly if they've gone through a slump. There's a theory that creativity happens in the blank spaces, when your mind has nothing else to do. When you mind "wanders," it's really keeping itself occupied,... Continue Reading →
Creativity and Physical Health
I dislike the term "writers block." I think it's an overused generalization that can cover up a lot of underlying causes. It can be a fear-based procrastination attempt, a hint at a fear of failure (or even success) lurking beneath the surface. It can be a clue that someone isn't cut out to be a... Continue Reading →
January – The Month of Revisions
I'm not big on resolutions. It's not that I don't think they're valuable. I'm just more of a year-round goal-oriented guy. Last year, one of my goals was to do NaNoWriMo and write a novel. That didn't go so well. In fact, it turned out I was way more interested in my outline than I... Continue Reading →
Once More Into the NaNoWriMo Breach
Several years ago I took a stab at this National Novel Writing Month thingy that everyone who's anyone who's a writer or who wants to be a writer may or may not be talking about. The challenge, for those of you who are unfamiliar with NaNoWriMo (as it's called), is to set all propriety and... Continue Reading →
Today is the Day!
Goal accomplished! One story, published, at professional rates. The first of three I will need to publish in order to qualify to join the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Or I can join right away if I get a book published by a qualifying publisher. But meanwhile, go! Read! Enjoy! Level up! How... Continue Reading →
A Sense of Perspective
Other beginning writers a frustrated creative people, I'm talking to you. There comes a point where too much perspective is a bad thing. I just read a Facebook post from a fellow writer swooning with excitement over having a story accepted by a magazine from which I recently received a (cold, impersonal, form) rejection. This... Continue Reading →
