I’m working on a project I feel very good about. I’m hitting a few potholes, but for the most part things are moving along nicely. Unlike its predecessor. That project took about five times as long as it should have and much of the time felt like I was slamming my head against the wall. Every time I […]
Hitting the Lottery
Today’s the anniversary of the day I hit the lottery. A whole lot of years ago, I married the woman who remains my best friend to this day. I still can’t believe how lucky I got. Since this website is focused on writing and the creative life, let me connect the dots. If you’re pursuing […]
Author Photos: Going with “The Big Goofy”
Some people seem to have been born in front of a camera. In every photograph, they look flawless. Perfect smiles. Hair never out of place. An illustrated dictionary would include a shot of them under the entry for photogenic. Not me. If I adopt a serious pose, I look like a serial killer. And unless I’m flat out […]
Printer Troubles
There are some stories you just shouldn’t print out at work. But, hey, sometimes it’s just too convenient. You’ve gotten a rejection and you don’t want that sad puppy staring you in the face. You want to print it out and drop it by the post office on the way home. At my day job, […]
A Writer’s Health
If we’re smart, we want to be like P.D. James and Frederick Pohl, writing productively into our late eighties or nineties.
2011 Workshops
I’ve mentioned before and will mention again how much I’ve learned at the great workshops offered by Kris Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. Here’s a schedule of the ones they’ll be offering in 2011. I highly recommend them.
April & May 2010 Recommended Reading List
Most of the reading I did in these two months was in preparation for Kris Rusch’s Mystery Writing workshop. As a result, most of these recommendations come from that genre. Bruen, Ken, The Guards, St. Martins Minotaur, 2003. Not only had I never read Bruen before, I’d never even heard of him. This book, however, was part […]
The Death of Dreams by Half-inches
The latest installment in Kris Rusch’s Freelancer’s Survival Guide hit me like a roundhouse left hook out of nowhere. The next thing I knew, I was staring up from the canvas, seeing stars. Kris was writing about giving up on your dreams. Among the many great insights, one in particular delivered the most powerful blow. “…sometimes (often!) the […]
Strange New World
Like many other writers, I’m trying to make some sense of what the future holds for the publishing world as e-books become more and more important. If you haven’t sampled some of the thinking, check out these three sources for starters: Jon Konrath feeling a lot less concerned about piracy than I am Mike Stackpole, […]
John Wooden and Writing
This is about writing, not sports. Trust me. Legendary basketball coach John Wooden died last Friday at the age of 99. He left behind a number of quotes that transcend sports and I’d like to apply to writing. Let’s have a look. If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that […]