Sometimes, despite your best efforts and most earnest intentions, you just don’t make progress in your writing. Not because you’re blocked, or uninspired, or bored, or frustrated, or overwhelmed by whatever it is that you are working on. Sometimes you just can’t. Life, in capital letters, gets in the way. Loved ones get sick. You …
Why I Write Fantasy: Infinite Possibilities
Now I’ve touched on this before in some circumstances, but I feel that it is worth restating one of the greatest draws for me in writing fantasy: the range of possibilities it grants you. In writing fantasy you are only constrained by two things: your imagination, and your ability to transform your fancies into words. …
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The Writing Life: First Drafting
I’m supposed to be writing my first draft right now. And looking for a job. We’ll talk about jobs later. Right now we’ll talk about writing a first draft, instead of doing it, because dealing with other commitments is a real thing that must be managed, and this blog doesn't write itself. I have historically …
Why I Write Fantasy: Because it is the Mother Genre
Fantasy is a universal touchstone. Every culture has its myths, its origin stories, its tales of creation and destruction through which stride gods, monsters, and heroes. The first stories that we crafted were all fantasies. They formed frameworks to explain our world, and ourselves, to pass on cultural traditions, to reinforce social norms. Fantasy came …
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The Writing Life: Juggling Workload, the Dizzying Kaleidoscope
So the New Year is in, and it’s time to get on with hitting those goals. What are mine? In writing it is to draft, edit, and publish The Killer and The Dead by the end of October. That’s a tough, but doable ask. I stand in awe of folks who boldly declare they will …
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The Sale Awakens
January the second. The New Year is in, time to be getting back to reality… Not so fast! Now is the time to complete your recovery from New Year revels by curling up with a fantastic book! This year I received my first Kindle, and to celebrate my entry into the wild world of ebook …
The Long Road: New Year’s Reflections
This is a special New Year for me. There is something genuinely, thrillingly new for me to celebrate in my writing life. This is the first year I don’t have to wearily resolve to get published. The first year I don’t have to make that resolution as shadows of doubt inhabit my mind, knowing how …
The Writing Life: Aiming High Part 4 – What if Nobody Notices?
In earlier episodes of this series I described what aiming high means for me, why missing isn’t failure, and why I think as any kind of artist it is beneficial to strive for more and push your own personal envelope, no matter what medium you work in. Go creatives! These things are all well and …
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Why I Write Fantasy: Christmas Edition
This is no time for analysis. I ate too much stuffing to be capable of it. I write Fantasy because I love it. Why else? If any of you out there have particular questions about Fantasy, or my approach to the subject, or want to see future columns dedicated to particular aspects of fantasy writing, …
The Writing Life: A Podcast, and Distraction versus Discipline (The Last Jedi Edition)
So, for any of you missed it, here is the podcast of my interview with Jerry Fabyanic talking about my book, The Thief and The Demon. I had a great time, and would once again like to thank Jerry, and KYGT-FM, the Goat radio station. I had a great time, and hope to return to …
Roderick T. Macdonald 