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 …

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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 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 …

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Why I Write Fantasy: Ideas, Imagination and the Power of “What if?”

Last week I discussed the allure of creating worlds, the joy of it often being in the freedom it grants you as a writer to shape the drama of your story from the ground up, and have the universe in which your narrative takes place become, in a sense, an active character in that story. …

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The Writing Life: On The Radio

But not with disco Donna Summer. Or prog Rush. Or ska The Selecter. Or 80s dance Taffy. Or hairmetal-tacular Autograph (sponsored by Papermate, it seemed!). Though all of that music is fantastic, you will have to make do with the sound of my voice. Listen... and remember... buy my book. And post a review after …

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Why I Write Fantasy: The Joy of Creating Worlds

Writing fantasy fiction is a lot of fun. I’ve always enjoyed it because you get to imagine anything you want, and then find ways to make it work. I mean, a lot of the time it would be much easier to not bother with the making it work part and just throw stuff on the …

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