Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! I proceed apace, copy edit now at 69-72% complete (no graphic), depending upon criteria. Given that positive progress, and multiple walks in wind and sun, my mind has been turning to the next story to obsess me. I wrote two excerpts yesterday, plus a brief reminder to myself …
Continue reading Falling in love with my next novel, one conversation at a time…
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! It is story time once again. My series of old ideas rolls on. #1 here, #2 here, # 3 here, # 4 here and #5 here. These are scraps of writing I have mostly probably discarded as the basis for a larger story (one I will share I …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! Inspired by my recent delving into archives I sat down on 10/18/23 at approximately 8pm and decided to write two words and see where they went. I declared it done in 30 minutes. Then went back and messed with it and declared an extended version done after 2 …
Hello my friends and the occasional relative! I come to you somewhat shame-facedly, on account of my total failure to engage in the real work facing me: rewriting the opening of the novel. I have nibbled at, then chewed on the bones of all the other available listed problems, and any that remain can all …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! I’ve talked about world building before. And today I’m going to talk about it again, because I’m trying to get a solid outline of my next book drafted before my deadline for receiving feedback on The Slaves and The Djinn. (August 12th, btw.) Now I intend eventually to …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! So in my hiatus from frenzied deadline achievement I have finished the short story I started last week, though it needs to be polished. It is funny, but with a short story you do get a sense of how much you can alter the story by the sheen …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! Don’t panic. I have a towel you can borrow. I have finished my first pass through the manuscript fixing as I go, and to be honest, not even doubling the original tally is a win. I finished a bunch of the original 43 again this weekend, and added …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! So yes, I have 43 problems to solve in my rewrites. 43 questions or comments left to myself in the text. Some are thankfully minor, a note to self to change a sentence, or even a word. (Yes, one word changes can be a nightmare, just let me …
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! So, it has been a few weeks now since I finished my Ernest Hemingway edit-as-I-go manuscript (digital), and this weekend I sat down and read it in one uninterrupted sitting. I tried VERY hard not to stop and edit, or add comments as I went, but I can’t …
Continue reading The Slaves and The Djinn: Read through update
Hello, my friends and the occasional relative! This is my sixth attempt at writing this column. I'm not saying this is the best, it's just the one I'm willing to share right now. Once I was a boy with shining dreams. Fantasy fiction, of my own making and the stories I enjoyed reading, were an …
Continue reading Why I Write Fantasy: Managing the Disconnect.
Roderick T. Macdonald 