Thoughts on the new Star Wars trailer

I have a lot of thoughts on the new Star Wars trailer. But first, a little background. Growing up in the 90s, I was a huge Star Wars fan. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Star Wars was my life. I played X-Wing every day, I watched at least one of the original trilogy… Continue reading Thoughts on the new Star Wars trailer

The next big dream

When I graduated from college, my goal for my writing career was this: to make a living telling stories that I love. It seemed, at the time, like an impossible dream–something so far out of my reach that I couldn’t possibly achieve it without years and years of constantly frustrated effort. Well, guess what? For… Continue reading The next big dream

Thoughts on writers, reviewers, and stalkers

The bookish side of the English-speaking internet exploded last week with an article in The Guardian about an author who stalked a Goodreads reviewer, showing up unannounced on the reviewer’s doorstep and going to great lengths to expose the reviewer’s identity. The crazy part–or crazier, I guess, since the whole thing is batshit crazy–is that… Continue reading Thoughts on writers, reviewers, and stalkers

Why writing retreats and seminars make me uneasy

Writing retreats and seminars make me uneasy. I’ve never attended one, mostly because the prices tend to run so high, and that’s part of what makes me so uneasy about them. Yes, writing is a business, and yes, the author deserves to be paid, but paid for what exactly? For telling stories, or for telling… Continue reading Why writing retreats and seminars make me uneasy

The door hissed open

Heinlein’s doors famously “iris” open, and the doors in my novels “hiss” open. That gives us a pretty good idea what it sounds like, but what does it look like? This: That part at the end where he presses the two keys and steps through–that is almost exactly what I imagine it looks like when… Continue reading The door hissed open

Short Blitz #7: Starchild

Title: Starchild Genre: Space Opera Word Count: 3,000 Writing Time: about two weeks I haven’t trimmed or polished this story yet, but I’m calling it at 3,000 words. If I were stricter about following Heinlein’s rules, I would only give it a proofreading pass, but with shorts I’ve heard that it’s best to cut out… Continue reading Short Blitz #7: Starchild

Almost back from vacation

So I’m in Massachusetts now, getting ready to head back to Utah by way of my sister’s in Iowa. I spent the last week on Cape Cod for family vacation, which was a lot of fun! Cape Cod is one of my favorite places, and it was good to sit back and take a break… Continue reading Almost back from vacation