Tag: the real world

The Self-Sufficient Writer: How I Got Started

One of the best things my father ever did for me was tell me that when I graduated from college, I was on my own. No more rent money or financial support from my parents—I had to become financially independent, and I had to do it soon. I had a rather unusual college experience. I… Continue reading The Self-Sufficient Writer: How I Got Started

3am thoughts, or why everyone says to be an accountant

I’ve been reading in bed on my smart phone recently, which is probably a bad idea because it makes it harder to go asleep.  At the same time, though, it tends to get my mind rolling, and when 3am comes around my thoughts tend to go some really interesting places.  Sharing those thoughts is probably… Continue reading 3am thoughts, or why everyone says to be an accountant

What I’ve been up to recently

It’s been a while since I posted anything except Trope Tuesday posts, so I figure I should do a quick one here explaining what I’ve been up to recently. As far as writing goes, I finished the first draft for Star Wanderers: Reproach (Part VII) about two weeks ago.  Since then, I’ve been bouncing around… Continue reading What I’ve been up to recently

Thoughts on making a living as a writer

As many of you know, my biggest life goal (besides obtaining a signed first-edition copy of David Gemmell’s Legend) is to make a living telling stories that I love.  Accomplishing that goal is no small task.  For the last five years, I’ve been focused on that goal like a hellfire missile, and as of right… Continue reading Thoughts on making a living as a writer

A Letter To My 2011 Self

Dear Joe, Well, 2011 has been an eventful year, hasn’t it? It sure didn’t feel like it when you were down in the trenches, but now that it’s over, you’ve got to admit, you sure came a long way. You’ve discovered a lot of things about yourself since January. In your quest for economic security,… Continue reading A Letter To My 2011 Self

Teaching English and other future plans

I got my flight plans today from the TLG people in Georgia!  I’ll be flying out next week from JFK, connecting in Kiev and arriving at Tbilisi Wednesday afternoon.  On Monday, I’ll take the train down to my aunt and uncle’s place in New York city and spend a couple of days with them before… Continue reading Teaching English and other future plans

Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Whew!  I just finished revising through almost 9k words in Desert Stars.  I’ve only got three more chapters and an epilogue to go, and man, I am so excited about this story!  I have no doubt it’s my best work yet. Of course, I might be biased. 😉 Star Wanderers is also coming along very… Continue reading Decisions suck, writing is awesome

Difficult choices and keeping perspective

So I have some news, and it’s probably going to freak my parents out a little bit…I decided to turn down the full-time job offer that I mentioned a few weeks ago. The company is great, they treat their employees well, I got along well with everyone there–so why not take the job?  Because it… Continue reading Difficult choices and keeping perspective

Writer’s angst & post-convention ennui

In spite of the title of this post, I’ll try not to get too emo.  Not sure how well I’ll succeed, but at least I’ll try. Worldcon was great, but it put me into something of a writing slump and I’m not sure where to go next.  I was planning on writing the as-yet untitled… Continue reading Writer’s angst & post-convention ennui