Tag: Thoughts and Reflections

Struggling not to settle

I’m in the middle of my first revision pass through Heart of the Nebula, direct sequel to Bringing Stella Home, and…I don’t know exactly how to put this, but the story seems to be simultaneously smoother and more shallow.  Plot-wise, everything works great; character-wise, there just doesn’t seem to be as much depth as my… Continue reading Struggling not to settle

Why I’m not a fan of writing groups

I was listening to a recent episode of I Should Be Writing today, and it got me thinking about writing groups and how my philosophy on them has changed.  Long story short, I used to love them, but now I’m not such a huge fan. I should probably start out by mentioning that I lead… Continue reading Why I’m not a fan of writing groups

Random late night thoughts

I’ve been going on a lot of late night walks lately, just wandering restlessly around Provo.  Tonight I had some interesting thoughts about how much I’ve changed in the last year.  Surprisingly, I’ve grown a lot. Last  year at this time, I was all geared up for World Fantasy Convention.  I had just finished Bringing… Continue reading Random late night thoughts

Trope Tuesday: The Call Knows Where You Live

I have a confession to make: I’m a tvtropes addict.  Fortunately, it’s only about as bad as vicodin, which means that doses which would knock other people out do nothing to me–but still, I’ve wasted many, many hours on that site. So anyhow, I thought it would be fun to do a weekly series where… Continue reading Trope Tuesday: The Call Knows Where You Live

The interior designer’s approach to story

I recently read a fascinating post on John Brown’s blog with an interesting exercise for analyzing the kinds of stories you most like to read.  By finding out what really turns you on in a story, you can have a much better idea what to write, and how to make your own stories better. He… Continue reading The interior designer’s approach to story

NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy

In case you didn’t know, NPR just put together a list of the Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy novels of all time.  The list had a panel of judges who vetted nominations, but the voting was public and turnout–over 60,000–was pretty high. I usually don’t like top 100 lists, but this one did a… Continue reading NPR’s Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy

Sholpan, or The Great Novella Experiment

So now that I’m finished with Desert Stars, the next project I’m working on is a companion novella to Bringing Stella Home titled Sholpan.  While Bringing Stella Home is about James and his quest to rescue his brother and sister, Sholpan is entirely from Stella’s point of view and traces her rise in Hameji society, from prisoner… Continue reading Sholpan, or The Great Novella Experiment

Blurb for Bringing Stella Home and thoughts on Borders

One of the essential elements for a successful in epublishing is a killer book description, and I think I’ve got a pretty decent one for Bringing Stella Home.  However, I could use some feedback, so if you could read it and tell me what you think, that would be great. Here it is: It is a… Continue reading Blurb for Bringing Stella Home and thoughts on Borders

Shoot your fans?

Today’s issue of Dave’s Daily Kick was titled “Hooking Credibility,” and I’m not sure what I think of it.  At the end, Dave’s brother Tailspin Jim had the following to say: What I’m about to add is so basic that [Dave] would never think to include it, but you may be like the vast majority… Continue reading Shoot your fans?