If you are, you really really really need to check out this webcomic about the three jaguars. It’s about the three main voices in every professional artist’s head, and how they bicker and play off of each other. As someone whose been in the writing business for a few years, I can say that it’s… Continue reading Hey! Are you an aspiring writer / artist / creative whatever?
Tag: writing advice
Random thoughts on creativity and a cover preview
I’ve noticed that I tend to go through at least two revisions on most of my stories. The first one generally identifies the problems in the rough draft and eliminates them, while the second one adds anything that’s missing and smooths the story over so that it works as a whole. They both use different… Continue reading Random thoughts on creativity and a cover preview
Some new thoughts on productivity
I’ve been thinking a lot about writing and productivity, mostly because I seem to be struggling a lot with it lately. With nanowrimo just starting, this is a pretty topical thing to blog about, but I also want to look at it from a long-term career perspective, since that’s what I’m personally more interested in.… Continue reading Some new thoughts on productivity
When men cry, or in defense of damaged characters
I recently read an amazing blog post by Shannon Hale titled “Why boys don’t read girls (sometimes).” In it, she makes a number of excellent points about how our society stigmatizes boys who read “girlie books,” and why that’s harmful. Perhaps the most moving part of the post was at the end, where she described… Continue reading When men cry, or in defense of damaged characters
If you’re thinking of self publishing, read this. All of it.
I just read a fascinating Q&A on Reddit with Hugh Howey, author of the self-published phenomenon Wool. After six trancelike hours reading through all the comments, all I can say is “wow.” Okay, I guess I can say a little more. Yesterday, I listened to Brandon Sanderson’s lecture on self-publishing from his English 318 class this year.… Continue reading If you’re thinking of self publishing, read this. All of it.
Heinlein’s rules for the digital age
I’ve been thinking a lot about Heinlein’s rules and how they apply to my own writing career. While a lot of newer writers like to debate Heinlein, all of the long-time professionals tend to agree with him. For that reason, I think it’s worth taking a serious look at his rules and doing my best… Continue reading Heinlein’s rules for the digital age
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
Worldcon 2011: Saturday
Alright, I should just write this up and finish my convention report before life sweeps me away completely. Saturday was the main day of the con. To be honest, I forgot all the panels I went to, except this really awesome one by a guy at NASA on near Earth objects (NEOs). Holyfreakingcow there are… Continue reading Worldcon 2011: Saturday
Killing the sacred cows while doing data entry
Sorry for the lack of blog posts; I’ve been working 40 hours a week at this temp job, which doesn’t leave a lot of time for other things outside of writing. I’m still plugging along at about 1k to 2k words per day, but a lot of other stuff is falling behind. Fortunately, the job… Continue reading Killing the sacred cows while doing data entry
A year later
So a year ago, I came back to Utah after a terrible internship experience, with no idea where I was going to live, how I was going to support myself, or what I was going to do with my life. I was leaving the cloistered halls of academia and venturing for the first time out… Continue reading A year later