I remember the early days of indie publishing. Back in 2011, when self-publishing was still a dirty word (and Kindle Unlimited wasn’t yet a thing), there were a LOT of opinions about “indie vs. tradpub,” most of them heated opinions, and some of the arguments I witnessed at conventions like 2011 Worldcon Reno very nearly… Continue reading Some early thoughts on AI-assisted writing
Tag: On Writing
How I hacked my ADHD to triple my daily word count
Writing with ADHD can be tough. It’s easy to beat yourself up for being “undisciplined” or “lazy” when the greater problem is that you’re trying to work against your ADHD instead of finding ways to make it work for you. It’s like swimming against a rip current instead of swimming sideways to get out of… Continue reading How I hacked my ADHD to triple my daily word count
A weird thing I’ve noticed
So I’ve been making good progress on Children of the Starry Sea, writing about 2k words or one scene per day. But in the last couple of weeks, I’ve also had a bunch of short stories drop in my lap, two of them from dreams. My best writing time is between 4am and 6am, so… Continue reading A weird thing I’ve noticed
Why writing every day may still be the best advice
A week ago, I blogged about how writing every day may not be the best advice. I pointed out how following that advice had helped me when I was first starting out, but it had also hurt me later on. I pointed out how sometimes it’s better to work smarter than harder. After all, why… Continue reading Why writing every day may still be the best advice
What it’s like to write after a life interruption
Stage 0: Procrastination I guess I should write… but first, I should check my email. Also, there’s a couple of publishing tasks I need to do. I’m also kind of hungry, come to think of it. Wow, those publishing tasks took a lot longer than I thought they would. I could start writing now, but I’d… Continue reading What it’s like to write after a life interruption
The timelessness of novels
Every few months, an article about the “death of the novel” makes the rounds on the internet. This subject, the impending doom of one of literature’s most enduring forms, is a perennial favorite for bookish handwringers everywhere. If it isn’t ebooks that’s going to kill the novel, it’s millennials, the internet, our dwindling attention spans, or… Continue reading The timelessness of novels
Lindsey Stirling, Nichieri, Susan Boyle, and thoughts on discoverability and greatness
I saw a couple of things on Youtube that made me think recently about the importance of quality work, especially in the arts. I’m a casual fan of Lindsey Stirling–I’ve watched most of her videos, put them on in the background from time to time, and get a kick out of following her career. For… Continue reading Lindsey Stirling, Nichieri, Susan Boyle, and thoughts on discoverability and greatness
Midichlorians vs. the Philotic Web, or a new dimension to Brandon Sanderson’s first rule of magic
I got into an interesting discussion today with my brother-in-law about science fiction & fantasy, specifically about whether explaining something too much takes away from the sense of wonder that is so critical to those genres. It started out with a discussion of Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, which (surprisingly) he actually kind of… Continue reading Midichlorians vs. the Philotic Web, or a new dimension to Brandon Sanderson’s first rule of magic
Why I love writing novellas
For the first half of this year, almost every project I’ve worked on (with the exception of an unfinished short novel) has been a novella. It’s not a form I was familiar with when I first started writing, but I’ve come to enjoy it immensely, and look forward to writing much more in the future.… Continue reading Why I love writing novellas
Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress
I finished last week’s book a couple of days late, but I’m still going to count it. It’s a book on writing by Hug0-award winning science fiction author Nancy Kress, and for anyone interested in writing stories in any genre, I’d highly recommend it. Kress wrote this book back in the early 90s, after publishing… Continue reading Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress