Science-fiction writer
Last week I put up two polls to find out what your best and worst habits as writers are, and which attitudes you’d like to change. Thank you all very much for taking the time to vote and comment, it was very informative! As I promised, today we’ll discuss the results. I must say I was [...]
The most important thing before attempting a revision, is figuring out what exactly we’re revising. So the top question to ask when we pick up any considerable chunk of text should be — is this a scene, or a sequel? The difference between the two isn’t always obvious. Scenes are often mixed with elements [...]
I’ve launched into the revision of my novel, so it’s time I showed you my weapons and merciless strategy. Over the coming few weeks, I’ll post on Mondays about manuscript analysis and revision tactics as I apply them to my own draft. I’ll try to keep them as factual and general as possible, but it’s [...]
We writers work in the emotion delivery business. We’re dealers in the most valuable human possession. This is our game, we lure you in and make you an offer you can’t refuse: “Psst, over here. Want some emotion? I got a real good package here, man, guaranteed high, make you feel stronger and deeper than [...]
Last week, Amazon introduced a new author ranking system based on the sales of an author’s entire portfolio, not just on the sales of individual novels. It’s supposedly intended to empower authors, and Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords.com says “It’s a smart feature. It recognizes that the author — not the publisher — is the brand [...]
The other half—the darker half, mwahaha!—of my genre of heart is psychological thriller. I’d love to talk about that one just as much as about science-fiction, though I’m not quite sure where to start. So I’ll go ahead and describe it the way I see it, and see from there. According to common definition, a “psychological [...]
Ladies and gentlemen, the first full draft of my novel has been completed! Woohoo!!! Yeah, yeah, I know: so what? Many writers finish novels, what’s so special about it, huh? Well, it’s special to me because it’s mine (thank you, Agent Obvious). It’s all my dreams and nightmares condensed, my ideas and fears displayed, my [...]
Subplots are subordinate plots weaved into a story to enrich the reader’s experience. Not to increase wordcount, or stick some personal vendetta into an otherwise unsuspecting story, and for crying out loud pleeease not to shoot the reader point-blank between the eyes with An Important Point you itch to make. Subplots exist only to make [...]
While we’re day-dreaming about making it big, our most important ally is sawing his way into freedom one bar at a time. A killer focus doesn’t work with promises of glorious results, but with tangible little things he can use. Setting clear and achievable goals is the first essential step in becoming a professional writer, [...]
Social media interaction can be an incredibly wonderful and beneficial experience, if you’re doing it right. The job description of the modern writer includes having a coherent and professional social media presence, and we’re all doing our best to achieve that. But sometimes, we do too much and step over the line into Spam Land, and [...]
I'm fascinated with the dynamics of the human mind and the mechanics of the universe, so I twist both of them into a twine and make a pretty little bow. Around a plasma cannon!
