Tag Archives: Writing
Thoughts on Do the Work by Steven Pressfield
It’s tough to write about Do the Work by Steven Pressfield without focusing on how the book was published. It’s the second release from the Domino Project, a joint effort between Amazon and Seth Godin. Their first book was Poke the … Continue reading
Filed under Reading
Lucas Cranach the Elder and Speed Painting
This blog is getting rather dusty lately, but I have a good excuse, really I do. I’ve been focused on finishing the rough draft of what will be my first novel. I have two other novels in the drawer. Whether … Continue reading
Filed under Art
How to Live on 24 Hours a Day
While reading the remarkable series on changes in publishing by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, I came across her mention of Making the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900-1999 by Michael Korda. This book deserves a whole post, but … Continue reading
Filed under Reading
Permanence of Paper: Letters from Dickens, Burroughs, and Hawthorne
I recently came across the University Archives site, and then promptly got lost in its literary offerings. It’s a testament to the staying power of paper. We’ve all heard about how dastardly ebooks are compared with the paper variety. They … Continue reading
Filed under Tangent
Why I’m Saying No to NaNoWriMo
As most writerly folks know, today is the first day of NaNoWriMo where scribblers around the world pledge that they’ll get 50,000 words–any words–on the page by the end of the month. Each year when this event kicks off, I … Continue reading
Filed under Writing
Thoughts on the Shitiness of First Drafts
I’m working on the first draft of a novel. I hate first drafts. Short stories are bad enough, but novels are much smaller boats set adrift on bigger seas. Many writers have commented at length on this process, but I’ll … Continue reading
Filed under Writing
Sir Arthur Canon Doyle on Sherlock Holmes and Psychic Matters
I love the raw quality of this video. The audio alone makes it worth ten minutes from your day. Doyle has a wonderful raspy voice and is no slouch in the vocabulary department. He speaks of his inspiration for Sherlock … Continue reading
Filed under Writing
Max the Cat, 3 Months, Lands a Mega Deal for 81 Books
A cat that lives in my neighborhood, aged 3 months, has won a multi-book deal worth almost 20 dollars. I write in the wee hours of the morning, getting out of bed before sunrise to eek out a few words before heading … Continue reading
Filed under Tangent
Snail Mail Submission Angst
I just got a snail mail submission together for one of my short stories that’s making the rounds. I’m sending it off to one of the big science fiction markets, a holdout that still doesn’t accept electronic submissions. It’s amazing … Continue reading
Filed under Publishing
Interactive Story is an Oxymoron
I’m reading The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers by Christopher Vogler. The book is based on the work of Joseph Campbell, an analysis of the basic elements of myth and story that stretch back for millennia. Fascinating stuff, if not … Continue reading
Filed under Reading
