( Read more... )

Most of you know that I occasionally blog for the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. It’s fun. I get to talk about crafting awesome stories. I get to help out other writers. And this month, I got to do it all twice. Links to the latest blog posts are available below.

Painting Characters into Corners

If you write stories, this has ( Read more... )

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

( Read more... )

I love digging into the nuts and bolts of writing. It’s fun to analyze why things work, which things don’t, and what writers can do to increase their effectiveness. And it’s twice as fun when I get to showcase my analysis on a high-traffic site like SFWA’s.

I therefore present with pleasure Variations of Villainy, a brief analysis of several basic ( Read more... )

When Marguerite Kenner narrated Movement for Escape Pod, she brought a depth and subtlety to the story that I had never imagined. Her reading of Hannah emphasized aspects of the character that I had not previously considered. It was like… meeting my characters all over again. I’ve often wondered whether Marguerite’s narration played a role in the ( Read more... )

Kathy at Shelf Full of Books has kindly posted a review of The Death and Rebirth of Anne Bonny.

“This was an excellent book of short stories. Written over a wide variety of topics the stories bring encouragement, enlightenment, and evoke a wide range of emotions. The stories are thought-provoking and can be taken on several different levels from ( Read more... )

It’s strange how certain conversations can stick with you. I was chatting in an online forum years ago, among good friends, when the topic turned to family relationships. A number of forum members shared difficult and distressing experiences from their personal lives. Then someone asked, a little wistfully, “Is there even such a thing as a normal ( Read more... )