しっかり meaning something like "Getting it together!" or "Getting a firm grip on the task at hand ( Read more... )

When I was at the newly discovered Amazing Bookstore of English Language Wonder in Kyoto on Saturday, I (surprise) ended up in the political section. There, after perusing some Paul Krugman books, I found a book of the greatest American speeches of the 20th century. I opened it up, thinking that they had to have a certain speech that has struck ( Read more... )

Yep, so that's officially my title right now. (I say officially even though it could change. But right now it has an official title and that is important to me ( Read more... )

I did it! I got past the major difficult scene! This scene was tough enough that I hadn't even written it in the first draft; it was just a bunch of notes saying what was supposed to happen there. And it's done! Woooo ( Read more... )

Show, don't tell. How often are we told that as writers? But I think this advice is simplistic. Showing is much more interesting than telling, but you can't -- and don't want to -- show everything. Some things are better summarized because they are only of background importance and attempting to show them would bore and lose readers. Don't you ( Read more... )

Yep, that's right, I actually added a new story to the Carlson Septuplets page today. Enough 12-year-olds were e-mailing me saying that the site was getting boring that I decided to do something about it. (I do appreciate those 12-year-olds' impatience since it's a sign of interest! In fact I appreciate it from any age group. :) As it turned ( Read more... )

Chapter Eight is proving a lot of work, mostly because it was just a bunch of notes mingling with paragraphs only loosely tied together, and now I have to make a real chapter out of it ( Read more... )

...it's probably better if I don't describe the electric crackles Azilie is seeing in this scene as "just like the sparks that had flickered in the microwave that time when Chiharrie microwaved a bowl with a metal spoon in it ( Read more... )

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I've got a new picture for Twilight Star!


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