I hope all of you have a safe holiday, full of warmth, laughter, and good food.  And now....wild turkeys!  (picture taken last fall on the meadow at the top of the hill) … [Read more...]

Agent Obscura (along with Jenny Crusie and Bob Mayer) give their opinions on what makes a break out novel, which is every author’s dream come true (though impossible, I think, to predict), while at Making Light, there’s a good essay on rejection letters, which I … [Read more...]

I finally saw Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. When you watch a movie where the hero gets his legs cut off and then is burned alive by lava and he’s still whining like some punk ass genocidal maniac, saying “I hate you!  I HATE YOU!” and all you feel is … [Read more...]

Just got back from watching Harry Potter.  I loved the movie.  Absolutely loved it.  The experience, unfortunately, was not as lovely for a boy sitting near the front, who—before the previews began—raced up the aisle with vomit shooting out of his … [Read more...]

Today I found this interesting little piece tucked inside my Funds For Writers newsletter.  Here’s an excerpt: You may be excited about your work, but what about the reader? Are you preaching, recanting, or flaunting your message? Or are you offering the reader a … [Read more...]

Taken from Mark Siegal’s LJ - a lovely, wonderful, essay written by Elizabeth Bear on setting and voice.  In any case, successfully written narrative, whether it’s exposition, setting, action--ideally, a mix of all of the above, as necessary, to the point where … [Read more...]

Ideals are like stars; you will not succeed in touching them with your hands, but like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you choose them as your guides, and following them, you reach your destiny. - Carl Schurz John has posted an interesting recap of a YA panel from … [Read more...]

Don’t ask me why, but I had no idea that Meljean Brook was using a pseudonym.  It’s a really good one, and she has a great reason for it:  No awkward moments with family members!  Other writers, including PBW, have all kinds of pseudonyms because they … [Read more...]

A friend steered me to Karen Traviss, Science Fiction and Fantasy author, who appears to keep more than one blog - one on Livejournal that is kind of neat, and then one on a Star Wars site that completely rocks my socks off with her insights into writing and being a published … [Read more...]

The demons of A Darker Crimson are a fasci-- Hey. You’re not Marjorie. nating [Pointing] That’s not Marjorie.  Who does she think she is, writing in Marjorie’s blog? glimpse int Nerve of some people. [muttering] o the wor Hey, you! Lady! Are … [Read more...]