I’ve heard a few writers offer the advice, “Write something, every day, without fail.” While their intentions are good, the logic behind the advice is bad. In that respect I disagree with the principle. During the early stages of my writing career, I took that kind of advice to heart. After all, these were writers […]
MoreA few years ago I was living on a friend’s homestead high in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina. Beautiful two story home, hundreds of untouched acres to roam, lively mountain streams and creeks to follow, winding paved roads and gravel strewn two-tracks, up and down hills and vales. You get the idea. It truly […]
MoreThe amount of information on the Internet is beyond comprehension. Whether that information is factual or not, or based in reality, is not the point. The human imagination is the point. How presumptive computer and mechanical engineers are who believe they can design a robot capable of being nearly human. Key word being, nearly. No […]
MoreAs I read through writers’ comments in discussion groups on websites like Goodreads, I am struck by the number of new writers who are struggling to find their writing style. As if style is some kind of tool one just picks up and starts using immediately. Truth is, style takes some authors years to develop. […]
MoreMany early science fiction film producers utilized the phenomenon of persistence of vision. They were creating the illusion of movement in some of their non-human characters. Dinosaurs, for instance. While the earliest attempts were crude and “stuttering” in motion, they got the job done. The amazing human mind is able to fill in the gaps […]
MorePlagiarism is dastardly, plain and simple. Only a common thief, one with no imagination, would steal another writer’s work and call it their own. Writing can sometimes be an onerous job, though. Where do I get original ideas? How do I fit those ideas into a story? What to I take out or leave in? […]
MoreIt might seem odd, but I love losing track of time. I mean this in the sincerest way, since that is exactly what happens when I lose my self in my writing. I sit down at my desk and computer early in the morning to write, sometimes as early as four a.m. With a cup […]
MoreIt’s common knowledge that a writer has more than one job. I’m not talking about delivery work or flipping hamburgers to help pay the bills. No. Your writing career has two halves: the actual writing, and the actual marketing when the writing is done. As professional writers, we are accustomed to thinking that all we […]
MoreSo often I am asked, where do you get your inspiration. I always reply that my inner voice is my source. The source of my inner voice is my higher power, if you believe in such things, which I do. Some writers take a story idea and develop it with outlines and references and other […]
MoreWriting is an art form but it’s also a science. A science more mechanical in nature than formulaic. Some of the work I’ve seen lately leads me to believe far too many writers are using fluff to cover up their lack of imagination. I, for one, do not want an author telling me what a […]
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