As you may know, I am trying to launch myself as a professional writer.  This has had its ups and downs, mostly a series of small, soul-eroding downs interspersed by a few interruptions almost-unbelieved ups. One of the series of small, soul-eroding downs is the short story rejections I receive.  I am at [checks Duotrope] […]

Ever have one of those moments when you realize that you’re about to know something you don’t know yet?  The Buddhists call it approaching a gateless gate; with my nerderiffic background, I tend to think of it as preparing to level. I’m preparing to level. I’ve been thinking, off and on, a lot about audience.

Gathering strength. # Amazing talk about storytelling by Chimamanda Adichie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg # Song of the Beast – Carol Berg: The parable of the prodigy–brilliant, destroyed, reborn with purpose rather than talent. With dragons. # Transformation – Carol Berg: Let the betrayals begin. I've come to expect to trust nobody in her books, but in a

One of the many conveniences I’ve noticed about my e-reader is that it makes the largest of books seem just as weighty as the lightest. Witness:  Neal Stephenson’s Anathem.  This is a book that I purchased shortly after it came out in hardback and never read.  From time to time, I would look at the

Please understand that this is a snapshot of what I know now.  If it doesn’t work for you–nevermind! Who tells the story, controls the story. Obviously, that means you, the writer.  You get to pick which stories you tell and how you feel about them.  This seems obvious until you start thinking about things like,

I find myself judging other people by the quality of their book recommendations…but dammit, they READ. # On the way home from Dave & Margie's, the DMB song "Too Much" came up. Appropriate. # @doycet Huzzah. Good post. # Craving soup to eat with my croutons. I'm thinking a tomato-basil bisque. # You know, if

…As a short story writer, that is. I am making a serious effort to get better at short stories; a novel is a novel is a novel, but when I want to get into the fine edge of fiction, I read short stories.  I love them.  Especially horror short stories.  My favorite work of horror

This is not how to talk to me. These are tips I’ve picked up on how to talk to other writers.  Although I’m sure the same tricks would work on me. Okay.  Keep in mind that writers are people first, readers second, and writers third. What?  Writers are readers before they’re writers?  Even Anne Rice

C42 Chance done: "His voice sounded strange in his own ears; he wasn’t sure whether it was his voice or his ears." # Six more chapters… # @mknippling Good luck to you and your wonderful wife 🙂 in reply to mknippling # Wait…one whole Monday went by with no rejections. That's okay, I just got

I just got another rejection on Alien Blue from an editor; it was the best rejection I’ve ever received, because it was both true and flattering. The editor said she liked the book–but there was no market for it now.  THEN she said I should think about writing something with series potential in the urban