Okay, I’m going to be honest. This isn’t likely to be my best story ever. I haven’t been editing as thoroughly as I could have over the weekend, which makes this essentially a first draft. And as Hemingway put it, “The first draft of anything is shit.” So it’ll probably be better when it gets… Continue reading Free Fiction: Miss Weaver's Lo Mein
Category: Writing
Characters, Corpses & Kittens
As you create your characters, whatever your ultimate purpose in doing so might be, it’s likely they’re going to have an emotional response to something sooner or later. Unless they are coming into contact with our world from an entirely alien, outside perspective (which in and of itself can make for a good story), they’re… Continue reading Characters, Corpses & Kittens
There is a New Post here.
You are in Blue Ink Alchemy. There is an exit through the Internet. There is a New Post here. It is dark. You may be eaten by a grue. Does anybody else remember ZORK? It was something I played briefly in my youth. It was one of my very first adventure games. This was long… Continue reading There is a New Post here.
Character Creation
Sometimes, I miss Warhammer Online. This morning I read a rather brief guide on Writing Believable Characters from the Young Adult Fantasy Guide. It’s a great overview of what to do right and what to avoid when putting your characters together. I highly recommend you go give it a read if you’re thinking of starting… Continue reading Character Creation
Abandon All Hope
Once upon a time I wrote an article for an online magazine. It went over pretty well. The relationship I described therein has blossomed, and my wife and I work together on quite a few occasions to best the challenges of a particular game. I thought that might be worth writing about. And then, along… Continue reading Abandon All Hope
The Paths to Self-Publication
So. Self-publication. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought lately. If you’re anything like me, though (and if you are you should really think about seeing a professional), you have a habit of catching just a whiff of a new endeavor and throwing yourself at it to the expense of all else. If that’s… Continue reading The Paths to Self-Publication
Writers Gotta Write
I think one of the worst things you can do as a writer is sit idle. I don’t mean physically, though that probably comes into it. The remote control, the take-out menu, the bottle of booze – they’re all comforts we reach for in general. Writers in particular can feel affected, even exhausted, by what… Continue reading Writers Gotta Write
Magpie Management
I apologize for yesterday’s oddness. I’ve been meaning to adjust the schedule of my blogging. Not on this end, mind you: posts will still publish as near to noon as possible. I figure folks on lunch break might want something interesting to read other than the news. It’s totally a creation-oriented thing. Rather than scrambling… Continue reading Magpie Management
Free Fiction: The Jovian Gambit
Continuing experiments in cross-pollination between old myths and newer storytelling genres. They didn’t have spaceships and ray guns in ancient Greece, after all. As always, you can download the PDF or read the text after the spoiler tags. However you enjoy your fiction, this is how to do it. [spoiler] Tranquility Base was a misleading… Continue reading Free Fiction: The Jovian Gambit
Platformers and Publication
Yeah. It’s like this. Here’s a somewhat strained metaphor for you, inspired by Chuck’s latest list of reasons why that novel you wrote will never get published. Platform games can be hard. REALLY hard. I mean brain-taxing finger-cramping swear-inducing endeavors. Getting a book published can be similar. It might not seem like an obvious parallel… Continue reading Platformers and Publication