A rather large book arrived from Amazon yesterday. It’s a prep book for the Graduate Record Examination, or GRE. I rented it with the intent of taking the daunting test, and returning to graduate school. The question is, once I have a Masters of Fine Arts in, for example, Creative Writing, what will I do… Continue reading Continuing Education
Category: Writing
Writer Report: Something Old, Something New
It isn’t easy for a writer to realize, completely and utterly, that an idea of theirs isn’t going to work. This is especially the case if it’s an idea they’ve had for years. You can make a good story out of just about anything, it’s true. But if too many characters are in need of… Continue reading Writer Report: Something Old, Something New
The Execution of Smaug
Previously I have discussed villainy in terms of how we relate to and perceive various villains. I’ve praised villains who achieve their aims through intelligence, charm, and guile. These traits tend to appear in villains who are not necessarily a physical match for their heroic counterparts, doing their dirty work through henchmen or other means.… Continue reading The Execution of Smaug
Writer Report: Long, Quiet Lulls
The North looms once again in my very near future. Winter brings a lot of things with it. It brings snow, ice, and cold winds. It brings holidays, travel, gift-giving, and an overabundance of consumerism. And, for me, it brings long lulls between truly rewarding writing sessions. I’ve felt a general lack of storytelling overall… Continue reading Writer Report: Long, Quiet Lulls
Find The Flaws
Writers are human beings. With the exception of any NSA parsing programs or Google search generators or the like, readers tend to be human beings, too. And something that all human beings have in common is that they’re flawed. I’m sure some pundits and others would disagree, but every person on the face of the… Continue reading Find The Flaws
Writer Report: Another Year
I’m crossing my fingers and knocking on wood (ow) in the hope that the worst of 2013 is behind me, and that the new year will not open with bad news. Cold Streets is still getting tested, and I’ve got a decent idea of what to shore up, what to cut, and what to expand.… Continue reading Writer Report: Another Year
Writer Report: Frantic
This week was a good news/bad news week in terms of writing. The good news was that I banged out some work for a project I’m not quite comfortable discussing yet. I need more details before I do that! The bad news is, I’ve been working the dayjob too hard to do much else. Hopefully,… Continue reading Writer Report: Frantic
From the Vault: Write Whenever, Right Now
I was going to write something about writing when you can’t write (which I may still do), but due to time constraints I couldn’t quite get it together. Here’s a similar bit of advice from earlier in the year. Today I’ll do a better job of carving out writing time than I did yesterday. Writing,… Continue reading From the Vault: Write Whenever, Right Now
Writer Report: The Long Dark Highway
To paraphrase a line from Terminator 2, the future is like driving down a long highway in the middle of the night. Even if you know your destination, the road right in front of you is shrouded, dark, and uncertain. When there’s enthusiasm and hope, the darkness doesn’t matter as much as the destination, and… Continue reading Writer Report: The Long Dark Highway
Looking Back to Look Forward
I realized last night, putting a few things together, that it’s been over six years since I started blogging. Granted, it began in a very different form. I’m sure that there are some of you out there that remember a little blogging site called LiveJournal. That’s where this – *gestures vaguely at the current blog*… Continue reading Looking Back to Look Forward
