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Variations of Villany: Available now on the SFWA Blog
I love digging into the nuts and bolts of writing. It’s fun to analyze why things work, which things don’t, and what writers can do to increase their effectiveness. And it’s twice as fun when I get to showcase my analysis on a high-traffic site like SFWA’s.
I therefore present with pleasure Variations of Villainy, a brief analysis of several basic ( Read more... ) -
Lost pennies
"Mommy, can I have this penny ( Read more... ) -
New Audible Book
When Marguerite Kenner narrated Movement for Escape Pod, she brought a depth and subtlety to the story that I had never imagined. Her reading of Hannah emphasized aspects of the character that I had not previously considered. It was like… meeting my characters all over again. I’ve often wondered whether Marguerite’s narration played a role in the ( Read more... ) -
Reviews and Pre-orders
Kathy at Shelf Full of Books has kindly posted a review of The Death and Rebirth of Anne Bonny.
“This was an excellent book of short stories. Written over a wide variety of topics the stories bring encouragement, enlightenment, and evoke a wide range of emotions. The stories are thought-provoking and can be taken on several different levels from ( Read more... ) -
Empty Boxes
Ok, um. So I was going to write this big long post about how exciting it is moving into a 100-year-old house, and finding doors that had been plastered over, and chimneys that no longer go anywhere, and fantasizing about hidden treasure in the basement. But I don't seem to have managed to write that post yet, so instead I'm going to jump right on ( Read more... ) -
On Happily-Ever-Afters
It’s strange how certain conversations can stick with you. I was chatting in an online forum years ago, among good friends, when the topic turned to family relationships. A number of forum members shared difficult and distressing experiences from their personal lives. Then someone asked, a little wistfully, “Is there even such a thing as a normal ( Read more... ) -
Writing Excuses: Exhibit A on How to be a Classy Panelist
I’ve talked about classy panelist strategies before. But after my latest guest appearance on Writing Excuses, I realized I’ve left out a huge piece of the puzzle.
See, in my last post I focused on egocentric strategies: things you can do - as an individual - to ensure that you make a good impression and offer something of value to the audience. ( Read more... ) -
Crowdspeak
So it’s been a while since I blogged regularly. Quite frankly, ever since Movement was nominated for the Hugo and Nebula in 2012, the internet has intimidated me.
When I was writing for two people, or ten, or twenty, it was easy to keep track of my readers. I knew who they were; I had a pretty good sense of which topics they were comfortable with ( Read more... )
