From Dichotomy Wiki.: A dichotomy is any splitting of a whole into exactly two non-overlapping parts. In other words, it is a partition of a whole (or a set) into two parts (subsets) that are: mutually exclusive: nothing can belong simultaneously to both parts; and, jointly exhaustive: everything must belong to one part or the …
Writer Identity, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Process Read More »
I didn’t know what to expect when I began revising the first draft of my first novel, Shadow of the Black City. Right now, I feel like I’ve got even more questions than when I began. Sweet. Truth is, it’s not all bad news. Sure there are page long deletions (alright, pages upon pages, but …
The Revisionatrix is a Cruel (and Cool) Mistress. Read More »
Everyone who writes finds themselves lacking motivation at one time or another, probably more than we’d like. But there is hope. Even though most of us can’t afford to employ Mr. T (even at his advanced age, I’ll bet he can still whip most of our asses) here are some pretty obvious ways to rejuvenate …
Millions of people doing their thing on any part of this earth at any given time have great story ideas swimming in their head (to wit). There is a subset of people who try to get those ideas from their heads onto paper in the form of writing, visual arts or music. Within …
Earlier today, I posted another snippet from The River Lords, a short story I’ve been working on for several weeks. The metamorphosis of this story has been fascinating–and educational. About a week ago I thought I had a draft I was ready to submit for publication, but something nagged at me. I wasn’t all that …
Every so often I can use a kick in the pants–a little shot of inspiration. I need to know that the masters of writing either struggled like I do or are willing to share what made writing easier for them. Just a little something to which I can cling. John Steinbeck -Convey something from yourself …
The imagery of this post’s title is awful, but I like the meaning. I’ve hared off and slung a whole bunch of words down on my laptop and am close to wrapping up the first draft of my first novel. Part of me thinks I should have studied more about the craft: plot, characterization, setting, …
I hit 100,000 words on the first draft of my first novel today and feel like I’ll have things wrapped up within the next 10,000 or so. My original goal was 100k by the end of August, with the idea that I’d also have a complete story. That gives me 11 days to get to …
I went for a run last night around 9 PM. I don’t run regularly, but I do it when I can muster the motivation. About half a mile in, the endorphins kicked in and my brain started to work. Dare I say, it may even have been better than a hot cup of strong, black …
I’m an avid reader of fiction writing sites such as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America or any of the blogs on my blog roll. I can’t get enough of learning how other people write, what elements make for good fiction, character development, etc. The more I read this stuff, though, the more it …