grin and bare it
A blog by Matthew Dicks
Literary and humorous
Each day, Something Missing seems to pop up on another bookselling website, and each time Google Alert informs me of this, it’s just as exciting as the first time. Though admittedly the book’s appearance on…
Read MoreStealing from real life
Something Missing is a work of fiction. Even so, there are elements of my own life contained therein. Several characters are loosely based upon friends and acquaintances, certain plotlines vaguely resemble actual moments in my…
Read MoreWhen to revise?
Danny (an old high school friend, perhaps?) asks: When you write, do you draft everything quickly and then rewrite later, or do you craft each sentence until it is done? Every writer is different. There…
Read MoreSomething Missing on Facebook
My buddy, Tom, started a Fans of Something Missing group on Facebook last week. It’s already got about forty members, even though most of them have yet to read the book. Yesterday he assigned me…
Read MoreDivision of labor
One of the challenges of writing, at least for me, is how to divide my time, my attention and my energy. Holding down a job as an elementary school teacher (and finding it difficult to…
Read MoreQuick reads
For anyone interested in some fun reading check out: The 7 Greatest Stories in the History of Esquire Magazine Esquire’s list of the Seven Best First Sentences of 2006 Esquire’s 70 Greatest Sentences
Read MoreMore excited than me
My book popped up on Amazon.com last week, available for preorder. I have a Google alert set up for my name, and last Tuesday, it alerted me to the novel’s appearance on the site. Since…
Read MoreFinding the right literary agent
Brian, via email, asks: Can you tell me how the writer-agent relationship works? How did you go about finding an agent? First, please keep in mind that I can only speak about the relationship that…
Read MoreInappropriate language
This evening, I attempted to open an Amazon Connect account, which would allow me to link this blog to the Amazon page where SOMETHING MISSING will be sold. It sounds like a great program. Not…
Read MoreSupplementary reading
Since you have to pay for the archives of many newspapers, my previously mentioned article, Two Divorces Too Many, which was re-titled by some newspapers and magazines, was difficult to find for some people. By…
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