The Writing Process
Don’t tie a bow at the end of your story
I’m a fan of ending books and stories a little bit sooner than my readers and listeners would like. I like to leave some dangling threads. A few unanswered questions. Something still left to wonder about. I think by doing so, my story lingers in the hearts and minds of my reader and listeners a…
Read MoreWe don’t know how our stuff is made.
I’ve become convinced that the people who don’t make stuff will never understand how stuff is made. I listen to podcasts where hosts ask writers and artists about how jokes are written, screenplays are developed, and stories are crafted, and the questions they ask rarely make sense to the creators of these things. When you’re…
Read MoreHow to write for 14 years without missing a day and never run out of ideas.
I’ve been blogging since 2005. I have not missed a day, even when scumbag cowards attempted to derail my career by blatantly mischaracterizing what I write and portraying me as some crazed lunatic. I hope they are still reading today. I’ve shifted my blog to three different platforms and changed the name each time, but…
Read MoreIgnoring your reviews is dumb
As an author, I have often been told that it is a bad idea to read my reviews. Advice like this is quite common: Simply Google the words “Never read your reviews” and you’ll find an endless list of posts from writers and the like explaining why they never read their reviews: I think this…
Read MoreFeline interference
I have the same exact struggle with my cat with one exception: I’m not just doing surgery when Plto sits across my forearms. I’m writing. A far more serious piece of business.
Read MoreThe importance of an editor
Remember Brandi Chastain from the 1999 World Cup? She’s the soccer player who kicked the winning goal against China to win the gold medal for the Americans. After scoring the goal, she pulled off her jersey, exposing her sports bra and sending a sizable number of conservatives into amusing, ridiculous hysterics. Chastain was recently inducted…
Read MoreKeyboard
I stepped away from my laptop mid-sentence to use the bathroom. When I returned, the cats were flanking my laptop, and this is what I found. Why do they always manage to pick off the most-often-used letters? It’s like they know. the best way to hurt me. It took me 15 minutes to find the…
Read MoreWriting is already hard enough without this.
I’m trying to complete the revisions of my next adult novel, and it seems like at every turn, someone is hell bent on slowing my progress. Last night it was the cats, Tobi and Pluto, choosing the space on the table directly in front of me to commence their battle. How is a guy expected…
Read MoreMy wife and kids slow me down. Gloriously so.
I loved this dedication by Joseph J. Rotman. While it may seem like he’s throwing some shade at his family, I suspect not. 2017 was an exceptionally busy time for me. I completed three books (an adult novel, a middle grade novel, and a book of nonfiction), all within a single calendar year, which…
Read MoreYou’re a writer? A real writer?
The oddity of being a writer is this You often find yourself constantly explaining that yes, it’s true. You are in fact a published writer. A paid writer. A professional writer. A person whose career is to assemble words in an entertaining and informative order. While eating large amounts of protein at a tailgate recently, my…
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