Category Archives: Thoughts about Writing

In all of the various plots that comprise stories, two of the most common are 1) A Stranger Comes to Town and 2) A Person Goes on a Quest. Cory Doctorow used this fact in one of his best titles: … Continue reading →

Recently on Fanlit we had a discussion about “strong women.” It happened in the Comments section of John Hulet’s review of Islands of Rage and Hope. The book has a nubile, bikini-clad 13-year-old super-powered girl in it. A couple of … Continue reading →

There’s this guy and he hates science fiction writer John Scalzi. Scalzi is commercially successful as a writer and This Guy* isn’t. This Guy’s politics are different from Scalzi’s, too, and while This Guy writes about that a lot, I … Continue reading →

I stared at the spokes of light and shadow on my hotel room ceiling, wondering why I was awake. It was mostly rhetorical wonder. The Mendocino Coast Writers Conference finished that night, with the banquet, ending in a speech by … Continue reading →

One of the prizes that goes with second-place in the novel category is the publication of an excerpt of my work in the Noyo River Review. This week I had the mixed joy of editing my section for publication. Editing … Continue reading →

I’m struggling with world building right now. I’m writing a set of linked novellas, all set in a world with magic, but it’s a world that used to be like ours is. A catastrophic change happened, ushering in magic and … Continue reading →

I’m in the elevator riding down to the room where the SWFA Nebula panel on “Writing Other Cultures, Real or Imagined,” is being held. Two SWFA writers enter the elevator. SWFA Writer 1:  I’m moderating a panel of “writing other … Continue reading →

The title might not clue you in; this is a panel about how writers use research. This panel was fun and lively; sharp, humorous panelists who knew and liked each other, allowing for banter and a lot of riffing. The … Continue reading →

So why the bath ducks? Well, they are props for a writing assignment for my group at VOICES. And for me. Bath ducks provide a two-for-one opportunity. Exercise 1:  Choose a duck. Describe the duck to someone who has never … Continue reading →