Tag Archives: Writing

Worded Out

This isn’t about writer’s block. I may compose a post on writer’s block someday, because it’s an interesting topic. Personally, I think it is a term used to cover a variety of states. This post isn’t about that. Sometimes I … Continue reading

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And Now a Brief Update

Today I will give Comeuppance Served Cold one more read-through before sending it back to my editor. This round of edits came after two authenticity reads, one for my Black American characters and one for the visually impaired character. With … Continue reading

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The Mystery of Royalties

In the past, royalties were as mysterious to me as alchemy. Now I have some though, so I have undertaken a study of these arcane payments.  I’m here to report out to you what I have learned. The Oxford Dictionary … Continue reading

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Like a Midnight Hike

I’m looking at a small press contract, thirteen pages long. It’s a standard contract for the industry, but I have a few questions. It’s for a piece of fiction I haven’t finished yet. I was offered the contract based on … Continue reading

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One-Card Tarot Pull; a Reading

I parked my car downtown one day about a week ago. When I came back to it I saw a playing card by the rear passenger wheel. It was face down. I picked it up. Well, I mean, of course … Continue reading

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Ursula Le Guin: Be Always Coming Home

Ursula Le Guin published Always Coming Home in 1980. It was, from an experimental writer and a leading voice in speculative fiction and feminism, an experiment. It was Le Guin, the “anthropologist’s daughter” (as she sometimes named herself) playing with … Continue reading

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In Which I Get Grammar-Snobby and Reality Immediately Smacks Me

I’m not an expert on English grammar but that doesn’t stop me from being a grammar snob. I cluck and tsk and roll my eyes as I  observe punctuation errors and other grammar errors, not just in the comments section … Continue reading

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The Battle for the Wand

“You have to write something for the blog. It’s been seven days. You were doing to post twice a week, remember? Can’t you honor any commitments?” It hasn’t been a week, I thought. It’s been four days. I’m still within … Continue reading

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Field Trip!

I’ve never read an urban fantasy set in Vallejo, California, so I’m trying to write one. To me, if you’re going to write urban fantasy the urban center you choose must be vividly depicted, so I had to get to … Continue reading

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Make a Scene, by Jordan E. Rosenfeld

Writer friend Terry Connolly introduced me to Jordan E. Rosenfeld at this year’s MCWC. Rosenfeld has a craft book called Make a Scene; Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time. “Scene” as a narrative choice had been a … Continue reading

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