I’ve always been a square peg in a round hole. When I was in elementary school and high school, I was one of the outsiders. (Of course, I have learned since then that pretty much everyone considers themselves an outsider when it comes to high school.) I had creative tendencies back then, but being a … More Underground Novelist
A year ago or so I read a book series entitled Coyote, which was a retelling of the Mayflower story in science fiction terms. Some political dissidents steal a space ship intended to start a colony on a distant planet and start their own colony. The story develops from there in many different, interesting ways. … More Novels that Are Short Stories
Yes, it is on my to-do list to crank up the number of blogs that appear here. But today, I invited myself to be a guest blogger for the Rough Writers blogsite. You can read it here. And here’s a promise that you’ll be hearing more from me in days to come. gr
I am almost ashamed to post any message here. I’ve been MIA for quite a while, swallowed up by real life. What’s interesting is that it’s the same old story. I can crank out words pretty fast, and don’t need a lot of free time to do so. But there is a No Vacancy sign … More Hello? Hellllllooooooooo???
I’ve said many times before that, in the end, writing is nothing but mind games. You psych yourself into writing a story, even though you don’t think you’re good enough. You push yourself to write, even though you think you don’t have time, or motivation, or creative energy. You convince yourself that your okay story … More Mind Games part six
Almost 30 years ago, I had the idea for my first book. It was a how-to book for Seventh-day Adventists entitled “Fifty-two Things to Do on Sabbath.” I was just short of 30 years old, and very unsure of myself as a writer. I sent out a letter to three publishing houses outlining my idea, … More Five of Seventy-two
I’ve always loved to write. In fifth grade, my teacher told me I would someday make a great freelance writer (I had no idea at the time what that meant, but it stuck with me). When I was in high school, my friends dubbed me the poet laureate of our class. And so I dreamed … More Quitting Your Day Job
Classes are over. Grades are turned in. My office is actually clean, even. So why aren’t I working on my novel? Yes, the idea is to switch from professor to novelist with the advent is summer. And yes, I am eager to get started writing. I even have company for my usual summer endeavors. (Thanks, … More Ready? Set? Ready? Ready?
Ok kids, if you didn’t get involved with this last summer, now’s your chance to get in on the fun. Here’s the deal: 1. The trick is to write 1,500 words a day for 30 days for a combined total of 45,000 words. 2. You don’t have to work on one item during that time. … More Announcing the 2011 30-day Summer Writing Challenge
It’s me again, Margaret. There’s nothing like having a bone to pick to rev up the blogging juices again. I know; I’ve been a bad, bad boy–faul, the Austrians would say–lazy. But I have every excuse in the book. Just ask me. I write books. But something a student said last week rankled me to … More Another bone to pick….
