Useful Writing Advice, ‘Cause You Need More of It

Tweet

In order to become a successful writer, you need to blog and tweet relentlessly. Or maybe you need to not be distracted by social media, and focus exclusively on your writing. You need to give your stuff away online in podcast and PDF format to spread word so people will pick up the hardcopy or [...]

About That Crap You’re Reading And The Brilliant Stuff I Like

Tweet

Dear readers, writers, and fellow nerds of all stripes, I feel I must unburden myself to you of a terrible, profound, shocking secret that, over the course of my professional and personal journey, I have uncovered.

Pay attention. This is important.

There is a lot of entertainment out there. And one of the inevitable consequences of there [...]

When Even The Vampires Don't Want You - A Story for Halloween

Tweet

October is for scary stories, or so I’ve been told. Happy Halloween, folks. Enjoy.

*****

“When Even The Vampires Don’t Want You”

There comes a point in time when even the vampires don’t want you. I know. I’m there.

Now don’t you go telling me there’s no such thing as vampires. They’re real. I’ve seen them. And they’re all [...]

Auto Draft

Tweet

“I loved it, but I’m afraid to read it again because it might not be as good.”

This is something I hear a lot when talking with friends who read. They read a book (or saw a movie, or watched a television show, or had a particular toy) when they were younger that had a magical, [...]

Auto Draft

Tweet

What you are about to read is heresy.

The basic advice every writer gets from every direction is this: Write. Always write. Make sure you write. Make sure you write every day. Write write write write write write write.

(Eventually, some of us move on to “and here’s what you do to make your writing good”, but [...]

I Got Your Writer’s Block Right Here

Tweet

There is no such thing as “writer’s block”.

More specifically, there is no such thing as “writer’s block”, if you are defining “writer’s block” – notice the clever use of quotes there – as some sort of externally imposed mental lump of concrete that – for no reason – stands between you, the author, and the [...]

Seven Things You Should Always Ask A Writer

Tweet

A while back, I got a pretty positive response to an essay about questions that you should never, ever, under any circumstances ask a writer. (I’m serious. Like, not even if they’ve got zombie plague and you’ve got the antidote, and it can only be administered through a ritualistic makeshift quiz show. Trust me.)

But with [...]

In Which A Half-Remembered Sarcophagus, A Volcano, And A Complete Absence Of A London Street Map Conspire To Send Me On My Way

Tweet

Originally this month’s piece was going to be a followup to last month’s piece, but then I got myself stranded in London by volcanic action. So, here’s a little something inspired by that instead.

Enjoy.

********

Follow the sign.

It’s small, and it’s brown, and it’s really not designed in the slightest to catch the eye. It almost apologizes [...]