Writing « Storytellers Unplugged

Desperation and Impatience

By Bev Vincent, on May 17th, 2012

Several years ago, I wrote an essay for the HWA handbook On Writing Horror titled “For Love or Money: Six Marketing Myths.” While I called them “marketing” myths, in fact they were really publishing myths.

Recent events which you may already have heard about via the blogosphere inspired me to write this entry. The moral of that story [...]

The Invisible

By Gerard Houarner, on May 4th, 2012

This is a “reprint” of a “lost” post (you’ll notice on the list of my posts that there’s about a year’s worth of stuff that never made the transition to the new blog). Don’t know if the references are still available (for instance, Nick Kaufman’s post, but you should google him and check out [...]

FORENSICS 152: WHAT’S SHAKING

By Robert Jones, on April 19th, 2012

This essay might be of special interest to writers of detective and mystery stories who would like to enrich their stories by providing their readers with a gift of some extra details. It might also be of general interest to many other readers.

Many harbor the thought that seismology has to do only with measuring [...]

The Deconstruction of Magic

By Alma Alexander, on March 30th, 2012

Not too long ago, the website www.cracked.com produced a list of <a href=”http://www.cracked.com/article_19667_6-horrifying-implications-harry-potter-universe.html“>six horrifying implications of the Harry Potter universe</a>.
They included mismatched technology and life experience (modern (our) contemporary world, buses, modern London, but steam train to a medieval castle? Wizards have never heard of or can use phones? Just what do young wizards DO, [...]

Eight Reasons Your Story Might Not Be Selling That Have Little To Nothing To Do With Whether The Story Is Any Damn Good

By Richard Dansky, on March 27th, 2012

Sometimes stories get rejected. It happens to good stories. It happens to bad stories. It happens to my stories, and your stories, and pretty much everyone who isn’t Neil Gaiman’s stories. That being said, there are reasons behind every rejection, even the rejections of stories that might be pretty good. They’re not always good reasons. [...]

Working the Craft, or Trying Not to Suck Dead Grizzly Ass

By Gerard Houarner, on March 4th, 2012

My good buddy Tom Piccirilli, whose “noirella” Clowns in the Moonlight ( http://www.amazon.com/Clown-in-the-Moonlight-ebook/dp/B0078B6VK2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330741769&sr=8-1 ) was just released, recently posted on Facebook: “Worst thing about working through your novel for a second draft? Realizing that all those brilliant lines you wrote actually suck dead grizzly ass.”
Yes. Yes they so sadly do.
Of course, his suck is what [...]

Prepare to be boarded

By Bev Vincent, on February 17th, 2012

I’m not sure I’ve ever been this busy before. At least as far as writing is concerned. I have a major deadline coming up in about 6 weeks and I’ve got the nose to the grindstone, working every waking hour, to get this book done on schedule. It’s fun, but it’s hard. There are distractions. [...]

Patchwork Dreaming

By Gerard Houarner, on February 4th, 2012

Or…”interrupted by a person on business from Porlock” — sustaining the vision of the story you want to tell as life’s storms rage around you.

Trust me, it’ll make sense.

Quite some time ago in a LOCUS interview, Jay Lake talked about the challenges of containing the story he’s working on in his mind, or living in [...]

The Day Job

By Bev Vincent, on January 17th, 2012

I’m on a deadline and couldn’t think of anything to write about this month, so I dredged up an oldie but a goody from 2005 that is still as pertinent to me today as it was back then. I updated a few of the details but the sentiment is the same.

When people who’ve known me [...]

Disruptive Thinking

By Gerard Houarner, on January 4th, 2012

Looking through clip files for an SU piece this month, I came across a July 2010 article on disruptive thinking. A quick web search led to a ton of more material on the topic, including a military field manual on Intelligence, so I thought it might make a cool kick-off for the coming year.

Like so [...]

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