It’s Dungeons & Dragons night tonight — or as my 3-year-old daughter calls it, “Candyland Fighting†— and I’m looking forward to continuing the indiscriminate slaughter of marauding giants and cave trolls. My two 11th level fighters — Sturm Endrang and Tim of Krod — are doing quite well, though Sturm took nasty a beating […]
Read MoreOutlining vs. Wingin’ It
I’ve written three novels, and for each one I wrote detailed, chapter-by-chapter outlines. You could argue they were my first drafts. All three outlines were in the 40-50 page range, even the one for my contemporary mystery novel, which turned out to be 70,000 words. The reason I wrote such huge outlines was that I […]
Read MoreStory Behind THE LAST KEY
I finished THE LAST KEY in 2003 and found an agent for it in 2005 (Dr. Uwe Stender). Over the next five years my agent sent it to almost every fantasy editor in the business. We got lots of “positive rejections,” but no bites. So after five years of shopping it around, I had decision […]
Read MoreFree Web Apps for Writers
Online Universities lists 100 useful web apps for writers. All of them are free. I love lists like these. But I tend to spend more time goofing around with the apps than I do, well, writing.
Read MoreLife is chess
Ken glanced at me from across the board. He said nothing, nor was there a hint of gloating on his face. But he knew I was beaten. And he knew I knew. Right from the start, he had me on the run. His knights and pawns had set up an impenetrable wall from which his […]
Read MoreWriting that novel
Since most writers are fascinated by the writing processes of other writers, I thought I’d share the process that has helped me write three novels and get me 80,000 words into my fourth. If you’re not a writer, the following mind hacks might give you ideas on how to finish your own major project. 1. […]
Read MoreGutenberg’s toy will never take off…
Peter Suderman of Reason Magazine says don’t fear the e-reader. They may be imperfect today, but so was the printed book back in Gutenberg’s day: Kindles and other e-readers are imperfect devices, but there’s no denying they have touched a consumer nerve. Unlike the iPod, the portable music device to which they are often compared, […]
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