-
Being Clear On Rewriting and Other Stuff
Got Some Interesting Questions This Week… So I figured for fun here on this fine evening I would just lay out in very quick points exactly what I believe about writing and how I write. Clear up some confusion (or make more, we shall see. (grin)) 1… I do not rewrite. I cycle back and forward through the manuscript as I write, thus ending up with a clean first (and final) draft. 2… I do not use ideas and haven’t for decades. I use triggers to get me typing with a character and I just entertain myself from there. (You guys have all followed that here through some of my…
-
The Rewriting Myth
Got a Letter Today… A very real private letter from a very, very frustrated person who had just seen the Sacred Cow posts I did all those years ago. (Some are dated but they are all still here.) The writer was thanking me for talking sanity. The letter was heartbreaking, described how it had taken a year-and-a-half to write the novel and two-and-a-half more years rewriting and the writer still wasn’t happy with it, but wanted to move on. The writer was clearly having a long-held dream crushed by the myths that range from writing slow and sloppy to rewriting and needing editors and agents and so on. Once again,…
-
Depth Done Right
An Example of What I Try to Teach… I’ve been reading the new Dean Koontz thriller series that started with The Silent Corner. His character, Jane Hawk is great. Now I study Dean Koontz a great deal because his writing is often invisible, his characters built to be real people, his plots usually twisted. And he is a master at all kinds of techniques, from floating viewpoints to pacing that won’t let you go. So on looking back through the second book of the series, The Whispering Room, I happened to notice how well Koontz sat the scene with depth every chapter in one way or another. Now we have a…
-
Plot Twists
Maybe This Should Be A Workshop… Plot twists, when done right, are wonderful for readers, and can get your book talked about and help you sell more copies. When done wrong, plot twists make a reader toss a book against a wall and never read another thing by that author. So what makes a good plot twist? As I said, I think there is more than enough to make this into a full four week workshop with webinars. But for kicks here, since plot twists are on my mind, let me try to hit a few high points of good plot twists that spring to mind. — The twist must…
-
The SF Plot Twist Bundle and Nifty Picture and Challenge
Tonight I Had Dinner With Some Writers… Here I go, headed into year seven with this blog. Tonight, Chris York, Steve York, Dan Duval, and I went out to dinner as I got ready to head out of town and Chris York wore a tee-shirt from 23 years ago. You see, Kris and I needed a ton of help 23 years ago to move to the coast. So our friends who helped got special tee-shirts that said, “What is worse than getting rejected by two magazines? Moving Them!” I was editing the first incarnation of Pulphouse and Kris was the editor of F&SF 23 years ago. How Chris York found…
-
Just About Clear
That’s Why All The Announcements Lately… I am about to get back to writing shortly, since this four months of move is almost over. And Kris and I wanted to make sure everything we had been talking about starting was announced. So we announced the Master Business Class in October in Las Vegas. As of this moment there are six spots still open. www.wmgworkshops.com and click on the Master Business Class for more information and the fantastic list of instructors. And we announced the nifty new Study Along workshops and got them all up on Teachable.com. Those allow you to study along with the craft workshops in Las Vegas while staying…
-
Study Along Workshops
A Brand New Form of Workshop for WMG Publishing… Study Along Workshops will allow writers to follow part of the intense craft workshops being held in Las Vegas, only online. We have been wanting to do this for a few years now, and finally the move to Las Vegas of the in-person workshops and the nifty features of Teachable have allowed it to finally happen. This is a hybrid new form of workshop. Give me a second to explain. Vegas Craft Workshops… For those of you who do not know, Kristine Kathryn Rusch teaches the craft workshops. Those of you who have been through one or two can tell everyone…
-
Playing Some Cards and Cat Pictures
Yes, I Am Doing More Than Packing A House… Not only did we have the great Friday night meeting and another fun one on Sunday at lunch, but over the last few days I have been going with a writer friend and his wonderful wife to play in some poker tournaments. Sunday, she and I won the tournament. (Called chopping…) Last night I was the first out. Both tournaments were fun and I made some nice money overall. Then this evening a couple other professional writers joined me and our visitors for a long dinner and discussions. We actually didn’t talk much writing or cats. Just fun having dinner with…
-
Fun Day
Errands and Meetings and Fun Conversations… Day started off with errands since it was my first full day back in town. Then meetings at WMG and some planning out at the bookstore. Then a fun dinner with writers. Then a fun business meeting with even more writers. Then I worked in my office at WMG cleaning up business stuff until after 1 a.m. Home to watch some television and get some sleep now. I will answer email tomorrow. Damn I have a tough life. (grin) ———– (Blog Streak Day 2,180) ———- Found… The picture below is on the wall of my office that I am tearing apart. I will move…
-
Things Always Change
And There Is Always a Lifespan… Over the decades, I have been involved in numbers of groups and writer’s events. I helped start a workshop in Moscow, Idaho. Kris and I started a group and workshop in Eugene, Oregon. And we started a publishing company named Pulphouse Publishing that, by its nature, had a limited lifespan built into its DNA. (When we started WMG Publishing we made sure it did not have that fatal flaw.) Then twenty-three years ago we moved to the Oregon Coast. We had no desire to start anything here, but as the years went by, it just sort of happened. Workshops, Sunday lunches, and over the…