Ray Bradbury seems to come up a lot in writing advice columns. That's probably because he's had a lot to say about writing and it has often proved useful to people like me. One of the things that he seemed to say a lot was that sucess at writing takes a lot time, and practice. … Continue reading Write Like Hell!
Tag: writing tips
To Self-Publish or Not?
I have spoken (or rather written) much on my views of self-publishing. I have always felt it was very difficult to break-in to the industry through self-publishing, despite the merits of your manuscript. Thus, I have continuously pushed to get my work published traditionally, despite the difficulties and lengthy time-frame I've had to endure. An … Continue reading To Self-Publish or Not?
My Publication Tracker is a Mess!
Look at that! It's a mess! How is someone supposed to make sense of all that? Well, of course, it's not supposed to be all on one page... My tracker has a total of 56 works on it. 3 have been "retired," meaning that I am no longer submitting them in the original form. Some … Continue reading My Publication Tracker is a Mess!
Publishing Updates
I recently received another acceptance from The Centropic Oracle! They did such a great job with my story A Brief Glimpse of Everything, that I am excited to see what they do with the next one. This one is a revision of a story called Old Bones that was originally posted on this blog. Of course, … Continue reading Publishing Updates
Not Every Character Needs an Origin Story
I just finished watching "Bangarang: The Hook Prequel", which is supposed to be the origin story for the beloved character Rufio from the film Hook. In the original film, Rufio had become the leader of the Lost Boys in Peter Pan's absence, and it was to Rufio that Peter was forced to prove himself in order … Continue reading Not Every Character Needs an Origin Story
Engineering in SF and Fantasy
Tor.com recently had an article featuring a round-table of leading speculative fiction authors discussing engineering in Science Fiction and Fantasy. It is a very interesting discussion. Engineering, and science in general, can be a great component to a science fiction story. But I find there are some key flaws or weaknesses that make it hard … Continue reading Engineering in SF and Fantasy
Writing Lessons Learned – Don’t Kick the Habit
I've learned a lot about writing in the past several months. I'm the kind of person that learns things best by doing rather than being taught or told how something is. I've been doing this thing seriously for less than a year, but I've already picked up a lot of useful skills and ideas about … Continue reading Writing Lessons Learned – Don’t Kick the Habit
Writing Updates
I've been pretty bad at updating this blog during the past few weeks. I've been on military orders and my work with the Army had been a lot more intense and rigorous than I expected. Add to that the deep academic nature of much of what I do, which tends to leave my brain melted … Continue reading Writing Updates
Are Most Writing Competitions Just Money Grabs?
Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I am away from home on temporary duty and didn't have a workable internet connection. I finally just changed my cellular plan to unlimited data and am now using my phone as a wifi hotspot. Here's a post on a topic that has been bothering me as of … Continue reading Are Most Writing Competitions Just Money Grabs?
SHARE: 5 Things Being a Journalist Taught Me About Writing Fiction
People come into writing from different places, and every author's unique experience reveals something about the writing process. Martinez offers several good tips here, but numbers three and four really stand out for me. Good dialogue can help keep a story interesting. You can maintain momentum by delivering background and exposition in dialogue, rather than … Continue reading SHARE: 5 Things Being a Journalist Taught Me About Writing Fiction
JM Williams 