In the time before Walmart and department stores, when people needed metal goods, they went to see a smith. A gold or silver smith for jewelry. A coppersmith for a pan. A blacksmith for iron goods. Â When the pan got a hole in it, folks would set it aside and wait for a tinker–a traveling […]
Archive > February 2011
Aspiring vs. Achieving:Claiming the Title of “Writer”
A while back I participated in a discussion on Twitter about when (or if) writers should refer to themselves as “aspiring.” We weren’t talking about people who haven’t started writing yet, but will unleash the next great bestseller on the world immediately upon their retirements (seems everyone is an aspiring writer by this definition), but rather people […]
Using Music to Find Your Story’s Voice
As comfortable as I am with the other elements of a story, voice is mysterious and magical to me (but Christie says that a strong voice is one of three things found in great stories). It’s not something I can pull out of my writer’s toolbox–I feel like it’s something I have to discover when […]
Why I Like YA SFF
Why I like YA a little more than growed-up books. The reason is really so simple, I almost feel embarrassed for dedicating a whole post to it.
Lessons From the Slush Pile: Your Cover Letter and You
The following is a slightly modified repost from my personal blog, http://inkhaven.net. Submitting to short fiction markets can be very scary for newcomers, and there is a whole lot of confusing advice out there. I’m here to help. First, though: you guys with the long lists of publications, who have your editors on your Christmas […]
Writer’s Toolkit: Tarot Cards
This post started a couple weeks ago when I twittered that I was pulling tarot cards for a flash fiction story I was working on. It sparked a discussion and several people wanted to know more how about how I was using tarot cards in my writing process. The most interesting characters are flawed. They […]
How To Network at Conventions – Guest Blog
With 2011 now in full swing, many people are looking ahead to which conventions they’d like to attend this year. Or perhaps you’ve never been to one and are considering it. I thought this would be great timing to ask Diana Rowland (Mark of the Demon, Blood of the Demon, Secrets of the Demon) to […]
Working out
If you’re anything like me, you added “work out more often” to your New Year’s resolutions. And if you’re like me, that means doing writing exercises to further hone your craft. Â (If you were thinking I meant stuff like running and doing sit-ups, I should direct you to Sandra Wickham’s blog–I build my physique by […]
OMG, did you check out her encyclopedia?!
My first novel attempt was just a trainwreck, like most of them are. I changed so many things that I finally gave up and never finished. The second one was marginally better. The third one? Oh, I tracked that thing to death. I tracked details so well I burned out on details, and decided to […]