fiction

A collection of 43 posts

authors

Writing Book Review: How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card

How to Write Science Fiction & Fantasy by Orson Scott Card My rating: 3 of 5 stars There are so few books that specialize in writing science fiction & fantasy that I try to read the few that exist. I admire OSC’s storytelling even if I disagree with his

characters

Creating Characters -- Making a Model

Last week I listened to this podcast from Writing Excuses, in which Corey Doctorow talks about the neuroscience of creating (and relating to) characters. Writing Excuses is a great podcast, but this is the first episode that really blew me away. It’s 15 minutes long, and I recommend you

fiction

Doing NaNoWriMo? How to Get Started NOW

NaNoWriMo begins in a week and a half, which means your time for any pre-NaNo prepping is drawing short. Although NaNo rules require that you not write a single word of your novel before November 1 (and I’m no cheater!) there are several things you can do right now

fairy tales

NaNoWriMo -- I'm doing it.

So, I told myself I would do NaNoWriMo if I finished my Rapunzel novel by November 1st. That’s not going to happen. (I don’t think). I’m still going to do NaNoWriMo. I got off track on Rapunzel because of unforeseen work disruptions which led to me ending

article writing

Cheryl Klein Plot Master Workshop - Go If You Can

I’m not real big into writing conferences. I tend to skip over pages about conferences in writing magazines, and my mind sort of shuts off when I read advice about how to pitch at conferences, or how they are a good way to “get your foot in the door.

article writing

In Which I Make a Story Map

This weekend, I am taking a YA and middle-grade novel class with Cheryl Klein, and I’m going to be cramming my “homework” all week. I’m about 1/3 of the way through “story mapping” my middle-grade novel, Ever This Day. Below are the instructions for the exercise: For

blogging

Finish Novel by October 31? Challenge Accepted

A library friend of mine asked me to come to the library in October to share “tips” on completing NaNoWriMo since I’ve “won” it several years in the past. I agreed. And then I realized that if she is asking this of me now, November is not very far

authors

Indie Book Review: Unforgettable by Paulette Bates Alden

Now that I’ve officially entered the realm of indie publishing, I’ve decided to showcase high-quality self-published offerings when I come across them. These are the books that are slowly eroding the stigma attached to self-publishing, so they deserved to be noticed! Below is my review of Unforgettable: Short

book reviews

Pivotal Book: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

I think every writer can point to a handful of books that were pivotal in shaping her writer’s voice or her storytelling style. For me, one of those books was “The Last Unicorn.” I first encountered the story through the movie, which I probably watched hundreds of times in

fairy tales

Endings: George RR Martin, Frozen, and Me

Well, I did finish Storm of Swords as expected last week, and as I did so, I noticed something about George RR Martin’s endings. He’s juggling a lot of different characters, each with their own story arcs, so it’s somewhat unrealistic to expect these arcs to be

authors

On Death and Writing (or, On Reading George RR Martin)

I’m almost finished reading George RR Martin’s A Storm of Swords, and I knew from people’s gossip about the third season of the TV series that there would be some Very Upsetting Deaths. Thus, I braced myself throughout the book for a beloved character to be killed

book reviews

Happy Rumpled Release Day!

Rumpled It’s here! Today is the day I release my first independent work, “Rumpled.” You can buy the ebook exclusively on Amazon.com, and the paperback will be released next week. I’ve set the price point intentionally low at just 99 cents. This is for three reasons. 1.

blogging

Creative Process Blog Tour

I read about a “Creative Process Blog Tour” over at Susan Perry’s blog, wherein different creative types are answering a set of questions about their process in their blogs. (Susan Perry is author of Writing in Flow, although I first discovered her through Loving in Flow, which I read

fairy tales

Rumpled: It's Kind of Like Getting Married

It’s official — I have a release date set for Rumpled, my novella retelling the story of Rumplestiltskin, and most everything is in place for it–except, perhaps, my nerves. Rumpled will be available to the public on March 3 (my birthday — early downloads would be a great present!), and

authors

Some Thoughts After a Writing Retreat

I’m back from a three-day weekend spent at a cabin in the Black Hills on a little “writing retreat.” I got two full days of writing in, and discovered … that two full days wasn’t big enough for my ambitions. I so rarely get the chance to get away

fiction

Write the Thing You Aren't Ready For

The January/February issue of Horn Book magazine contains a great editorial called Books for the Ages. In it, Roger Sutton argues that: “Nobody ever became a better reader by sticking with books they were ready for.” It reminded me of something one of my creative writing teachers said when

fiction

"New Adult" Literature and No-Good Writing Advice

Last week, I was reading “What’s New About New Adult?” in the January/February issue of Horn Book. The article is about the rise of “New Adult” literature, a sub-genre of Young Adult (or a sub-genre of adult) that focuses on characters in their late teens or early twenties.

Book Reviews

The Handmaid's Tale and The Hunger Games - What Makes a Strong Female Character?

This month, my book club discussed The Handmaid’s Tale. This is one of the books that has been formative in my life as both a reader and a writer. It was the first piece of dystopic literature I read beyond The Giver, and it awakened a taste for much,

books

Dark Crystal Author Quest - Done!

My goal was to get my Dark Crystal Authorquest submission turned in before Christmas, and I met that goal at 7:10 pm last night. It feels good to know that now it’s out of my hands. When I got the confirmation message from the Jim Henson Company (and

fiction

Have Books, Will Read, Need Time

Recently, I’ve had the good luck to acquire a nice stack of new (or new-to-me) writing books. They are … Publishing E-books for Dummies by Ali Luke – This is fairly technical reading, but after checking it out from the library, I really wanted my own copy as a reference. I’

authors

My Marketing Revelation

Last week, I went to a community ed class about how to market your book put on by Sarah J. Pepper, a local author who has achieved success through both traditional and self publishing. I always wonder when I show up at these things whether I’ll learn anything new,

blogging

Are You a Success? By Whose Standards?

I’m still a little bleary-eyed and disjointed from odd train schedules and driving throughout the night — I just got back from the annual Call To Action conference, where I came up with ideas for at least two blog posts for Young Adult Catholics, so overall, I think it was

fiction

NaNo'Ers, I'm With You in Spirit

Although I usually take one year to “recover” between attempts at NaNoWriMo, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at November the same way again. This year, I’m on “recovery,” still working on the novel I pounded out last November (I’ve discovered that novels

fairy tales

Rumpled ebook Cover - Your Opinions

I’ve been reading a lot about self-publishing ebooks lately as I slog through APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and Publishing e-Books for Dummies. A few months ago I made a “final” decision about the cover for my retelling of Rumplestiltskin, Rumpled, but I’ve been second-guessing myself and overthinking it.

fiction

To Outline or Not to Outline: A Question Only You Can Answer

A few weeks ago, as I fretted over my Dark Crystal submission (which I still haven’t started), one commenter authoritatively told me I must write an outline for it. I did, and I am, because it’s such unfamiliar territory for me that I just feel a lot safer