In large part, I will be taking a break from social media during June and July. Work is underway for GDPR-compliance, as well as some thought about writing directions.
Have a great summer!
Extras
Assorted blog posts covering early concepts, nonfiction articles, and more
Life of a Writer: More than Writing
There’s so much to the business of writing that goes far beyond putting words on paper (or into Microsoft Word).
Here’s few things writers tackle that may surprise you:
Book News: What I Read Recently
- Grounded by Neta Jackson: a Christian novel quite a cut above the usual, and not the ubiquitous romance.
- The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: a literary read of contemporary life with a main thread of fantasy woven in expertly. The end wasn’t as satisfying as I wanted.
- Spin State, Chris Moriarty: I tried, I really tried to get into this recent sf work, but I couldn’t.
Quick Tips from the Writing Notes
Hopefully these one-liners I’ve collected on the craft of writing will help you, and perhaps not just in writing.
- DON’T TAKE YOURSELF TOO SERIOUSLY
- Be true to your I.Q.
- Embrace idiosyncrasies
- Make them laugh and/or make them cry
- “…a lot of times if you’re finding that you’re having to describe things with a lot of adverbs, find a stronger verb instead” – CJ Lyons interview
- Go beyond the five senses
- Forget about being pretty
- Don’t fall into stereotypes
- “Verbs are the foot soldiers of action-based description”
Looking for a Good Read?
Some decent reads to mention:
- In fiction, Fredrik Backman’s My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry.
- In science fiction, a good re-read of a classic: Lois McMaster Bujold’s The Vor Game
- A well-written young adult novel about a school shooting: Chop, Chop, by L.N. Crook
March 2018 Status
Work continues on the Salvage project, and I’m starting to spend time thinking about structure for the Blue project — occasionally even the Sifa and Peter project.
On Good Authors
A few older and newer authors whose writing I enjoy:
- Louis L’Amour and Craig Johnson for westerns
- Thomas Davis Bunn for adventure and historical fiction with a Christian tone
- Steven Gould for science fiction adventure without spaceships and lasers
- Dominic Green for science fiction laughs — the books may be aimed for younger readers, but I find them funny in a dry sort of way
- Lois McMaster Bujold — character-driven, space adventure at its finest, with a solid foundation of morality and honor
What’s in My Notes on Writing?
I keep a separate Word file that I reference often when I write, especially when revising. It contains a rather eclectic mix: scene checklists, story structure advice, lists of conjunctions, and much more that I would like to remember. I do add endnotes for the sources of most of the information.
Here’s the current Table of Contents:
On Good Books: Leaving Blythe River
Leaving Blythe River by Catherine Ryan Hyde also proved to be a surprisingly good read. Although a coming-of-age story, the novel doesn’t read like a young adult book.
I had the pleasure to live in Colorado for several years, and I still miss the wilderness. The novel seems to accurately portray the realities of a similar wilderness — both the beautiful and the harsh. The characters were also realistic and engaging, from the protagonist to the motley team helping him to his father.