4
08, 2020
Roll up your sleeves and write that rough draft
After months of following a methodical approach to planning my novel, it’s finally time to put fingertips to keyboard and actually write The Lost Tale of Sir Larpsalot.
9
06, 2020
Make sure your main characters cast a shadow
For reasons beyond my understanding, my brain likes inventing personas—everything from wacky facades to keep small children entertained to personalities projected onto passersby. Everyone has a story, after all.
12
05, 2020
Surviving a novel synopsis
For this phase, I found myself face to face with that most odious and onerous of literary formats: the synopsis.
4
02, 2020
A paragraph evolves into a page
Welcome back to my mad experiment, where I attempt to create a novel using a ten-step approach to plotting, character development, and more.
7
05, 2019
Meet Annette Young of If Dreams Can Die
Some of my favorite villains are those who see themselves as heroes, and Annette Young falls wholeheartedly in that flock.
13
11, 2018
A day of drama
One of the most exciting things a writer can do is push a character outside of his comfort zone. It turns out the same is true for writers themselves.
5
06, 2018
The secret beauty of bad ideas
Writers never kill their darlings. We just lock them away…in a dungeon…indefinitely…
12
10, 2017
How long does it take to write a book?
Answer: I have no idea — even after writing nine of them. Maybe some authors have a formula that produces consistent results, but for me, the question is too nuanced to allow for a simple solution.
22
07, 2014
What to do when writing tips contradict
Since no two minds work precisely the same way, no two writers are going to approach planning, plot structure, character development, research, writing, and editing exactly the same way. A method that works for one author might result in utter failure for another.
8
08, 2013
The two sides to every story
On a very basic level, the creation of a story can be divided into two parts: concept and composition. Without a command of both sides, a writer is bound to fall short of greatness.