30
04, 2014
The problem with invincible protagonists
I must have killed hundreds of people over the years. Since I’m a writer of sword-and-sorcery fantasy, death come with the territory.
22
08, 2013
Building a better book title
Titles represent anywhere from a few hundred to hundreds of thousands of words. They have to be worthy of all that hard work you put into your short story, novella or novel. And they must be marketable.
24
07, 2013
And we shall call him…George
Any dabbler in sword-and-sorcery fantasy has faced the challenge of naming a monarch or two. Far be it for me to disparage other namers of kings.
10
07, 2013
Stories, songs make beautiful music together
Whereas some writers find music (or any background noise) a distraction, I am fueled by the creative energy imbued in most melodies.
5
12, 2012
Storytelling can take many forms
Some of the characters I’ve enjoyed writing about the most are an inch and a half tall.
25
09, 2012
Don’t let minor characters usurp your MS
At a recent Allied Authors of Wisconsin meeting, I was thrilled to receive unanimously positive feedback on a particular character in the chapter I read. The only problem is all that praise went to a pretty minor character who appears in just one scene in the entire novel and doesn’t even have a name.
12
07, 2012
Battling genre bias with the magic of an open mind
Reading books with dragons on the cover says something about a guy.
15
05, 2012
Choosing the perfect name for your baby (or villain)
The Social Security Administration recently released the top baby names for 2011. I know this because I can’t NOT click on an article about baby names.
20
03, 2012
Finding time to write
At a recent guest lecture on self-publishing, a fellow attendee asked the featured speaker if she had any advice for someone who is working full time and doesn’t have four to six hours a day to devote to writing.