Today I read After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn. Although it was fun and an incredibly quick read, I’m not sure if I’ll review it here. However, there was a passage in it that struck me and is making me ask questions about what fiction can do, or should do – or at least about… Continue Reading
The frenzy of reading and reviewing 40 books in 2012 has passed, but I’m still a little shell-shocked a few days later. 2013 will be a bit different, but in degree rather than in kind. Of course, this can mean only one thing: I’ve upped the ante. In this case, I’ve decided to read 50… Continue Reading
Title: You’re Not Fooling Anyone When You Take Your Laptop to a Coffee Shop: Scalzi on Writing Author: John Scalzi Publisher: Subterranean Press Format: eBook Rating: 4 out of 5 I read a lot of books about writing in 2012. Take a look for yourselves in the archives. Although the authors I read occupy different niches… Continue Reading
Well, it’s officially late October, and you know what that means: a frantic ramp-up to NaNoWriMo. Well, perhaps not frantic, but it’s definitely a more informed mess of activity than it was in 2011. Last year was my first time writing for NaNoWrimo, and I think I learned a lot from the experience. Unfortunately, the story I… Continue Reading
I’ve been managing this website through its various incarnations since late 2009. Since then, there have been a lot of changes – new web addresses, new business names, and new clients. However, a few weeks ago, an even bigger change happened: I stopped being a full-time, in-house employee. Apart from the occasional mention of commutes… Continue Reading
One of the pitfalls of being an editor is that I tend to notice patterns in whatever I read. Eventually, if I notice a trait or pattern often enough, it will stick out like a sore thumb, and I focus on finding new instances of the pattern instead of enjoying what I’m reading. Sometimes, though,… Continue Reading
Title: Beginnings, Middles and Ends (Elements of Fiction Writing Series) Author: Nancy Kress Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books Rating: 5 out of 5 Format: Print I first learned about Beginnings, Middles and Ends from from the same place where I get a lot of my writing advice: Mur Lafferty’s I Should Be Writing podcast. Considering the… Continue Reading
You may recall that late in 2010, Jonathan Franzen released his latest novel, Freedom, to widespread critical acclaim. Such acclaim, in fact, that two female authors, Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Weiner, criticized the book review establishment for their adulation – or rather, the lack of such when female writers tackle the same topics. In the… Continue Reading
Title: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft (10th Anniversary Edition) Author: Stephen King Publisher: Simon and Schuster Rating: 5 out of 5 Format: Print The name “Stephen King” has by now become a byword for “successful author.” He’s one of those authors, along with J.K. Rowling, that are always cited as the exception to… Continue Reading
In a recent blog post I talked about my writing and editing goals for 2012. However, I forgot to add one very important goal to the list: I need to learn more about eBooks. The course I took on electronic publishing in 2010 didn’t help me. In fact, it was downright misleading. It contained absolutely… Continue Reading
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