Last weekend, at 4th Street Fantasycon, somebody asked me for a post that I did years back on Usenet, on the difference between the way short story writers and novelists might develop the same basic story idea. Here it is: Basically, short stories require a tight focus
Read more →I have just finished arguing with a would-be writer who a) is convinced that passive voice is evil and must be avoided at all times, and b) has, it turns out, no idea at all what passive voice actually is. I am therefore going to rant. Passive
Read more →One of the things you find a lot in writing books are prescriptions: This is THE (only right and workable best) way to write/develop a career as a writer. And they’re wrong. Or so I think, anyway. There is no One True Way to write. (This is
Read more →And now for a quick look through the mailbag (fixing the comments took longer than expected, but they finally seem to be working, yay!). Some excerpts that seem like a good idea to answer here: From several people: “Will you be autographing/appearing in X area soon?” Answer:
Read more →So the first round of publicity appearances is over; I have two weeks now before Wiscon and the side trip to deal with pressing family business. When you’re working on a book, two weeks is not as much time as it sounds. I’m hoping to use the
Read more →Write. No, really, that’s it. It’s kind of a definitional thing. What you have to be in order to be a writer is, you have to be someone who writes. Period. You don’t have to be nice; you don’t have to be educated; you don’t have to
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