World Building Beyond The Book
When writing fiction one of the things you have to think about is your setting. For fantasy and science fiction, especially, the setting can be a major component of the story. But do you world build just enough for the story you’re writing or do you build a...
Three Things to Know Before Submitting a Story
Now that I’m looking at short fiction markets again, I’m starting to look at a lot of publishing house websites. There’s a lot of good information out there about things to check for before submitting your work such as the rights requested, the...
Why I am submitting stories again
I’ve been completely self-published, all indie all the time, since probably about 2006-2007. I mean sure, I published through my own publication company (And we published as many as 75 authors over the company’s lifespan.), but I still consider that...
Removing This One Thing Can Help You Beat Writer’s Block
When authors talk about writer’s block they discuss it as a fait accompli…something that they’re just destined to experience. It’s part of being an author, or is it? While there are many reasons why a story or character may not flow onto the...
Thinking About Ergonomics
As writers we often spent a lot of time at our desks. If we spent that time with our body out of alignment (I know I find myself leaning forward and propping up my head on my elbow to read long articles), or typing with bad posture, that’s going to reflect...
Numinous Writing
In this episode I’m going to get a little esoteric, and maybe a little spiritual, and talk about “numinous writing”. Otto coined the term numinous to refer to something sacred with otherworldly qualities, and I’m a firm believer that an...Thoughts on Marketing
In this episode I finally give in and tell you what I really think about marketing. As a neurodivergent person, marketing can be incredibly difficult, and I’m not alone on this. It’s something I hear from other neurodivergent people too. But marketing...
Who are you letting into your online “living room”?
Recently I heard an excellent analogy that our online social media profiles are like an online “living room”. You wouldn’t open the door and let just anyone into your physical living space, so why would you do it online? It made sense to me and...