In this post, I want to talk about worldbuilding wiki-style. That is, a way to be proactive when it comes to taking on a massive project such as a space opera series or fantasy trilogy. But first, I want to talk about the bigger skill writers should learn to acquire, and to do that, I have to take a side path.
I’m still a bit gob-smacked about this news from the recent Baker Street Irregulars weekend, even though it has nothing to do with me. It’s just that I’ve never personally known a member of that august group of Sherlockian superfans before. The speed of going from a Bacon number from infinite to 1 can be […]
Part of the fun of working on the 223B Baker Street series is discovering connections among disparate people. Not a direct link, more like a “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” situation. So this is today’s “Six Degrees of Sherlock Holmes,” in which we find a connection between Holmes, Charles Dickens, and Rudolph Valentino. It passes […]
When you turn your writing into a business, you need productivity hacks. That’s just what happens when your fluffy dreams get smacked by the damp trout of reality. When writing is still a hobby you indulge in when you feel like it, you imagine what it would be like to be granted the freedom to […]
The end of the year is traditionally the time to make New Year’s resolutions. It’s also a time when book marketers encourage authors to invest a lot more of their time in advertising and selling. While I have nothing against this, the extreme focus on marketing over creating good works can be stress-inducing and even […]
The Danielle Steel writing desk is so unique that something should copy the idea and market it to other authors. It is an inalienable need for a writer to find a comfortable space to do the work. It has to be a space that works for that person alone, no matter what anyone else feels […]
This Christmas of 2017, you might find a gift in your inbox that did not come from Santa, but from Krampus. A number of writers on the forums I visit (including one on KBoards) have reported getting an unsolicited email from NY Literary Magazine in which “Jennifer” (no last name or position) tells the recipient […]
For those of you who still read the Parade newspaper supplement, last Sunday’s edition holds a lesson for authors in the guise of a feature story about Jack Black and the upcoming “Jumanji” sequel (which, by the way, I’m looking forward to. Loved the original movie, love the actors in the remake, and the trailer […]
Once upon a time, traditionally published successful writers never needed a book production schedule. They lived easy, carefree lives. They’d spend their mornings writing, and when they had achieved their word count, devote the rest of their day living their lives: maybe do a little research, submit to an interview about their latest book, or […]
I’m a big believer in structure. My brain is scatter-shot even on my best days, and it’s important that I have checklists and an organized structure to make sure that the mistakes I do make are new and fresh, and not as a result of, say, forgetting to update the backcover copy on the latest […]