-
Glut, glut, glut.
I am trying to be candid here. I have too many words. Not counting finished drafts, I have somewhere around 230K of unfinished business. This is either work in process (currently I am writing two separate books) or words that need to be edited. This morning I thought I’d total it up, for reasons of amusement. But now? Looking at…
-
Writing with the darkness.
This week’s writing has been more difficult than others, and not because of the usual reasons (laziness, business, distractedness). While I’ve slowly made progress from 0k to 4K (about 2K from the chapter end) it’s been laborious, to say the least. Though I’m writing from a draft, I know what’s going to happen, so technically I shouldn’t be having issues.…
-
Crowded house: writing a party
Nah, not the kind with ale and food and wenches, though that happens from time to time. More like a party of people. At the moment I’m struggling with some of my chapters, as there are just too many damned people there all the time. Up until this point most of what I’ve written has been fairly straight-forward, with a…
-
GeekDad Post: Geeking Out With the Beatles
Geeking Out With the Beatles: The Magic of Music and Melody on a Young Mind Photo: dunechaser Not only do I love Rock Band, but the Beatles also happen to be my favorite band in the entire world that ever was or will be from now until the end of the world. Suffice it to say, as The Beatles: Rock…
-
Ten Things I Want to See More of in Fantasy Literature
Consider this a call for suggestions. While I do my best to catch up on reading, covering both classics and new material, I can’t be everywhere at once. And between my own writing and editing I don’t have a lot of time to scour the internet… So: ten things I’d like to see more of in fantasy literature (some I’ve…
-
What future Natania told past Natania.
No, I can’t really go back in time (if I could, you’d be reading this on a telegraph!). But if I could, there’s a few things I’d tell myself about writing, publication, and and the business of print. Never underestimate the kindness and generosity of other writers. Most of the progress I’ve made this last year has been because of…
-
What the heck am I doing?
The answer is writing. Writing and writing, and podcasting a little. In spite of the failure of last week, which isn’t really a failure at all but a disappointment, I’ve been busy putting the oldest story I think is worth telling back in order. It’s a bit like turning a 50-piece puzzle into a 1,000 piece puzzle. The picture is…
-
Novelfail: Facing rejection with grace (or learning to)
I’ve had short stories rejected before, and I like to think I’m pretty good at dealing with it. At least, it’s enough to piss me off a while, but not enough to throw me into the pit and give up writing. The story selection process is extremely subjective, and I can deal with that. I just keep writing. However, yesterday,…
-
Thursday poetry, 5/7 “Delight and the Word”
To keep my brain nimble and, um, creative, I’ve decided to start a Thursday poetry tradition here. I can’t promise the poetry will be awesome, or inspiring, or even good. But once upon a time I fancied myself a bit of a bard. So, here goes. Delight and the Word Delight and the Word met in a fever dance under…
-
Textual nightmares: or, some ways you can not suck at editing by learning from my mistakes
Writing novels is not my problem. My output has only improved in the last few years, and I’ve finally moved beyond the whining about not having time, or making every excuse in the world not to write stage. Those were big hurdles for me, and I’m proud of the accomplishment. I generally make my 1K goal every day, with a…
-
GeekDad: Top 10 Geeky Instruments
By way of a wee announcement, my first post is live over at the GeekDad blog. So, even though I’m not a dad, I am a geek… so I’m a GeekMom! I’m really excited to be part of this deliciously geeky group of guys and gals! I know it says it’s by Michael Harrison, but that’ll soon change. Top 10…
-
A note on giving up.
It’s okay. Really it is. Set it aside, take a walk. Go somewhere new; get a cup of coffee. Do some yoga, or scream a little. Writing can be such a pain in the ass, you deserve to take give up for a little while. Or a month. Or a year. Or a few years. Writing, if anything, is a…