Over Christmas time I re-listened to Going Postal and Making Money (Terry Pratchett). One of the reasons I love the audiobooks for Pratchett is his play on words. Pratchett doesn't just use the English language. Pratchett abuses it in the best of ways, and his reader does a brilliant job capturing that. I also recently re-read… Continue reading Writing: Auditory reading
Category: Writing
Writing: Urban Fantasy
I've tried a few times to write urban fantasy. I find it less than fun even when I like my idea/character/etc. I recently was re-reading something I had written (in this genre) and reached the "damn, I wish I had finished this - I want to read the ending!" (of which there isn't one) point.… Continue reading Writing: Urban Fantasy
Writing: Why is it a “Pilot”
I work in tech, and you hear a lot about "alpha builds" and "beta testing" and "pilot programs" - and the first two make perfect sense. Alpha is first, beta is second. It's "pilot" that caught my attention the other day. Why DO we call it a pilot? TV shows have "pilot" episodes. We have… Continue reading Writing: Why is it a “Pilot”
Writing: To Camp or Not to Camp
I have been writing every day most days for the past two weeks. It has felt wonderful and it makes me kind of want to push for a "50,000 words in 30 days" sort of month in June. I'm afraid to try as well because I will be returning to my daytime job from maternity… Continue reading Writing: To Camp or Not to Camp
Writing: World Building vs. Plot
I'm going to confess. When I am plotting or world building the two tend to get very intermixed. I use my world building to help me define plot points and when I have a plot point I want to get to, I use the world to make it happen. I call this the troll-inn-escape. It's… Continue reading Writing: World Building vs. Plot
Writing: Fanfiction or Not?
One of the blogs I really love is called QueryShark, an agent who will publicly dissect peoples' query letters and gives advice. And puts it online to help everyone else see what they did right/wrong in their query letters. I find it very informative! Most of the time there is an idea to be supportive… Continue reading Writing: Fanfiction or Not?
Writing: PVP vs. PVE
I am going to crossover my gaming and my writing. Let me begin by defining these two acronymns for any non-gamers. PVE is "Player vs. Environment" - almost all single-player games can be put in this category (I know if I say "all" someone will point out an exception - though I can't think of… Continue reading Writing: PVP vs. PVE
Writing: Death of the Author (Part 2)
Click here to read Part 1 Wondering why there is a part 2? Because I think this actually goes beyond merely literary critique. Let's take an example: The Bible. One of the big areas I see this is around homosexuality. And it makes me see a little cross-eyed because every verse that gets brought up… Continue reading Writing: Death of the Author (Part 2)
Writing: Death of the Author (Part 1)
This has been on my mind a lot lately. For a lot of reasons. The premise of the original essay (Roland Barthes, 1967) is that the author should be excluded when considering a work of art. You shouldn't talk about Beethoven being deaf. You shouldn't talk about Sylvia Plath having severe depression and committing suicide.… Continue reading Writing: Death of the Author (Part 1)
Writing: Women are automatically YA Writers???
This came up when a friend asked for women of color or women writers' books. So I pulled out my goodreads and gave a few suggestions. I included Dragon Pearl because- well because I kind of loved it and I want a bazillion people to read it. I made a comment "YA but doesn't feel like it."… Continue reading Writing: Women are automatically YA Writers???
Dream by Day 