It has been a tumultuous week for me. I had the priviledge of interviewing J.C. Hutchins for ‘Get Published’ (GOOD) only to discover that half of the audio is incomprehensible and J.C. is booked solid for the next while (BAD). I am going to try and transcribe the dialogue and re-record it myself, but honestly, how good will a conversation between the same voice be? I’m planning to adjust the voice on J.C.’s side of the conversation just to actually make it sound like a conversation, but still. Then my wife badly injures her hand (VERY BAD) and we spend the next 6+ hours in emergency. Now, just to be clear, I don’t get upset by that sort of thing […]
Read moreCategory: About Writing
Challenge Yourself through Contests
As a writer, I am always looking for a new way to improve my writing skills. I have done this by entering events like NanoWriMo and by doing things like my 30-in-30 short story self-challenge and I think I have attained a modicum of success doing them. Still, I need to keep pushing myself or I will fall back into my bad habits of watching television, playing online games and generally wasting time instead of writing. The problem is, I don’t always have the ambition to come up with something new to try on my own. That’s where writing contests come in. I have entered a writing contest in the past, specifically the “Write a First Chapter” contest put on […]
Read moreWhy Bother Editing?
You have a great idea for a story so you sit down and write it on the nearest paper available. Maybe it’s a napkin in a restaurant, maybe it’s in the margin of the phone book. The important thing is you have written it down. Now what? If you’re like some of the squares out there you will transcribe the story onto a computer. Then you’ll spend a bunch of time proof-reading and editing the story. If you really want to get carried away, you will get someone to read it and check for errors. But that’s only if you’re a square. I mean, really. Your story is obviously a cut above the rest so why bother with all that? […]
Read moreThe Value of Community
The craft of writing can be a solitary one, but it doesn’t have to be. The Internet provides a means to always be connected to friends, family and colleagues. It can also be an enormous time-sink but that is a conversation for another time. I want to talk about the availability of community, both writing and otherwise through the Internet and daily life. Is community really important? I know of writers who prefer to be alone and separated from their writing peers at work and in everyday life and I respect that. I also think those people are missing out on something; the ability to talk the craft and exchange ideas. “What kind of ideas?” you may ask. Well, speaking […]
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