As Terry already mentioned, Robert Jordan passed away this week.  This announcement caught me by complete surprise.  You see, I was one of those fans who visited his blog regularly to learn how his health was progressing.  His (and his friend’s and family’s) optimistic entries gave me hope that he would pull out of the terrible tailspin that his health was in. It really made me think about my own writing. But this article isn’t about me (for a change).  It’s about a modern writing master who never got the chance to finish his masterwork. I wasn’t always a fan of Robert Jordan, the man.  That was due to my own ignorance more than his lack.  I remember reading the first […]

I actually had a different topic in mind for this week but things have conspired to adjust my thinking.  Happily the events in question are good ones  . For the past several months I have been toiling (yes, that word accurately reflects my state of mind) at my job.  I’m usually one of those people who tries to bring an upbeat attitude to everything I do (don’t you just hate those people?), but lately that has been nigh on impossible.  I fight to get into a better frame of mind only to have it squashed by the first problem to come along. To say my boiling point was substantially lowered would be a MAJOR understatement.  In fact, it would be safe […]

Once again, I’ve got to tip my hat to my good friend Aaron.  He has inspired me to yet another topic for today.  It’s nice to have it happening again. Before I begin, let me give you a tiny bit of history.  Mr. Kite and I would often grab a coffee together back in the days when we were both employed by the same company.  We would sit and swap story ideas and I would almost always walk away with some great plans for my next post.  Then, Aaron got a better, more satisfying job and our coffee times ended. I miss those days.  Still, contacting each other via technology (and sometimes beer) although less frequent, keeps things on track. Back […]

I know I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again:  “Writing is not a solitary occupation”.  I know that at face value, that statement seems absolutely false, but if I’ve learned one thing since I began contributing to this site, it is that the more people you interact with as a writer, the better your writing seems to get…  and the more fulfillment you begin to feel. When I did Nanowrimo, some of my best writing happened when I was online chatting with some of my peers.  We would have word wars, racing each other to see who could write the most in a short period of time.  Doesn’t sound so exciting maybe, but the really fun thing was seeing everyone […]