I have seen and heard the question asked, “How do you write?” The answer I hear most often is, it depends on the writer. Some writers are planners, some discover their writing as they go. For me? The best answer I can give is, “It depends.” For example, when JR Murdock and I are preparing to write our Jack Kane novels (one of which is published already and another is being worked on) we plot and plan to the nth degree. When I write my Mik Murdoch books (again, two published and one at the publisher) I do a combination of the two. I plot high level, getting more granular on the two or three chapters I’m immediately faced with. […]
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Doldrums
Every once in a while, and for me it is usually the beginning of summer, we experience a drop in productivity or energy or motivation to do the things that are important for us. In my case, I think it happens when it does because I’ve just finished a major project (or two) and I need some down-time to relax and rejuvenate. The problem with doing this (definitely for me) is getting back out of relaxation mode and moving into productivity mode. I call this period my doldrums; basically, I know I need to get busy because I have lots of things on-the-go or coming up but I don’t have the momentum to get working on them. That lack of […]
Read moreThe Challenge: #7X7X7X7
One of my TwitterFriends, that magnificent bastard Argyle Hartley, recently invited me to take the #7x7x7x7 challenge. I have magnanimously accepted! The rules are: you post the next 7 lines after the 7th line on the 7th page of a work in progress and then invite 7 other writers to do the same. Sounds pretty simple, so here it is. 7 lines from my adult, sci-fi comedy serial, Champ McKay, Texas Space Ranger. The woman laughed. “Well, Ranger. You aren’t in Texas anymore. You are a little out of your jurisdiction.” “My jurisdiction extends out into the territories too,” I protested. I wasn’t about to let this purple woman confuse the issue. She nodded. “That would be very well and good if we were […]
Read moreBusy Brain
Being a creative person is usually a good thing…except when I have too many ideas percolating in my brain. Then, being creative merely means I’m a person with insomnia. I go to bed, try to shut down and my mind kicks into overdrive. Sleep? That only happens after every idea and scenario have played themselves out. To make matters worse, the ideas really aren’t ones I can use. At least, not right now. I already have more projects on the go than I probably should. More new ideas just add to the angst I feel at not spending more time writing on the ones I have. And they distract from the stories I’m trying to write; all that brainwork isn’t helping […]
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