My favorite season has arrived! While it’s usually in the 90s in north Texas on the first day of fall, today’s low was in the upper 50s. Windows are open, and everything smells wonderful. It’s funny how the change of a season and the weather can affect something like writing. A New Start Businesses have […]
Archives for 2011
All Writing Looks the Same
Readers liked the last video I did for The Juggling Writer, so here’s another — this time, about how all writing, physically, looks relatively the same. When you think about it, there’s not much difference in the look of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Snooki’s A Shore Thing…but they are definitely different books! […]
A Change in Writing Plans?
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;” — Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken” I ended up doing more day job writing this weekend than […]
Bending the Rules of Research
Wednesday, I wrote about a problem some writers have when researching things. Like so many behind-the-scenes things about writing, all the effort that goes into writing a novel should be transparent to the reader. I did quite a bit of research for my latest novel, Promise (sneak peek, here), but most of what I learned […]
20-Sided Ideas
I was playing Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) with a friend when the US Olympic hockey team beat the Russians. We paused for a moment to watch the Miracle on Ice unfold — then we promptly returned to slaying orcs and kobolds… I grew up in northern Illinois. When I was a little older and went […]
A Problem With Writing Research
“A man will turn over half a library to make one book.” – Samuel Johnson I like making up most of what I write. Where possible, everything comes from my head. When I have to research, I try to spend the least bit of time researching and focus on the story I want to tell. […]
Speak Out With Your Geek Out – Juggling
Monica Valentinelli is the reason I started a 30-day social media break that became 50 days (and is now 100 days). She’s also one of the minds behind Speak Out With Your Geek Out, an online celebration of geeky hobbies. (There’s also a SOWYGO Tumblr page.) In an entry on the blog listing some ideas […]
A Month Without Social Media
Originally, tomorrow morning would have been the day — the day that I went back to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Four weeks ago on my personal Facebook account, I mentioned that I was thinking about taking a 30-day social media break. Friends dared me to do it, and 30 days became 50. After being dared […]
Random Writing-ish Bits
First, a big thank you to everybody who wished The Juggling Writer a happy birthday yesterday. I almost broke my 50-day social media break and replied to somebody on Twitter. I found out that Dubé Juggling Equipment wished The Juggling Writer a happy birthday on their Twitter feed. Forgive the Geek Drool Some people get […]
The Juggling Writer Turns Two
If The Juggling Writer were a child, it would be on the cusp of tearing around with the energy of a caffeinated Chihuahua, making as much noise as it can. It would demand attention: “IF YOU DON’T LISTEN TO ME, I’LL GET EVEN LOUDER!!!” It would throw tantrums, but have also reached a point where […]
Lean and Mean Writing
My father had a thing for British motorcycles — particularly Triumphs. In the 70s, he had a Bonneville and a custom Trident. He loved stripping down a factory bike and turning it into a cafe racer. (Okay, so the Trident eventually became a drag bike.) There was always something neat to me about British bikes. […]
How I Take Notes
I’m a huge fan of notebooks. It’s a rare moment that I’m more than 20 feet away from a 5″ x 7″ Mead notebook. For those times I am without a notebook, I have my iPhone. As big a fan of being able to catch thoughts as they come to me, I don’t have a […]
Labor (Day) of Love
It’s Labor Day in the states — a day in honor of people who had enough back in the late 19th century and demanded better working conditions; a day when we celebrate summer coming to a close with a long weekend away from work. But I like to work on Labor Day. Oh, I’m sure […]
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