Yesterday, I wrote about the best books I read this year. Today I’m writing about the most important thing I read this year… I usually don’t ask the people who follow the things I do online to do things for me. I feel that content is a gift, and if I’m creating it in the […]
Archives for 2014
My Favorite Book(s) of the Year
It was a good reading year, but isn’t every year a good reading year? Since I didn’t write as many Juggling Writer entries in 2014 to merit the usual, “Best Of…” monthly breakdown I decided, instead, to write about some of my favorite books of the year: a novel, a work of non-fiction, and an […]
The Perfect Office
Most writers I know dream of three kinds of offices: the mahogany office that doubles as a library, a room that looks like the Bomb of Eclecticism went off in the middle of the room, and the minimalist office that looks like something out of an issue of Zen Writer magazine. (If Zen Writer magazine […]
Wooden Writing
I recently read an article about publishers hunting for blockbusters. It’s an interesting article, but what struck me most was this comment (by Gizella) about what many books lack: Perhaps it’s because a great story needs a background of compelling conflict, and in our peaceful, Western, materially rich, and mostly liberal societies, conflicts are muted, […]
In Special Places
We all have our places — locations that make the speed of everyday life seem to fall away and remind us that when we slow down, the things we love best are easier to do. It’s not just about writing, but for the sake of this entry, that is what I’m talking about: those places […]
Books…and the Movies They [Sometimes] Become
This is where the unwritten law of the Internet dictates that I say, “Spoilers ahead!” because I’m talking about The Hobbit book, which has been around since 1937. With the book being around 77 years, if I said, “Thorin, Fili, and Kili die in the book,” is it really a spoiler? It’s an old book […]
The Way I Buy Books These Days
If you looked at the bookshelves in the apartment where I live, you’d probably think I’m fairly well read, or that I at least read more than most people. But for a writer, you might think, There should be more books here… Most Books I’ve Bought… Most books I’ve bought over the years are on […]
Commercial Writing vs. Art
I’ve seen quite a few people (writers) share this quote from Ursula Le Guin’s acceptance speech at the National Book Awards. (Le Guin received the medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.): Right now, we need writers who know the difference between production of a market commodity and the practice of an art. Developing written […]
Light in the Dark
In recent months, the goal has been simple: finish the first draft of the current novel by year’s end. It’s an ambitious goal, and it may be more like, “The current novel will be finished by the end of the first month of the year,” but the point is this: I’m close! And in that […]
The (Other) Juggling Writer
A friend pointed out that I am not the only Juggling Writer out there. I know many jugglers who also write — we’re all juggling writers. In this particular case, though, I’m talking Capital-J Capital-W Juggling Writer. From what I can tell, Nathaniel’s had his Juggling Writer site for a couple years. I’m a couple […]
Sticking to a Writing Plan
One day not so long ago, while working on a novel, I came to this conclusion: This would be much better as three novels. So that’s what I did. No longer was A Magic Life going to be just one book — it was now going to be three. And as I near the end […]
The Distracted Writer
I saw this recently — a word processor mimicking a typewriter that promises distraction-free writing. Some writers use old, manual typewriters — and not just in the pursuit of hipsterdom, but to avoid distractions. Others grab a pen and paper and write longhand manuscripts. On Sunday, I listened to this great interview with Robin Sloan […]
Writing as Hospitality
Yesterday morning, I finished a big release at work. Of all the writing I do, technical writing pays the most bills. I write for a software company that serves the hospitality industry. Hospitality I like hotels. A lot. Even tiny motels where people try their best with what they have. I will always remember a […]