I finished, recorded, and edited a new Not About Lumberjacks story these past two weeks. (I’ve been doing a weekly writing update on the Not About Lumberjacks blog, by the way; in fact, there’s a new entry there right now…) The story I planned to release in October needs more time. So…I had a vague […]
Twelve Years…
Twelve years ago I wrote this — the first Juggling Writer entry. Since then, the blog has gone from lists and “actionable” things to reflections on being a writer with a day job. The Past Year (In Juggling Writer Time) The past year has definitely been a mix of juggling writing with a day job […]
The Problem with Writing Historical Fiction
The novel I finished late last autumn takes place from 1923 – 1941. It is the first of several novels chronicling the protagonist’s life. I’ve started working on the second novel and…I ran into a problem. The Best Laid Plans… I planned to have a major character do a certain thing in the beginning of […]
The Benefits of Not Writing
There is a point between bigger projects when I decide to not actively write. It is a time to gather pieces of the next bigger story; it is a time to let new ideas bubble up. The Rush When I chat with people about their day jobs — whether they work outside, in warehouses, or […]
Gathering the Pieces
Before I became a technical writer, I was a billing analyst. The best thing about the job was having constant access to adding machines with long rolls of paper. (Although my wife would disagree…more on that in a moment…) If I had a thought about a story at work, I wrote it on adding machine […]
On Criticism
It’s not uncommon in corporate America to be in a meeting and hear the dreaded, “Let’s go around the table and see what everyone thinks.” Soon, an otherwise good idea is watered down or killed by committee because everyone has a say–even those who are anything but experts about the concept or product. I suppose […]
First Drafts
I’m not one to make many sweeping proclamations. Anything I write about here always comes with a sense of, “This is just what works for me, and if it helps others: great!” Like any kind of advice, writing advice can be a hit for some and a miss for others. One thing I see touted […]
In the Middle of the Night
I usually get 7 – 8 hours of sleep each night. But sometimes, usually near the end of a big writing project, my normal schedule falls away and I find myself filling gaps of time by writing. This means sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and write. A [Not So] Good […]
Question Everything
Ideas are easy to come by if you don’t crowd your head with distractions. Ideas are even easier to come by if you question everything. The Slow Turn The other day while driving home from a store, a pickup truck in front of me made a very slow turn. It was ridiculously s…l…o…w. (I’ve been […]
My Most Hated Literary Rule
I would not say I am contradictory for the sake of itself, but if I don’t believe in a rule, it’s unlikely I will follow it. From a societal standpoint, the way I look at most things conforms with most social mores — so I am a law-abiding citizen. But if I didn’t generally believe […]
Spartan Spaces
In two and a half weeks, I will be writing at a very spartan table on a very hard wooden chair. For a long weekend, I’ll be writing in silence in a cabin in East Texas, seated across from a best friend, while he does the same. This year marks the 5th year of the […]
The Writing Timeline
It’s been a month since I posted something, here… That usually means I’m swamped with day job work or…that I’m writing what I’d rather be writing. I’m pleased to say it’s the latter… The Timeline The current book is the first of three. As I wade through this rewrite, I needed a way to see […]
Writing Lessons from a Favorite Art Blog
I’ve mentioned many times that artists inspire the way I look at writing as much as other writers. One of my favorite art blogs is Muddy Colors, where I’ll stop what I’m doing in the morning to read whatever Greg Ruth writes about and shares. Maybe there’s something in a name, because another favorite contributor […]
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