I can’t remember where I first heard about the Rifters Trilogy by Peter Watts. It may have been on a message board or one of the many reader/writer blogs I follow. I heard it was different, unique, not your regular science fiction plot. I filed the information away with the plan to pick up the… Continue reading Deep-Sea Sci-Fi
Gestation
Ideas for stories come in all shapes and sizes. There are times when a story pops into my head almost fully formed. They’re rare, but it happens. It's usually when I’m drifting off to sleep at night and I have to force myself to turn on the lamp next to my side of the bed,… Continue reading Gestation
And now the second chapter…
I've now started work on rewriting the second chapter of my novel. The first chapter went better than I expected, so I feel like I have momentum behind me. My concern was having a strong opening to the story, something that would draw the reader in, get them interested, make them want to know more.… Continue reading And now the second chapter…
Talking about dialogue
Arguably one of the most difficult aspects of writing fiction is creating realistic dialogue. The problem lies in the fact that everyone speaks differently, with subtle nuances like slang, pronunciation, and accents. It’s easy enough to pick up on these things when you’re listening to someone speak. In writing, however, it’s difficult to convey those… Continue reading Talking about dialogue
Novel Update
I’m working on the second draft of my first novel and, well, I’m making progress. Slow progress, but progress. I’ve been working on the first chapter for about a week now, trying to get it just right. The first chapter is where the first impression is made and I want to make sure I pull… Continue reading Novel Update
A different kind of beast
I’m working on the second draft of my novel and I’m finding it…challenging. This is my first long-form story and it’s much different from the short story format. The first draft took a few months, but it went better than I expected. I created a rough outline of each chapter, a character list to keep… Continue reading A different kind of beast
Inspiration – Music
I’ve previously written about listening to music when writing, but for this post I want to write about music as inspiration. I think most people use music as background noise when going about their daily lives, or as a distraction when doing something boring – like driving to work, toiling away in the office cubicles,… Continue reading Inspiration – Music
Is Bad Fiction Good?
The consensus opinion is that in order to be a good fiction writer I must read well-written fiction. The idea is that I'm exposing myself to the best and should, in turn, absorb some positive influence from it, making me a better writer. Sure, I can see that to a degree, but does that mean… Continue reading Is Bad Fiction Good?
The Solitary Writer
I realize I'm showing my age with this post, but I feel the need to comment on how things have changed for writers. Previously, I wrote about how much easier it is now to find and submit to magazines and journals than it was twenty-five years ago. What occurred to me this past weekend was… Continue reading The Solitary Writer
The Cold Open
What’s more important, a strong first line or a strong first paragraph? I posed this question on Twitter the other day and received an amazing number of responses (and retweets). There were a variety of replies, but the consensus opinion was that a strong opening paragraph was more important. I agree, despite the fact that,… Continue reading The Cold Open