Wasteland Gods was my first novel, and so when I first began writing it, I had already taken a huge leap out of my comfort zone, which at the time was short stories. Generally speaking, there is no right or wrong way of doing anything so long as you succeed at doing it. The method…
I get asked all kinds of questions about my writing: “What kind of tree would you be if you were a tree?” “What animal best describes your writing style?” “What color best describes you?” I had a good deal of trouble with that last one. Dearheart, my wife, assures me I’m orange—a burnt, dark, orange…
If you want to vote in the affirmative, would you vote eye, aye, or I? Would you put a needle through an eyelet or an islet? Would you put eyes, ayes, or ice in your drink? If you say something in a joking manner, are you being facetious or factious? Is a pseudonym a factitious…
I recently finished my sixth draft of a new novel, which takes place in the Iraq war. I’m ready to show it to agents as I look for new representation. At the recent AWP Conference in Los Angeles, I attended a panel called “Agents on Agenting,” where afterward I asked Noah Ballard, an agent at…
Describing a character in your story is usually an easy task. After all, you can see the character clearly in your mind. It’s as if this person is real and standing right in front of you. He might even speak to you, allowing you to hear the sound of his voice. Let’s say, in this…
A teacher of English literature was lecturing a class of adolescents on one of the syllabus’s prescribed modern novels. She selected a short passage which included the following two sentences: “Vanessa’s passage was impeded by the building’s front door. The door was blue.” She read the sentences aloud and said to the class, “What did…
If I were to have a nightmare, I’m pretty sure that it would be about commas. There are so many rules about how to use this little punctuation mark correctly that it can drive a person insane. Some of these rules are easy to remember though. What is a comma splice? Splice means to join…
New ideas for characters, all wrapped up and ready to be written about, present themselves when you read about strange things in the news. Never would I have thought about creating a character who believed she was a cat, at least not until I ran across this gem—The Slippery Slope Is Here: Woman Says She…
Does chicken noodle soup help get rid of coals or colds? Would you store your valuables in a coffer or in a cougher? Is a football game played in a coliseum or a Colosseum? coalition, collation A coalition is a union or temporary alliance between persons, groups, factions, etc. A coalition between the two teams was needed…
When you read, the words should magically teleport you to another land, time, or universe filled with other people, animals, or creatures. You lose yourself in a fantasy world and live vicariously through someone, maybe even something, else. The enchanting art of teleportation needs to be used as you write. Put yourself in the place…
