Category Archives: writing advice

The Scooby-Doo Monster Effect, part 2: The Rubber Suit

Posted on July 13, 2011 by

In my last Scooby-inspired post, I noted that there were a couple of problems with the Scooby monsters and talked about the convenience factor in plotting.  I noted in passing that the other issue hinges on transportation.  Well, not just … Continue reading →

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The Scooby-Doo Monster Effect

Posted on July 8, 2011 by

Okay, so maybe it’s been a while since you watched Scooby-doo.  (Maybe you watched it this morning–but I won’t tell anyone).  But you probably recall the basic structure of the program:  The Mystery Kids show up someplace.  They find a … Continue reading →

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The Albino’s Wheelbarrow: Taking Inventory of your Fiction Assets

Posted on June 13, 2011 by

There’s a fun moment in “The Princess Bride” when Inigo is talking Wesley (who has been mostly dead all day) into assaulting the palace–armed only with Fezzik’s strength, Inigo’s steel, and Wesley’s brain.  Against 60 men.  Wesley is not impressed. … Continue reading →

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Blah, blah, blah: Exposition and You

Posted on May 5, 2011 by

As authors we want readers to understand our books.  That seems like a given in genre fiction, anyway.  We may want to be distant, obscure, or sneaky, but ultimately, we’d like people to get it. In writing mimetic fiction (that … Continue reading →

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Talking with Nancy Fulda, winner of the Jim Baen Memorial Award

Posted on April 18, 2011 by

Nancy Fulda is an up-and-coming author with some great short fiction out there, and a novel in progress–often based on some very interesting science ideas. 1.  What was the inception of the project you’re most excited about?  What were your … Continue reading →

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How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love my Outline

Posted on April 3, 2011 by

I have not always been an outliner. Like many, I had a superstitious fear of revealing the endings of stories, even to myself, for fear that it would suck the joy out of writing them.  Rather I was, as the … Continue reading →

Posted in fantasy, fiction, writing advice, writing process, writing series | 4 Comments

The Immersion Method for Fantasy

Posted on March 16, 2011 by

When it came time to work on the series again, after a lapse of a couple of years from the original drafts, I was a bit concerned about how I would get involved and return to the mindset of the … Continue reading →

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