Tag Archives: writing

Dear Writers, Welcome the New Year with Change

Posted on January 1, 2014 by

Hey, it’s 2014! I have a lot to look forward to, like a royalty statement that will definitively answer the question, “How’s Elisha Barber doing?” And the release of Elisha Magus in July, which I’ll be sure to talk lots … Continue reading →

Posted in character development, essays, fantasy, writing, writing advice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Clarity of Writing, Thanks to Charlemagne

Posted on November 14, 2013 by

When I’m writing for the web, one of the things I keep in mind is to note the length of my paragraphs. Too long, and readers’ eyes will simply glaze over. We seem willing to focus a little longer on … Continue reading →

Posted in medieval, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sowing the Seeds of the Perfect End

Posted on June 19, 2013 by

I recently submitted a story to an online journal, and received some feedback from the editor, a couple of changes she wanted to see: first, the character’s motivation was unclear, second, the ending didn’t work. Well, motivation’s not too hard, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, character development, editing, fiction, revision, writing, writing process | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fantastic Beginnings: taking it slow, with Carol Berg

Posted on May 22, 2013 by

I have recently started reading Transformation, the first of the Book of Rai-kirah, by Carol Berg. I met the author on a panel about torturing your characters and recognized each other as kindred spirits. She’s actually the first person both … Continue reading →

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Respecting Dan Brown

Posted on May 16, 2013 by

If you read Elisha Barber all the way to the end, you’ll find an Acknowledgements page. One of the first names on that page is Dan Brown. Yep, the same author everyone’s talking about this week, with the release of … Continue reading →

Posted in books, fiction, medieval, writing, writing series | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hack Writers and Falconry: What’s the connection?

Posted on March 13, 2013 by

One of the most popular sports of the Middle Ages was falconry, the art of training a bird of prey to hunt on its master’s behalf. There are places today, like the New Hampshire School of Falconry, where you can … Continue reading →

Posted in etymology, history, medieval, research, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Drowning in the Seas of Knowledge: Social Media World-building

Posted on December 12, 2012 by

This has been my week to make a stab at getting my act together on-line.  The end of the year is approaching fast, I’d hate to miss out on my resolutions.  So now my blog has widgets, my Facebook page … Continue reading →

Posted in book promotion, essays, medieval, personal, social media | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Three-act Structure Eureka!

Posted on November 28, 2012 by

Okay, I’ve heard about the three-act structure for quite some time, from a variety of sources, and had it sketched out for me in at least one workshop.  Quite frankly, it didn’t seem all that relevant.  But I finally picked … Continue reading →

Posted in writing, writing process, writing series | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Writer’s Blech

Posted on November 7, 2012 by

Over the weekend, I had a chance to talk with a writer-friend about one of the problems we all seem to face:  the moment we realize the work-in-progress (WIP) is, in fact, crap.  I think there is at least one … Continue reading →

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It was a Dark and Stormy Night. . .

Posted on October 31, 2012 by

Those of us in the Northeast are bracing right now for the “storm of the century” (yep, another one), and thinking about that old saw on New England Weather, if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.  Me, … Continue reading →

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