One of the skills a writer should be able to develop, if they’re not naturally good at it, is to be able to predict an outcome based on several circumstances. It’s crucial in order to get a story to flow naturally. Forcing an outcome that is not naturally dictated by events is disastrous; readers will …
I‘ve noticed that I tend to write about every day life or ideas instead of my actual writing process. The ‘why’ of the whole thing takes precedence over the ‘how’. Lots of writers seem in love with the ‘how’, like the way they write is somehow special or more important than the way this other …
Not that anyone’s counting (well–except me), but I have now, to date, “finished” over eight manuscripts (of mostly crap). That is–eight full-length novels, numbering at least 50,000 words each. Most are closer to or over 100,000 words. Note that I am also not counting manuscripts I haven’t officially ‘ended’–I have a few more of those …
I finished Aina’s Breath, the sequel to Jaeth’s Eye, this weekend. Finished it, despite a full-time job, kids, personal stress, and other things. I’m not sure how. I think I’ve acquired a permanent tic in my eye, and my fingers have been shaking more than usual, and I’ve significantly forgotten what it was like to …
Sometimes, I curse the day I decided to become an epic fantasy writer. Even though I know exactly who to blame (Christopher Paolini), it’s one of those, “…in hindsight…” moments. See, the thing is, I am very, very stubborn. I am the kind of person who says something and then–unless I absolutely feel like I …
