Necessary Excess

Stephen King recommended that after writing the first draft of your story, you should then cut out at least 10% during the initial editing process. This is to deal with the word bloat issues that most writers have. Usually, folks have a tendency to write way more than is necessary; too much dialog, too much description, just too many words. Luckily … Continue reading Necessary Excess →

The Crutch of the Matter

Since I've started working on my series of short stories, writing has become much easier for me. Not necessarily blog entries, since that's a whole other process, but I've now written four or five stories (I lost count), all of which take place in that same world. While I'm digging the ease of writing, but I'm getting … Continue reading The Crutch of the Matter →

Portrait of a Writer’s Block

It is not without trepidition that I start this post. Not because I'm concerned that I'll reveal some deep dark secret, one that will shock the world and cause my friends to abandon me in droves. Nor am I concerned that I'll dissolve in a misty, murky jumble of emotionally driven platitudes and cliches, vomiting … Continue reading Portrait of a Writer’s Block →

Little Green Book

For the first time in a long while, I'm keeping a little notebook to keep stray ideas. In fact, this blog entry started out in the little green book. I've never been one to keep a journal. It's too much stress. I've gotta write in it every day, or it doesn't count. I've gotta scribble … Continue reading Little Green Book →

Sweet Dreams

My subconscious and I have never really gotten along. There's a vicious little bastard running things down there in the darkness and apparently he doesn't like me much. Night after night, he puts together the most twisted shit he can and runs a nightmare double-feature. Which is, in itself, annoying. I would like to get … Continue reading Sweet Dreams →

Sparked

For the last few months I've been feeling uninspired with regards to my writing. I haven't worked on a new story idea in months. Instead, I've been focusing on either editing stories, or rewriting stories I wrote years ago in the hopes that they could be salvaged. It's been a long stagnant period that I … Continue reading Sparked →

Pitfalls

There are two huge issues that I deal with when I'm writing, both of them dealing with me thinking too much. One happens immediately after I finish a story. Every story starts off as an idea in my head. I know, you're shocked. The process of the story going from my head to the computer … Continue reading Pitfalls →

Rejection

Whenever I submit to a new place, I never get hung up on the possibility of being rejected. This is not the result of colossal arrogance or an ego that would dwarf this or any other solar system, but rather that I understand this is all part of the process. If I'm going to write, … Continue reading Rejection →

Blogging

Pretty much every piece of writing advice I've read has sternly recommended that, in order to be a writer, one has to write as often as possible. A writer must exercise that muscle frequently or it begins to atrophy. This means a painful, uphill battle everytime he or she wants to get to work. Blogging … Continue reading Blogging →