Baby steps

The idea of writing a novel seems way too big when you think about it as a whole. But take baby steps, and you'll get there, one tiny shuffle forward at a time. Try not to think of it as a huge project. If you keep thinking you better watch that sword that's hanging over …

Multiple I’s

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is written in first person, from two viewpoints. I don't see how the two stories are related just yet, but I expect it will become clear. Writing two different characters from a first person point of view seems strange. I would be wondering, as a reader, if …

Every writer

"Every writer I know has trouble writing." - Joseph Heller I love seeing quotes like these. Writers tend to be a solitary species, in my experience, so I think can sometimes talk themselves into believing they are terrible, just because they are having a hard time. Well, every writer has a hard time, even the best …

The final stretch

I'm very near to the end of a first draft of my novel, and am having a harder and harder time keeping thoughts of all the hard work ahead at bay. So many things to add, and change, and remove. So many crappy sentences to fix, words to remove, characters to insert and excise. It's …

Character motivation is kind of important

I am currently listening to The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois Mcmaster Bujold, and though it is competently written and the characters are distinct and likable, I am having a hard time getting into it . The problem is it's difficult to care about what's happening when you don't know what the characters want. The story …