Wherein I philosophize about how we progress as writers in our art…
Progression
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writing
Writing outside the box
So, I accidentally wrote a short story when I should have been working on the last book of the Daemonva trilogy. I'm sure everyone who's waiting for it is really disappointed right now... all two of you. Truth be told, I'm not even waiting for this book. I've grown to...
All Art is Political
All art is political. I would venture to say that, even further, art is inescapably political; every single part of it, from conception to production to end product, is imbued with politics and privilege. Our ability to create art is shaped by our political...
The work is flawed
That's all I have to say. The work is flawed. By 'work', I mean my current novel, which is Book 3 of the Daemonva trilogy. By 'flawed', I mean that it has issues; deep, glaring issues that make me want to take it outside and burn it. It is flawed, and I can't see a...
The Rules of Excellent Exposition: A Guide
After another productive conversation with one of my most esteemed friends, I got to thinking about exposition. Funnily enough, I believe I have quite a bit to say about exposition, mostly in the context of novel-writing. Brace yourself, because this is going to be a...
The Art of Criticism
After a conversation with another esteemed writer friend, I got to thinking about criticism, and how we as authors should parse it when it's given. It's a funny thing, really. Most of us are terrified of it because it can strike so deeply, but it's absolutely required...
The White Saviour Narrative
So you've got this native people, okay, and they are "more in tune with nature" and therefore have no indoor toilets or shoes, and they have Issues, man. Issues that are usually insurmountable for them (because they don't have access to modern plumbing, of course) but...
Nanowrimo is done
The Nameless Knight Nanowrimo stats I'm exhausted and I've written about ten thousand words in, oh, two and a half days. But the first raw draft of The Nameless Knight is done. It's DONE, it's done done done DONEDONEDONEDONEDONE AAAAAHHHHH!Don't be scared, this is a...
The Importance of Tea
This has nothing to do with bookbinding or swordfighting or writing, I know, but frankly I like to indulge myself sometimes. It's 9am, I'm sleep-deprived, and right now the cause of that is only seven months old, and snoozing in bed and getting the shut-eye that I so...
Cover Reveal: The Meldling
So you know how I was talking about sticking with one WP theme for a while? Yeah. That didn't last. I realized that I was never really going to be happy unless I got a theme that I really, truly loved, and the theme I had just wasn't it. So I spent the weekend...
Defeating Procrastination
My author friends, let us talk about procrastination. We are all guilty of this. We sit down to write, and suddenly the laundry waiting to be done looks inviting, or we get the urge to vacuum all the things. It is our nemesis! And a wily foe it is, ever creeping into...
Better Writing Through Tabletop RPGs
Everyone asks, how can I become a better writer? The answers are usually something like: read more books in the genre you're writing, write as much as you can, get feedback from other writers and readers. Yes, you should do all those things, and they will make you a...