Tag: writer’s life

Genre Writing is Like Playing Jazz

JAZZ BOOKS (002)You have to try a new genre in order to find out what genre writing is all about. I did that recently, and here are some thoughts that resulted.

My Story

I have been a Sci-Fi fan since I was about 10 years old. I cut my teeth on Andre Norton, Robert Heinlein, and Isaac Asimov, so the genre runs deep in my subconscious. But I have never written a Science Fiction novel.

So in the depths of the winter of 2018, when we had no snow and no sun and I was heavily submerged in Seasonal Affective Disorder, I decided to make a change. I would write some Sci-Fi. Nothing fancy. Just a fun Space Opera, with spaceships and artificial intelligence and…well, I decided to keep it simple and have no aliens. I was just starting out, after all.

A Warning from Another Art Form Continue reading “Genre Writing is Like Playing Jazz”

Making Time to Write When There’s No Time

juggler-1938709_640Back in October, I think I put many readers in a tailspin over how I manage to run a large farm, and the joys of when things don’t go your way. This month, (on the advice of our fearless leader, Kat) I’ll tell you how I do manage to get words on “paper” when there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day. Without further ado, let’s get to it: Continue reading “Making Time to Write When There’s No Time”

How Do I Know if My Writing…. Sucks?

does my writing suck little-girl-3399737_960_720This article has two purposes: The first is to discuss a specific question. The question, in its most simple form, is how do you know whether your writing is any good? Specifically, are you good enough to publish your first book and expect to be able to attract and satisfy readers and, if you aren’t, how do you figure out what areas to focus on improving to get there? Continue reading “How Do I Know if My Writing…. Sucks?”

Some Alternatives to NaNoWriMo

Every November, tons of writers and would-be-writers set out to take part in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). The concept is simple: in the span of one month, write a 50,000-word novel.

While many flock to this concept as a way to have an ultra-productive November, some writers resist. For example, I find the forced word count of NaNoWriMo causes me to write junk just to fulfill the word count. And that is not particularly helpful if you want to write a good novel.

If NaNo just isn’t your thing, yet you’d still like to take November and use it as a month for productivity, I thought I’d offer some alternatives to NaNoWriMo. Continue reading “Some Alternatives to NaNoWriMo”