Pace, Friend or Foe?

About a year ago I sat down at a table with a large number of authors, some published, some not. We talked about everything, our writing successes, hopes, and failures. Toward the end of the meal, someone hit on a subject that proved a hot button for many of us. The topic in question regarded …
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Secret benefits of NaNoWriMo

Last week I said I’d write about NaNoWriMo, that whirlwind of writing activity centered around churning out a novel in 30 days. A year ago I actually pulled it off without registering, as I wanted to see if such a thing could be done, if I could do such a thing. At the end of …
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OH! SAVE ME! SAVE ME! The Hero Model

Some say there is only one story ever written. It’s rearranged, maybe some parts are omitted, some may dominate, but in the end it’s always the same. You can throw in a few best friends, a love interest, a unique setting, but it’s still the same story. According to American scholar Joseph Campbell, this pattern …
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The Call of the Wild and How Writers Respond.

I’ve always felt the call of the wild, that deep magnetic draw to be outside. The feeling stuck with me even after bad times, days when Mother Nature let me know she held all the cards. Like when I lost my footing while backpacking and tumbled down an embankment, or when a Tarantula Hawk sting …
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BOO! Did I Scare You? Writing the antagonist

Halloween is the perfect time to write about the antagonist: the bad guy, the killer, the malevolent force who’ll make your protagonist’s life pure hell. The trick here is to write an antagonist who is strong enough to make you root for the protagonist. When I wrote my first novel, I knew that Lucifer would …
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Into the Wild Part II

In the last few weeks, I’ve spent a great deal of time thinking about nature. And zoning laws! And bureaucratic stupidity. Well maybe not stupidity, let’s be kind and call it arrogance, or kinder still, ignorance. Can sugar-coating turn a bitter truth into candy? Or change how we as a species, deliberately, with planning and …
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Into the Wild: Creating Nature Settings

For urban dwellers, nature sits apart. Most of us only see the spare, diminished nature of city parks and backyard gardens. Even these natural settings we relegate to the rear of our consciousness as we focus on the conditions around us, the cars in the street, our work cubical, a much-needed trip to the grocery …
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Those who can’t do, teach: the cliche that misses the point

All cliches have a kernel of accuracy; they are like stereotypes, and can be just as damaging or disparaging. A dancer who’s too old for the stage; a writer who must supplement her income while she continues to chase publication. The belief, those who can’t do, teach, rests on the premise that an artist who is …
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10 Tips To Survive The Starving Artist Lifestyle

I’ve been living the life of a starving artist for a decade and a half. I’ve never had a steady salary job. I don’t have a trust fund. My average income is $20,000/year. Basically, I work just enough to get by and spend the rest of my time writing. Which will pay off. It already …
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