“I Write Genre Fiction” — Damn You, Dirty Phrase!
Sam Sykes has a great post about how fantasy fans internalize the belief that the genre defaults to crap. I implore you to read it. It’s good. Really. And it’s because of Sam that I’m writing about the phrase in the title above. Only, I’m coming at it from a different angle. I’m not talking […]
So They Started Young — So What? (A Rant About Authors)
L. B. Gale has an interesting blog post entitled “Fantasy Writers: What We’re Up Against,” in which s/he profiles George R. R. Martin to give fantasy writers an impression of the writing life of one of the greats. We learn, for example, that he won his first award when he was 17 and was nominated […]
Why Electronic Submissions Are Necessary
I asked on Google+ whether folks would be interested in this post. A few people said they were, and so here I am telling you about why people like me (i.e., the poor) need electronic submissions. For a different take on this issue, see Mari Ness’ troubles with accessing a post office due to physical […]
Writing: It’s Really About Winging It
I’ve been following Mark Charan Newton’s blog for some time now. He’s the author of Nights of Villjamur, City of Ruin, and Book of Transformations, an environmental activist, reviewer, and too many other things to put in a post without wandering into random topics. He recently posted an interesting response to a Guardian article about Tobias […]
A Short Story Wants to Get Away From Me
Earlier this week, I started writing a short story entitled “The Girl Who Flew on a Whale” as part of my WISB Podcast project. The story, as my friend Adam Callaway remarked, is a whimsical fantasy for young readers (chapbook level). I’ve always wanted to write a story like this. They’re fun to read and […]
Penelope Lively Says We’re “Bloodless Nerds” (or An Old Hypocrite Speaks)
If you haven’t heard, Booker Prize winner Penelop Lively, age 78, believes people who read books in electronic form are “bloodless nerds.” The article continues with the following: She said that Kindles and other devices to which you can download novels are no substitute for real books and no self-respecting bibliophile should want one. “I […]