For long-term readers of mine, this list may be as notable for who isn't on it as for who is. The decisionmaking process on this was… difficult, to say the least. In the end, I had to go with my immediate gut reactions and leave out many, many heroes who certainly rank high in my personal pantheon. Do not take the absence of a character to mean I don't appreciate them as a great hero and example; there are many such who simply don't quite reach this top ten… or who might reach it on a different day. #10: [ Continue reading... ]
Music and Writing
April 28, 2014 By Leave a Comment
One of the key elements of the way in which I write is that I must have music playing. Quiet – as in dead silence – intrudes on my consciousness. I write best when I have sound that helps evoke emotions in me, so that I can try to evoke emotion in my words. This has naturally evolved into a habit of constructing a "soundtrack" for my books as I go along. In many cases the soundtrack becomes quite detailed, with a dozen or even two dozen tracks each representing a character, piece of the setting, or event. This helps me keep [ Continue reading... ]
The Mechanics of (My) Writing
April 23, 2014 By Leave a Comment
I often get asked various questions about how I write, what my approach to writing is, how long it takes,and so on. This piece tries to cover all of these questions. The simplest way to describe how I write is the wiseass version: I sit down, open my computer, bring up the file, and write until I run out of story or time. Naturally, it's not quite so simple as that. If I know what I'm writing – that is, I have the plotline clear in my head and I know the characters and so on – it can be about that simple. For the [ Continue reading... ]
Musings on “Internet Piracy”
April 14, 2014 By Leave a Comment
I have something of an unusual perspective on intellectual property infringement of the type that's called "piracy". First, I put that word in quotes because I dislike it. It is an inadequate and inaccurate description of the problem which both romanticizes and exaggerates it. The word "piracy" in modern ears usually (especially in the sheltered civilized areas where real pirates, who still exist in some of the seas of the world, don't prowl) evokes a dashing, romantic imagery of swashbuckling action and cheerful [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien
April 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. There may be no other modern work which has so completely defined and then overshadowed a genre as The Lord of the Rings. Written by John Ronald [ Continue reading... ]
Convention Report: Guest of Honor at Lunacon 2014
April 2, 2014 By Leave a Comment
"Guest of Honor": three words I honestly never expected to hear applied to myself, and I frequently remarked on that during Lunacon. But invited as GoH I was, and so last weekend (the 14th through 16th) I was at Lunacon in Rye Brook, NY. Note: in the following piece I'll try to link to the people or places mentioned, but in some cases I can't find or am not sure of an appropriate link. I posed some problems at the last minute to the con staff, who rose to the occasion magnificently. The people who had been [ Continue reading... ]
Posting will resume soon…
March 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Unfortunately, this weekend I' ve been hit with some kind of eye infection (going to the doc this morning) so I couldn't finish writing anything for the site. Once I recover, we'll be back to the usual M-W-F schedule of new updates! [ Continue reading... ]
What is an Editor Good For?
February 21, 2014 By Leave a Comment
A lot of people who are not published authors don't have a clear idea of exactly what an editor does, or why they're needed by an author. In addition, there's a lot of stories out there about horrible things editors do or have done to people and their stories. This is becoming a VASTLY more important issue because so many people are going the self-published route and really, honestly don't understand why they might need an editor at all. I want to talk about my own experiences and views of editing, garnered over the [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
February 19, 2014 By Leave a Comment
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment." My last post reminded me that I hadn't yet posted anything about the original -- an oversight that I now rectify! Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of wide experience and education – a doctor who served on both a Greenland whaler and a steamship on a voyage to western Africa, a scientist with a keen sense of justice, a man fascinated with the unknown and unknowable. Though he had many notable achievements in his [ Continue reading... ]
Hugo and other Award eligible stuff, and general update…
January 4, 2014 By Leave a Comment
First, a combination of the holidays and being quite sick (with an annoying gut issue called mesenteric lymphadenitis) has caused me to be unable to contribute properly to my usual postings. I apologize for this and hope to be able to resume shortly. I am now about 1/3 of the way through the sequel to Phoenix Rising, currently titled Phoenix in Shadow, and have started a couple other things. Now, as the year has just ended, it's time to fantasize about getting awards. Yes, I know I don't write the sort of stuff likely to get [ Continue reading... ]
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