My Weekend
That’s a utility pump. His name is Drainy. He’s busily removing four inches of standing water from my basement. I’d planned to write this weekend. Guess what I did instead.
The Expert Problem
Elizabeth Bear, a writer I’ve admired for a very long time, posted today about what she calls the Expert Problem. It’s really worth your time to read the entirety of her post, but in brief, it’s the phenomenon characterized by experts on any given topic picking apart and critiquing tiny, specific elements of a story [...]
Real Writers
On Wednesday, I was discussing silence and success over at EMU’s Debuts. I shamelessly pimped it here with a playful, self-deprecating comment, but then an aspiring-writer acquaintance mentioned something that gave me pause. In brief, she said that she’s afraid to friend writers she admires on Facebook or subscribe to their blogs because she doesn’t [...]
Over There
I was over at Lynda Mullaly Hunt’s blog for Mentor Monday – thanks for having me, Lynda! Today, I’m reflecting on success and silence over at EMU’s Debuts along with my friend and colleague L.B. Schulman. Tomorrow, there will be pie!
Nine things to do while you wait for your contract
(besides write the next book; that one’s a no-brainer): * Index your articles about the middle ages way past your bedtime * Explain to well-wishers why the book won’t be out till 2012 * Tinker with your website * Mainline coffee and jelly beans * Linger way too long in the University of Wales Press [...]