It’s been a while, and I have an excellent reason: my Mom passed away in mid-June, and since then, I’ve been dealing with the fallout. To be fair, Mom made it as easy on me (an only child) as she could: she left a list of usernames and passwords, account information, and the like,… Continue reading After-Action Report: Utah Shakespeare Festival
Back, sort of
Because things never happen in a vacuum … while I was waiting for the new computer (more accurately, waiting for the hubby to find the best one and order it and set it up), my mom had a stroke and a heart attack. Long story short, she’s been in hospital (but is not a candidate… Continue reading Back, sort of
Technical Difficulties
The home computer is dying. I’m just snatching a minute to post here before it dies. Not sure whether it can be revived or if we need to replace it wholesale. Soon as I can, Arnold> I’ll be back. </Arnold>
Story Pacing and Information Flow
I’ve abandoned reading many stories because the authors don’t understand that Story is all about the revealing (or not) of information to the reader. What does the reader need to know, and when does thon need to know it? Failing to understand that concept shows up in several ways. The first is the extreme… Continue reading Story Pacing and Information Flow
Learning from a “Bad” Book
I had my second COVID vaccine shot on Wednesday, and when I didn’t manifest a reaction (beyond soreness at the injection site, which I’d had with the first one) by Friday, I thought I was in the clear. Not so. Saturday morning, I woke up stuffy-headed and a bit light-headed and running a mild (not… Continue reading Learning from a “Bad” Book
Resistance
So I’m working on “Child of Iron, Goblet of Fire,” and it has been fighting me every step of the way – from two false starts before I found the “right” one, to tortured justifications for Harry returning to Hogwarts, to … well, just about everything you can think of stopping someone? “Child” has thrown… Continue reading Resistance
Raymond Chandler on Writing Craft
I just discovered a quote from Raymond Chandler that encapsulates something I’ve been feeling personally, but had no idea it might be a universal – or even that more people than I might feel like this. It came about after yet another bout of writer’s doubt brought on by reading too many books/blogs on writing.… Continue reading Raymond Chandler on Writing Craft
Writing Original Fiction and Fanfiction
Heinlein’s Rules keep coming back to haunt me: You must write. You must finish what you write. You must refrain from rewriting, except to editorial order (Harlan’s addendum: and then only if you agree). You must put your writing on the market. You must keep your writing on the market until it’s sold. Robert J.… Continue reading Writing Original Fiction and Fanfiction
Happy Easter
and end of Passover for those of you who observe either/both! For everyone else, bright blessings this year!
On Harry Potter Fanfiction
There are two big problems (at least for me) in writing Harry Potter fanfiction. First, the fandom is so … enduring (which is a polite way of saying it’s massively popular and also fairly old) that pretty much every idea in it has been done at least before if not to death. I’ve gotten around… Continue reading On Harry Potter Fanfiction
