Archive for January, 2006
That Love/Hate Thing
I once met a best-selling author who admitted he hated writing. He claimed the process frustrated him, stressed him out, and the competition to stay on top was ruthless and much more than he’d bargained for. Strangely enough, he made this claim before a large group of aspiring authors. I wondered then how anyone with [...]
Better late than never
I missed my post on the 15th because I was busy getting this ready, but I hope you’ll all both forgive me and join me over at the Templar Chronicles website for the next 30 weeks…
First Novel from a Major New York Publisher to be Podcast in its Entirety
The Horror Channel Teams with The [...]
Will you read my book?
In keeping with the recent spate of essays that address frequently asked questions, I’d like to talk about the position we end up in when someone asks if we’d please read their book, be it in manuscript, review copy of finished form. The person making the request is usually either looking for a critique, a [...]
Thomas Sullivan: Who?
Where do you write? I mean really write. Where do the answers come to the questions you agonize over in front of the computer screen? In your dreams, driving the car, watching people at a mall?
I skied at a place called Elm Creek on Christmas Eve, listening to the owls – three [...]
Another apology, and a goodbye
by Tim Lebbon
Well, here’s another apology for not getting an essay written in time for my spot this month. And also, here’s a goodbye. I’ll be leaving StorytellersUnplugged as from now … sad, but happy that I’m making the right choice.
My life is so busy at the moment that I’d hate to [...]
Storytellers Unplugged: January 2006
Storytellers Unplugged: January 2006
The Fast and the Curious There are a lot of tricky parts to writing a tale and one that is by far the trickiest is pacing. It’s the sort of thing that can make or break a short story or a novel with [...]
Foreign Authors in a Strange Land
By Sephera Giron
I would like to address Vlad’s question about authors publishing in other countries.
I’m a perfect example of someone who does that, although, I am English speaking and publish in English.
However, I live in Canada and pretty much all of my work is published in the USA.
I’ve worked with Leisure, Conari/Red Wheel/Weiser, [...]
The Birth of the True
By Steven Savile
Recently I have found myself in conversation with fellow SF writers about our legacy – it sounds so deep, so (if you could see me sat here right now typing this you’d be smiling at the vaguely twisted sneer that is playing havoc with my lips) pompous, doesn’t it? But, for all that [...]
Change Your Thinking
So you’ve just finished that novel - congratulations. As you watch the laser printer spit out pages in perfect manuscript form, you prep the mailer, ready to send your literary emissary out into the cold, harsh world of contemporary publishing. Maybe you breathe a sigh of relief and think, “Thank God that’s over.”
But [...]
The Care & Handling of Constructive Criticism
–Kelley Armstrong–
I noticed Joe posted a “call for questions” at the beginning of the year, and I thought “great! blog ideas!” But when I returned to check the list of questions before writing this month’s blog entry, anything I felt vaguely qualified to answer had been well covered already. So I cheated, and [...]
