Storytellersunplugged

Writers are failed children.  Lemme try that on for a thesis sentence and see where it goes.  We already know that writers are failed adults by dint of the facts that they are dreamers, seldom get paid, and work sporadically; but do the roots of their malfeasance tangle with childhood?  The answer to that might be a handy object lesson for struggling parents who have burned their Dr. Spock books: “Eat your spinach and stop picking your nose, Mikey, or you’ll become ... Read More

Psssst. Got an inspiration problem? You say your battery is fully charged, but your starter is dead? And all those plots and plans in your head are wilting like hothouse roses at the North Pole on account of no one around you understands what you were meant to do in life? And you’re so down that you’re starting to fantasize delusions of adequacy. You say that your children’s release The Pop-up Book of Birth Control sold only two copies and that ... Read More

One of the consistent excuses given for the quality (or lack thereof) of videogame writing is that we are, and I quote, "a young industry". While it's a lovely and convenient excuse for the endless parade of stubble-jawed ex-space marines out for interstellar vengeance that haunt the shelves, it's hogwash. I know. I write the bloody things for a living[1], and that means playing them - good and bad - as they come along, to see how high the professional bar has ... Read More

(This essay is standing in for the talented Janet Berliner, who will return to her new shared spot with our own Richard Steinberg next month) Recently I was reading a short story by an author I admire.  I don't think I'm going to get into which story, or which author, because it's not germane to the topic at hand.  What matters is the epiphany gained through the reading. One trait that authors seem to share is the ability to write just beyond their ... Read More

I love freelancing. Given my choice, I'd do nothing else for the rest of my life. To date, I've not ever had a full-time job outside of writing and games, and I've effectively spoiled myself for any other kind of career. I've had a few points at which I had long-term contracts (effectively salaries) with certain clients. I co-founded a noted RPG publisher (Pinnacle Entertainment) and ran served as its president for four years. I was also the director of Human Head Studios' ... Read More

If this column goes anywhere -- and bear in mind that no one has ever accused me of writing from a plan -- I hope it leads to this conclusion: EVERY GREAT MUSICIAN WHO CREATES THEIR OWN SONGS IS A WRITER AT HEART, AND EVERY GREAT WRITER IS A MUSICIAN. Now, I’m no kind of great writer, and I’m all the way around the world from being a great musician, but you don’t have to be either in order to read and ... Read More

John B. Rosenman Many of the readers of this site already know the following fact.  Still, it bears repeating: in the world of fiction, Romance Rules! As Leigh Michaels states in “Studying the Romance Novel,” “Romance novels are the best-selling segment of the paperback fiction market in North America.”  They “account for well over 50 percent of mass-market paperback fiction sold in the United States.”  In addition, “more than a third of all fiction sold in the United States (including mass-market paper, trade ... Read More

I recently started a new novel. It's a mystery as opposed to horror, and while there may be supernatural aspects, it's meant to be a very different sort of thing for me. Why? Because I've been circling around the idea of writing a crime novel for a while and the time is right. I figure, what the heck. I also recently joined the International Thriller Writers on the recommendation of several writers I respect and admire, I'm just wrapping up the latest ... Read More

I've been on the road almost the entire time since my last post here on Storytellers Unplugged. I started out with a quick couple of days in San Diego at Comic-Con International, the biggest pop culture convention in the world. On that Friday (July 25), I rode up to LA for a business meeting. I flew back from there and got home around midnight. The next morning, my wife and I packed the kids into the minivan and set off for the Northwoods ... Read More

Flamingo Frank would hate it if I wrote his obituary, especially with black crepe hung all over it. Much too dreary. But early on the dawn of August 2, 2008 -- by his own decision, you can be quite certain -- Frank T. Wydra decided he’d had enough of wrestling with pancreatic cancer and told the subversive processes that were racking his body, “Okay, you want it, you got it.” He could do that because his physical presence was the least of ... Read More