Congrats, you’ve finished – now what? I suggest 10 steps to follow here. I entered into 2021 with a bold plan. I’d write and publish 6 novels this year. As of last week – all six are written. Yes, I finished each book that I planned to write this year. There was a mixed, bittersweet…
Writing – fiction or nonfiction – can be therapy. There is something deeply cathartic about getting words, thoughts, and ideas out of your head and onto the page or screen. Whatever form that takes – journaling, nonfiction, fiction, storytelling, or what-have-you – writing can be massively empowering. If you’re not a writer – forcing it…
Are the ideas my imagination – or am I channeling another time/place? There can be philosophy and psychology associated with fiction. While most of us are pretty sure the worlds we envision – far-out places of fantasy, science fiction, and the like – come from within us – they may be out there. Somewhere. Get…
Revisiting an old challenge in the name I publish under. I debated this notion several years ago. Just after I began to publish on Amazon, it became a mountain I needed to climb. The issue at hand is the name I publish under. I write in three distinct genres – publishing online in two of…
You can’t just be the thing without doing the thing – be it writer, artist, entrepreneur, etc. The line between would-be writer and writer is clear. Have you written anything? Okay, maybe the line isn’t quite that clear. Writing a plan is partial credit for the process of writing. I have, for the majority of…
You always get to choose to sink or swim. Probably the biggest certainty in life is the uncertainty of life. Take it from me – today you might be chilling out, planning for tomorrow, and in that light take a walk to the post office a quarter-mile away. Then, unexpectedly, a week of your life…
When returning to unfinished works, recognize there’s been change. I began writing what would become my fantasy series, The Source Chronicles, in 1998. A lot of work went into it, and before long I had completed the first three books. That, of course, led to the series becoming 5 books (instead of the original planned…
The question of “selling out” can get convoluted. There is an impression that someone who writes for money – or does anything else for money – is a sellout. This notion, unfortunately, has created the idea of the starving artist. There is this concept of nobility that comes of art for art’s sake without remuneration….
Why do reissues and renovations of your work? I am a product of the 70s and 80s. I saw Star Wars (sorry, to me it’s not Episode IV – A New Hope, it’s just Star Wars) in 1977 when I was almost 5. That made a lasting impression on me – and inspired me to…
Sometimes an idea doesn’t fully form, or change alters your project. Thus, it’s okay to step away. One of the primary pieces of advice I give to any writer (or practitioner of a creative art of any sort) is to keep at it. Don’t stop, don’t let fear prevent you from making something in your…
