Category Archives: Writing

Forgive the headline. I don’t really think that. In fact, when it comes to your reading habits, I can only say that you should buy my books when the time comes, because you’ll like them. Yes, you. And your friends.

Anyway, literary tastes — or lack thereof — was the subject of a recent pair of articles that  were brought to my attention by my wife, herself a professional writer and avid blogger. Is so-called “literary fiction” better than “genre fiction?” The latter is, of course, everything from thrillers to horror to fantasy to romance — everything not, apparently, “literary.”

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Let there be light. And a killer plot hook.

When I first came up with the notion behind Spacebuckler, it was very much setting first: Sailing ships can fly! In space! The rest flowed from that pretty easily. As I fleshed out the rather complex setting behind such a simple notion, plot hooks and characters presented themselves to me. Not without effort, but they were there for the mining.

My current project — unnamed and undisclosed for the moment — is far more character driven. As such, I’m having a tougher time coming up with the plot elements. I know where I want the character to end up; heck, with this particular character, EVERYONE knows where he ends up. The joy in it is seeing how he gets there. And that means…a starting point.

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I’m pleased enough with a new bit of writing that I had to share the why and wherefore on the blog. And as you gathered from the headline, it’s about taking a different tack in the narrative.

I’m working on a new project unrelated to my completed book, one that I’ve taken to calling “Project S” on Twitter. Now, don’t get me wrong: Spacebuckler is totally my literary baby, and the sequel is well fleshed-out. But until such time as it’s acquired, well….I gotta do something, right? Hence, Project S, which has nothing to do with space and the Napoleonic Era whatsoever.

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Maybe not THIS hero.

I’ve been corresponding with an old friend recently, now living in Japan, and we’ve been sharing our respective books with each other. He is an extraordinarily talented writer with a penchant for the macabre and, dare I say it, nihilism. He brilliantly deconstructs our humanity, creating a strong sense of unease…which then grows into horror…then sublimes into a very primal fear. In the end, his book makes the case for the meaninglessness of all the trappings of civilized life.

Really, it’s a helluva read. But personally, as a writer, I can’t go there.

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