Category Archives: Writing

I’ll be the first to admit that the whole community of writers’ groups never appealed to me. Maybe it’s because of my journalism background, which required me to write quickly and accurately without a great deal of attachment to the words. Or because I managed to write a number of non-fiction business books without support groups or reading circles. Maybe I’m really just not the “writerly” type. Or I’m ornery. Whatever. Continue reading →

Find this icon in your Start menu and get your plot in shape.

Got an e-mail from a friend in the great Pacific Northwest recently. He had seen my previous blog post, and mentioned the time he went to see Ridley Pearson, author of both adult crime novels and YA adventure books, at Third Place Books. I’d like to think I’m a disciplined writer, but apparently Ridley works on three novels at a time, going from one to the other and back with seeming impunity.

Now that takes organization. Possibly a certain level of insanity as well. But definitely organization.

I’m not going to write three novels at a pop. For one, I have a family and a day job. And I tend to be a very linear writer. I need to start at the beginning and finish up before going to something else. But it still takes organization — I need to know where the end is supposed to be so that I can finish in the right place, after all.

And for that, I use Excel. Continue reading →

I thought I’d scribble a little post about what’s going on with Spacebuckler, since that’s why I actually have this blog in the first place. And you’re dying to know, right?

We are, officially, on submission. That means my super-agent, Sara Megibow, has submitted my revised, edited, sparkling manuscript to a number of editors at publishing houses. They, in turn, will read it and decide whether or not they want to acquire it. So far, we’ve had one outright rejection and one that was not quite outright, but not a yes. Nevertheless, I’ve found the editors’ comments encouraging — apparently, I can indeed write. I get the sense that Spacebuckler is a good idea, and I’m confident it’ll end up on a bookshelf near you…eventually.

Meantime, I’m off to sunny southern California on Saturday for a week at the day job and two weekends of fun with the family. There will be beach bicycling, Kogi truck stalking and Sea World Shamu sightings. Oh, and be sure to drop by early next week. You could be in for a…Surprise.

A ripping good yarn...with a really chatty narrator

If something can be said in five words, trust a Spaniard to say it in five pages.

I’m half-Spanish, so I feel somewhat allowed to make such a sweeping and likely incorrect judgment about the greats of Spanish-language literature. But if you’ve read folks like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Miguel de Unamuno or even Cervantes himself, you know what I’m talking about. The tradition of narration in Spanish literature is just very different from what English readers are used to.

I mention this because I’m reading The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma, an up-and-coming Spanish author. The Map of Time is one heck of a ride, a Victorian science-fiction work that hews closely to the traditions of Jules Verne without going headlong into steampunk territory. And one of the things that sets this book apart is the narration. Continue reading →

Remember newspapers? They're still quite useful.

Authors have to do self-promotion. I get that. You’re reading some of it RIGHT NOW. (How very meta.) Yet most advice to authors on this topic has to do with electronic social media. There’s very little advice about going to traditional media outlets with your story.

Now, I may be biased, having spent many years of my youth working for Old Media. And let’s be clear: Even with all my contacts and experience, it’s unlikely I’ll be featured in The New York Times or on NPR. (At least, not right away.) But millions of people still get their news and info from smaller traditional outlets, and I know I’m planning to take advantage of that. Continue reading →