First, a public service announcement, especially for avid readers: if you’re going to be in or near Green Valley on December 6, I hope you’ll stop by to see me and a lot of other local and regional authors at the annual Meet the Authors Book Fair. That’s next Saturday, December 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Desert Hills Lutheran Church at 2150 South Camino Del Sol in Green Valley. I’ll have my new … Read more
Hey Folks, A few strong resources— If you’re serious about your work as a writer, check these out: http://deanwesleysmith.com—The resource-rich website of Dean Wesley Smith, my own unintentional mentor and one of the most prolific writers in America. While you’re there, check out the Think Like a Publisher and Killing the Sacred Cows of Publishing tabs. I also recommend checking out his Online Workshops tab and his Lecture Series tab. Also while you’re there, remember that … Read more
Hi Folks, If you live in southeast Arizona and you are an aspiring writer who can’t seem to find time to write has never heard of Heinlein’s Rules HAS heard of Heinlein’s Rules but have amended them because you think they’re too good to be true believe you have to “polish” your work before publication believe you have to rewrite X number of times before publication believe you have to write X number of drafts before … Read more
Hi Folks, Now that I’ve retired as a copyeditor and resigned my position as General Manager of the Universe, I have more time for my own writing. Fortunately, I can also focus on teaching writing to those who are serious about becoming professional writers. Most of my mechanics and techniques seminars (the ones I’ve taught all these years in Tucson, Bisbee, Green Valley and Willcox) are available online in my Audio Lecture Series. If you want … Read more
Hi Folks, I have this pasted across all three of my computer screens as a picture on the desktop (21″ editing monitor, 14″ business computer monitor, 12″ writing ‘puter monitor). I don’t write every day, but I *want* to write every day, and I do write most days for at least one hour. Usually that becomes two or three hours, and when it wants to, I let it. If you’d like a copy of this (it’s … Read more
Hi Folks, Know how I can tell immediately that I’m in a room full of writers? I listen. It takes all of maybe two minutes, in a room full of writers, to hear several excuses about why they can’t write. Most of these begin with “Oh I’d love to write more often, but I have a job; So and So is expecting me to [help him move, mow the yard, fill in the blank]; I have … Read more
Hi Folks, This will be a simple post, but possibly the most helpful one you’ll ever read. When a friend and professional writer (Alison Naomi Holt, see Alison Holt Books) stopped by the writing seminar I was conducting while she was in town last month, she said this tidbit of advice was “the greatest gift” I had given her. If you’re a writer, chances are you’ve gotten bogged down. This happens a lot and it happens … Read more
Hi Folks, First, a housekeeping note. If any of you want any of my nonfiction books on writing, poetry collections, or fiction, you can get them all for 1/2 price today and tomorrow at Smashwords. To see what’s available, just visit My Smashwords Page, scroll down, make your selections and check out. You can purchase Kindle, Nook/Apple or PDF files all in one place at Smashwords. Now let’s get down to business. Writing is the only … Read more
Hi Folks, As promised, in this one we’ll deal with the persona. First, again, let’s all get on the same page. A lot of folks believe a pseudonym is a persona and vice versa, but if that’s true (for them) they aren’t using it right. You’ll remember that a pseudonym (pen name) is something you might choose to use when you want to publish something without allowing others to know you’re the author, or perhaps you … Read more
Hi Folks, Okay, this post is gonna be about The Care and Cleaning of Pseudonyms and Personas, Part I: The Pen Name. As usual, I’ll start with a definition. A pseudonym is a pen name. It’s something you use when you want to publish something without allowing others to know you’re the author, or perhaps you want to let them know selectively. Some writers use a pseudonym because doing so makes them feel cool or makes … Read more