Category: Novels

  • On Ohio, and the novels, and the new class

    On Ohio, and the novels, and the new class

    Just small news here. The new class is finished in first draft, and I’m now (and for the first time ever) doing the complete course bug-hunt and clean-up BEFORE I put the course on sale. Yes, it will take longer. But it will also guarantee that the class will be less first-time-through splintery. I’m still…

  • And about the New Secret Writing Course…

    And about the New Secret Writing Course…

    I discovered there were two essential lessons I left out. So I wrote them. And now THEY’RE done. Now I’m contemplating some sort of bonus for the course, but in the meantime, I’m going to be setting up the new classroom with the lessons, and getting everything ready to make the course available to students.…

  • YESTERDAY’s work… finished Lesson 5 of the new Big Writing Course…

    YESTERDAY’s work… finished Lesson 5 of the new Big Writing Course…

    Got my fiction first TODAY — had to toss a bit of the most recent scene, came in with new words, and even came out a bit ahead. Came out with a net gain of 148 words. Not what I’d hoped for, but I’m glad to be getting fiction. And the RETHINK part of the…

  • Tueday: 1080, and a nice bit of twisting things

    Tueday: 1080, and a nice bit of twisting things

    I’m pleased with today’s words. I got to go deeper on one important series character, and I managed to frustrate my MC with this guy at the same time that I got to know him better. Always fun. Going to work for a while now on the OTHER PROJECT, which is nonfiction, and which shall…

  • To quote Meatloaf, “Some days it don’t come easy…”

    To quote Meatloaf, “Some days it don’t come easy…”

    It is a Monday. I’m trying to be objective by keeping that in mind. Mondays can be a bit tricky sometimes, and this was one of those. So… I got words… They fit, they moved the story forward, they let me build out the obstacle my characters are facing, and I genuinely like what I…

  • A truly solid writing day today…

    A truly solid writing day today…

    I am grateful for days like this one, when there’s a cool breeze blowing in the back window while I write, where I can heard birds singing and the leaves of maples and oaks rustling. Days like this feed the fiction, because the fictionalized town is a magical version of this town, and the sounds…

  • Today it was the Joy of Words

    Today it was the Joy of Words

    I love writing in my fantasy small-town Ohio world. Because while part of it is absolutely deep fantasy with really good magic, part of it is my house, and my street, and my little town right here… And I love my house, and my street, and my little town, and the folks who live here.…

  • Another slow, struggle-y day today working through Chapter 6

    Another slow, struggle-y day today working through Chapter 6

    The story has taken a (planned) dark turn. MEANWHILE… I’m struggling a bit to show the conflict without going darker than I want. And I have to be very, very careful right now NOT to let the magic run amok. It’ll do that, you know — magic will. Run AMOK… AMOK… all over the damn…

  • Ohio 4: Not the best word-count… 268, and 13,224 total on the first draft

    Ohio 4: Not the best word-count… 268, and 13,224 total on the first draft

    Not every writing day is great. Some days, you find places in your read-through (the thing before the new words) that won’t stand as is… and you pull out the bits that went in a direction you’ve discovered you do not wish to pursue, and you put in new words. And you get a NET…

  • The Mystery Deepens… Ohio 4 and Important People Lying

    The Mystery Deepens… Ohio 4 and Important People Lying

    Some days, writing is like flying — it’s effortless, and exciting, and maybe a bit scary and windy, especially when the ground seems a long, long way down. But these are the days when you have to pull yourself away from the words when all you want to do is keep going. I managed to…