November is National Writing Month. This month is a personal challenge to write 50,000 words between the first and thirtieth of November. That's an average of 1,666.66 words per day. According to the NaNoWriMo blog, 402,000 people participated in 2017. Well, this year, I decided to participate. This is a daunting challenge. Since I'm a … Continue reading What I Learned from Week One
Science Fiction
Outside Perspective #17 – Me!
Adam Meredith released the latest episode of his podcast. It's Outside Perspective 17 Me! Adam and I train Brazilian Jiu Jitsu together at Saint Charles MMA. He's a purple belt competitor, entrepreneur, former MMA fighter, health coach, and CEO of Imposed Will. On top of that, he's a great guy, really laid back while being … Continue reading Outside Perspective #17 – Me!
Publication Day
Putting the Science in Fiction It's publication day! Putting the Science in Fiction is available now. Scroll down for ordering links. Science and technology have starring roles in a wide range of genres--science fiction, fantasy, thriller, mystery, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of technical subjects in literature, film, and television are pure fiction. A basic … Continue reading Publication Day
Failure as a Profession
National Novel Writing Month, also known as November, is approaching fast. To celebrate the upcoming publication of Putting the Science in Fiction (On Sale October 16, 2018 from Writer's Digest), ten of the contributors are providing story prompts based on their field of expertise. (Find other essays here.) For the book, I wrote two essays … Continue reading Failure as a Profession
Fall 2018 Reading
I caught up with all my summer reading, and as we head into fall here in Missouri, I have four intriguing books lined up. Politics and fantasy rule my near-term to be read pile. Do you see anything that you like? Have you read any of these? Leave a comment to let me know what … Continue reading Fall 2018 Reading
Review: Temper
Each time I sit down to write about Temper by Nicky Drayden, I can't find a place to start because all I can think about is how much I enjoyed this novel. Where to begin? The themes of balance? Artificial class division? Mythology? World-building? Intriguing characters? Temper hits its mark on every count. TL;DR Temper … Continue reading Review: Temper
What I’m Reading – July 2018
What I’m Reading July 2018 I have three excellent Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) this month: two science fiction novels and a political analysis. Which one of these looks good to you? Let me know in the comments below. Temper by Nicky Drayden I actually just finished Temper and loved it. This book about twins covers … Continue reading What I’m Reading – July 2018
My Fictional Splinter
The best story ideas I ever get come to me when I’m writing a different story. I’ve seen other writers talk about ideas attempting to seduce you away from your current project. The struggle is real. But if a writer expects to finish a story, they can’t chase every new idea that comes along. Often, … Continue reading My Fictional Splinter
Review: A Study in Honor
To paraphrase Heraclitus, you can never step into the same stream twice. This simple saying occupies a Schrodinger's version of truth because you both can and can't. The stream itself is the collection of water, land, stone, and geographic marker while at the same time each of those are undergoing micro-changes. While the phrase is … Continue reading Review: A Study in Honor
Review: Free Space
As with Admiral, Free Space is a survival story but in a completely different way. The Admiral and Salmagard are kidnapped with two other Imperials for the purposes of human trafficking.