Hi, my name is Cindy Skaggs, and I write genre fiction. As ridiculous as it appears to readers, this kind of genre-as-vice mentality is an ongoing battle. Having worked in a large public library system while I finished my education, I know for a fact that librarians don’t care where something is shelved except as…
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Kesey & Me
Who or what first inspired you to write? I’ve always believed the reading experience is not only subjective, but highly situational. By that I mean that reading The Catcher in the Rye at fifteen is a fundamentally different experience than reading it at forty. Because while books do not age, their readers, and the world…
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Story Market: A Report from the Field
Three years ago, I decided to try Ray Bradbury’s challenge to new writers to write a story a week for a year. I’ve seen other people do it, although most of them were writing pretty short pieces. I averaged 3,595 words per story, with 186,937 words total by the time I finished. The challenge was…
Being Teachable
I am reluctant to say this, as writing is a very meticulous skill with rules that must be learned and practiced, but here it is: I never graduated high school. Then life happened. I started writing a book in my early 30s. While charisma and the art of storytelling can take you far, if you…
Create Better Characters in Six Easy Steps
Readers may be intrigued by a good plot. But if your characters are interesting, readers will remember them long after they close the book. It can be tough to create fully fleshed-out, three-dimensional characters. But it’s much easier when you use the PERSON acronym: P is for Personality E is for Experiences R is for…