I just finished the fourth major revision of my WIP (Work In Progress). Before I went into this version of the book, I read some of the craft books by my virtual mentor, James Scott Bell. He writes great thrillers, but also some fantastic books on the craft of writing. His writing style is light…
Someone commented on my previous post, The Road to Publication, Part 1 – Author Platform, and asked why I decided to self-publish (AKA being an independent author). That’s a simple question with a complicated answer. There are a number of reasons I’m choosing to self-publish. Here are some of them, in no particular order. Complete…
I’m an unpublished author, and my goal is to change that this year. I’ve “finished” a couple of books that are in different stages of revision. I also have an embarrassing number of works that I’ve started. Some of them are a few chapters, some only a few paragraphs. When my Muse smacks me upside…
I love software tools. Anything that can help me organize my life and be more efficient and productive is going to get my attention. For example, I recently found a simple checklist app that’s helping me organize my day and make sure I get all my essential tasks done. Every morning it shows me a…
One of my interests is word origins, slang, jargon, idiom, and other esoteric corners of our language. Shortly after reading Ann Gordon’s article on Commanding the Muse, I was talking with my wife and mentioned something that I found amusing. That set my mind going. Was “amuse” related to “Muse?” Off to the Internet I…