For the last couple of months, I can’t really say I’ve been in my writing hole. It’s probably closer to the truth to say I’ve been in my project management hole. But I’m out now, and I want to talk about my experience. See, I am self-publishing my debut novel. I came to this conclusion…
Tag: fiction
Rocky Mountain Writer #165
Ian Shane & Postgraduate Ian Shane’s second novel, Postgraduate, comes out April 5. It’s a love letter to the music of the ‘80s and ‘90s, when the main character, Danny, worked at his college radio station. The resulting story is one of nostalgia, disappointment, rivalries, and romance. We talk about the tools Ian uses to publish,…
Short Story Craft, Part 2: Character
In preparation for the 2020 RMFW anthology, I’m doing a series of blog posts on elements of short story craft. Last month I covered the basics of plotting your short story. Now, let’s talk about your characters. If plot is the skeleton of a short story, characters are the muscle. They move the plot forward….
Rocky Mountain Writer #159
Mandy Mikulencak & Forgiveness Road Way back in 2009, the book was called This Side of Crazy. It was Mandy Mikulencak’s first attempt at writing a novel and it drew, in all, 96 rejections. So Mandy turned to two other writing projects. First, was Burn Girl and then The Last Suppers, which came out in late…
Why in the world did you give your character that name?
I’m learning names can be tricky. I created a protagonist with the surname of Lawley because he lives by the letter of the law. (However, in order to survive he must bend a few rules.) Character names are often self-explanatory. Think Sleeping Beauty; Bugs Bunny; Old Yeller; Prince Valiant; and Superman, the Man of Steel….