Archive

  • Writing Your First Draft: The Vomit Draft

    Writing Your First Draft: The Vomit Draft

    Having gotten halfway through the first draft of my second book, I look back on the progress I’ve already made and have mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, I’m fairly confident my skill has improved somewhat since my first book. On the other hand, I see the myriad flaws still there and wish… Read more

  • History: The Greatest Source of Inspiration for Any Writer

    History: The Greatest Source of Inspiration for Any Writer

    Fact is stranger than fiction, they say. And it’s true. But have you ever considered the inverse: Fiction is never stranger than fact. No matter a writer’s imagination, no matter his ability to craft new worlds out of his own mind and populate it with characters who seem as real and unique as anyone you… Read more

  • Snow and Me: A Complicated Relationship

    Snow and Me: A Complicated Relationship

    Winter is approaching fast, and that means snow is on the way where I live. And snow means a clean split between those shivering with excitement and those groaning in despair. Snow is weird. You want to paint a happy picture of winter fun? Throw in some snowmen and snowballs and snow forts. Want to… Read more

  • Escapism: A Necessary Respite

    Escapism: A Necessary Respite

    Escapist entertainment. What thoughts run through your head when you hear that phrase? Positive? Negative? Joy? Disapproval? Escapism gets a bit of a bad rap. Life is serious business, and there’s a lot of work to be done. People are suffering. Injustice is rampant. And when are you going to pay those bills? Why are… Read more

  • Thankful for the Unexpected

    Thankful for the Unexpected

    You walk through life. Everything is going according to plan. Every day like the one before – the grating yet comforting grind of monotony. Then BAM. You’re caught by a curveball. A piece of bad news or a freak event. Something you could never have possibly foreseen. Your plans implode, and you’re left with your… Read more

  • Why Do You Write?

    Why Do You Write?

    To all the writers out there. Why do you write? Is it a compulsion, a need? Do you wake up each day and not know peace until you write a sentence, a paragraph, a chapter? Do you fear that if you don’t then you will burst? Do you write for fame and fortune? Do you… Read more