I have about a hundred pages left on my Dune re-read, and I keep thinking about the writing itself. Herbert knew how to imbue his prose with density. Reading Dune, one is introduced to an entire universe which seems wholly unfamiliar at first blush. Something to the tune of at least twenty thousand years separates… Read More Density of Prose
I want to show that in my future, there is no longer any culture clash or social stigma of any kind on trans folk. But as a cis male, I must tread carefully.… Read More Representation Difficulty
I wrote my first story in April or May of 1989. It was about a mutant shark that had legs and the ability to breathe on land. I called it PAWS. By the end of the story, people are trying to kill the land shark right? But it survives, of course (I was already planning… Read More Impostors
It’s a new year, as you may have noticed. I have plans. Goals. As one does. So, in 2020 I will: finish and publish volume 3 of The Voidstrider Saga; begin work on my next Johnson Underwood project, working title Florida Man versus the Elder Gods; write more in this blog; write and send actual… Read More 2020!
You get bad character writing sometimes. You know, the plot’s chugging along and here comes a character you think you’ve got a handle on, but they do something that makes no sense. You know. Out of character. Because, well, plot. Or you have the narrative telling you “this character is X,” when, in fact, they… Read More How I Write Characters
Last month, my five year old laptop bit the dust and I lost 15,000 words. The laptop had been acting funky for a minute. Finally, without me actually telling it to, the laptop reformatted itself. I’ve used Dropbox for over a decade, and since I bought that laptop in December of 2013 I’ve also made… Read More Lost: 15K Words, Reward Offered
