On Writing – Page 3 – John A. Underwood

Impostors

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 planningContinue reading “Impostors”

2020!

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 actualContinue reading “2020!”

How I Write Characters

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, theyContinue reading “How I Write Characters”

Lost: 15K Words, Reward Offered

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 madeContinue reading “Lost: 15K Words, Reward Offered”

The Sad Tale of the Ininite Monkeys, Who Just Wanted Science Fiction Without Politics

This post is adapted and expanded from a Twitter thread. It may sound familiar to some of you. Do not click this link. (“Indie Sci-Fi Authors Are Upending Traditional Publishing, And It’s Turned Into A War”) It’s hot garbage. I warned you. It’s an article from The Federalist, a conservative web-magazine founded about six yearsContinue reading “The Sad Tale of the Ininite Monkeys, Who Just Wanted Science Fiction Without Politics”

Long Live the (Well Executed) Trope

Sometimes I get to write a sentence – one sentence – that is straight pulp, like Saturday morning cartoons or bubble helmeted heroes fighting green monsters on an alien world.