If I could tell you the number of stories and novels I’ve begun writing and not finished, we’d be here too long. But “not finished” doesn’t mean “discarded.” It means what it says. The difficulty comes when I’ve convinced myself that I’m one sort of writer (the consistent, cheerfully productive kind) as opposed the other,… Continue reading Writing the Hard Thing
Tag: Publishing
Read my latest in West Trade Review…
True Confession
First dig two graves. I think Confucius said that. But nobody started off by saying I wanted to stab my girlfriend and bury her in the backyard, but I was reading Confucius. So I dug two graves. Instead, they usually began with I really don’t remember. I’m not too clear on what happened. It was… Continue reading True Confession
On Productivity and Publishing
I've written three books of fiction to date, all story collections; though, only one of them has been published.* This is not remarkable or typical in any sense, even if I do have the stereotypical writer's voice in my head telling me that I should be submitting to more book contests, etc. My submission schedule… Continue reading On Productivity and Publishing
Acts of Defiance
I once took a creative writing workshop from Richard Ford, in which he spent a lot of energy inveighing against the epiphany in short fiction. This must have been in 1997 or 1998. Little did any of us suspect at the time that his vehemence was probably a reaction to a single bad review that… Continue reading Acts of Defiance
Weirdo: Visions of Future Past
Cunning is what counts in this life, and even that you've got to use in the slyest way you can; I'm telling you straight: they're cunning, and I'm cunning. If only "them" and "us" had the same ideas we'd get on like a house on fire, but they don't see eye to eye with us,… Continue reading Weirdo: Visions of Future Past
Kill the Beta Reader
I'm sitting in a cafe in downtown London with a show tune version of the Doors' “People are Strange” playing overhead. At some point, some focus group, some collection of sample listeners employed by a marketing concern or polled through a survey, decided that this schmaltzy cover was better than the original. Based on their… Continue reading Kill the Beta Reader
On Envying Other Writers
Dost thou wish to be praised by a man who curses himself thrice every hour? Wouldst thou wish to please a man who does not please himself? Does a man please himself who repents of nearly everything that he does? - Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations, Book VIII Most writers will tell you that envying the… Continue reading On Envying Other Writers
What am I working on?
My friend and fellow writer, K. Murphy Wilbanks kindly mentioned me in a blog post focusing on what she's working on right now. So I will follow suit. Though I have the usual 100 things blowing up my computer, I am focusing on a few big projects at the moment. What am I working on?… Continue reading What am I working on?
Art is Your Right
Don’t buy into the romantic assumption that being a creative artist is easy for those who are truly talented and meant to do it. This is a materialistic commercial lie. Something I believe: art is part of being human and must therefore be available to everyone. And those who do it right never find it… Continue reading Art is Your Right
The Writing Expedition 