Kristine Kathryn Rusch has a post up today on “How Writers Fail”; the topic is “competition.” Specifically, the thesis is that viewing yourself as competing with other writers will tend to provide excuses not to write, because there’s always a worse writer doing better than you. If you’re competing against someone less skilled and they… Continue reading There are no objective metrics
Category: essays
To every path its season
I’ve written before about how lifting is good practice for writing: It teaches you the value of consistency and incremental progress, it shows you how long it really doesn’t take to do more than you ever thought you could when you began. I’ve written a number of books, rarely on more than 1000 words a… Continue reading To every path its season
One free solution for landing pages in WordPress
For something that would seem to be of keen interest to a lot of people, the top Google results combining the word “landing page” with “WordPress” have a lot of noise. You get a bunch of best theme lists (e.g.), 95% of which are variations on a generic image with a CTA button scrolling down… Continue reading One free solution for landing pages in WordPress
[repost] “why does it matter if the best books have white protagonists?”
NB: This essay is reposted from my old blog. The original post was written when Una was almost 1. Now she’s 5, and I have another baby daughter. My opinions have not budged; and the American left’s internal crisis over “identity politics” would appear to lent them fresh relevance. # “When A Popular List Of 100… Continue reading [repost] “why does it matter if the best books have white protagonists?”
jack and the apples
Art first; context later. Jack was Adam John First the Third, As hale a lad as you’ve ever heard Run over the brook on a rotting log With an apple in his pocket and a loose-skinned dog; And V was Valentine Eve Vereen, As sharp a lady as you’ve ever seen Sew pockets in the… Continue reading jack and the apples
back cover copy
In case the featured image isn’t readable, here’s the text: In the domed city of Anvard, society is defined by an intricate network of clans: the stolid Medawar, the flamboyant Llaverac, and dozens more. Clan membership means status and security; the options for outcasts without the protection of a clan are few and grim. Rachel… Continue reading back cover copy
some nuts and bolts of an author website
It’s pretty common for people to talk about their writing process, but you don’t often hear how people build their websites. Maybe because a lot of the people with the big megaphones don’t do it themselves? (This isn’t a knock on people with big megaphones; if I had the cash to outsource, I would.) Anyway,… Continue reading some nuts and bolts of an author website
#murderyourdarlings
From (or rather, not from) the WIP: And what I’m here to tell you is, I now represent interests who desperately need someone to do what you do. So what I want to know is, how good are you at what you do?” “Depends what I do. Sucking dick? Below average. Insufficiently attentive to partner’s… Continue reading #murderyourdarlings
A nobody’s primer on publishing
A friend just finished a draft of a novel (STAR WARS fanfic, for context) (EDITED: Actually original fiction; reading comprehension error) and wanted advice on publishing. I spammed the relevant Facebook thread with this beast, then realized that I might have some followers who might enjoy a highly condensed, ultra-basic take on publishing from someone… Continue reading A nobody’s primer on publishing
The War of Songs
I had a process post lined up for this spot, but it occurred to me that it might help—in the interests of science—to know what these books are actually meant to be about. I was thinking that would be clear from the beats and synopses, but I’m actually not sure that’s the case; those are… Continue reading The War of Songs