I talk about Case Study Coffee a fair bit, and how it’s my favorite coffee shop in Portland. Now, part of that is because it is close and they let me sit for hours to write. It’s a nice shop with good light and a pleasant atmosphere. But… But they take their beverages very seriously. […]
Case Study Coffee: Perfect Hot Chocolate. Perfect Read More »
As Jane is traveling about in Europe, she’s in need of an appropriate dress for walking. I found this one, to serve as a model, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art online catalog. One fo the interesting features, if you enlarge it, are the buttons down the front. To my eye, they look like shell
Glamour in Glass: Jane’s high-collared walking dress Read More »
Edited to add: Thanks, everyone. I have enough volunteers now and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I have a 6700 word science-fiction story that I’d love to have some readers for. This story might seem familiar to some of you. On Writing Excuses, we brainstormed some stories to show how idea
Readers wanted: Draft “Wary of Iguanas” Read More »
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: Draft: Wary of Iguanas Read More »
Let’s talk omniscience, because we’re TOTALLY that smart. Specifically, we’re talking about the omniscient viewpoints. This is the POV from which Tolkien wrote, but we see it a lot less often these days. Has it fallen out of fashion, or does it just not work well? Generally speaking, the omniscient viewpoint is where the narrator
Writing Excuses 7.12: Writing the Omniscient Viewpoint » Writing Excuses Read More »
I have returned from the dentist and the entire right side of my face is numb. Such fun. They were successful in saving and reconstructing the tooth. Next up, is preparation for a crown which will entail two more trips to the dentist. Each trip is the day before I leave for a convention but
Return from the dentist Read More »
You know… strangely you CAN self-diagnose when the symptoms are: Shooting pain when biting down. Part of a molar wiggles. How’s your day going?
Off to the dentist! Read More »
Yesterday, we found a terribly emaciated stray cat in our apartment complex. He was not microchipped and had no tags. Let me pause here and BEG you to microchip your pet. This is the second stray we’ve found that had a collar but no tags. Even if the collar has tags, you can’t rely on
A public service announcement: For the love of your pets, please get them a microchip Read More »
It’s again time for us to do a Q&A by any other name! Is it better to include romance, horror, SF, or other genre elements to flesh out a story, or should the story stand alone? Any tips for developing an idea without getting caught in Worldbuilder’s Disease? Any NaNo WriMo tips? (yes.) What did
Writing Excuses 7.11: More Microcasting » Writing Excuses Read More »
This is circulating in the puppetry community because it catches rare footage of Richard Teschner performing. According to Bil Baird’s The Art of the Puppet, “In 1911, an event occurred that had a profound effect on a large segment of popular puppetry. Richard Teschner of Vienna and his new wife traveled to Holland on their honeymoon, and there
Caught by the Camera — European puppetry pioneer Richard Teschner Read More »
David Brin joined Mary and Dan at World Fantasy to pound the importance of criticism into our heads. Our episode opens with a discussion of what your first book should be (a murder mystery) and why David recommends this to his students. And then on to criticism. It’s important for us, as writers, to be
Writing Excuses 7.10: Importance of Criticism, with David Brin » Writing Excuses Read More »
One of the things I enjoyed during the Month of Letters Challenge was sending letters from Jane. One of them has arrived and the recipient posted a photo online. As you can see, I sometimes had a good deal of fun as in this case where Jane included a costume sketch. That is written with an
Letters from Jane OR Why writing letters from your character’s POV is useful Read More »
Rob and I are moving to Chicago in April and we’re driving. I joked about doing a whistle-stop tour as part of the move and then we realized that it might actually be a good idea. Crazy? Yes. But a way to visit places I wouldn’t get to otherwise. Because we are moving we’re hesitant
The Glamour in Glass Moving Book Tour! Read More »
The Shades of Milk and Honey ebook is currently on sale for only $2.99! The sale ends on April 6th, but until then, whee!
Shades of Milk and Honey on sale! Read More »
I mailed 320+ things in February. To say that I did not anticipate the enthusiasm with which the Month of Letters Challenge was accepted, is probably unnecessary. But here… have an anecdote to get a glimpse of what it was like for me. Yesterday I went to the post office, as usual, and stopped at the
The post Month of Letters Challenge post. Read More »