It has taken me a long time to be able to articulate my thoughts on the common debate on the show, don’t tell advice that is frequently handed down to young writers. And yes, I do believe that such a debate exists the longer you stay in this craft. Le Guin had an article about why …
Read more “Try Not To Tell, Show, But If You Show, Don’t Show Everything…”
As of today, I have been writing for 24 years. The most I’ve put it off is for a couple of months or so–otherwise, I’ve been consistently writing, rewriting, plotting, planning, researching, learning, and turning the mechanics of writing over and over in my head like there’s no tomorrow. I repeatedly discuss stories with people until they …
In retrospect, being old(er) is kind of fun. You get to discuss boring shit like politics and actually understand them. You don’t feel obliged to stay out until 3 am getting shitfaced with strangers (okay, so I did this just the one time…). I am not ashamed to say that 10 pm is a legitimate …
Read more “Writing Milestones: When I Stopped Giving a Fuck and Started Enjoying My Craft”
Like with most writers, I started out writing from the point of view of semi-Mary Sues–characters who were essentially somewhat blank, passive, and no more than tools that the reader can use to project themselves into the world. I think I’ve always known not to create outright Mary Sues, so I ended up with a …
At its core, writing is not an exhibition–not something you do to show people that you can, in fact, do it. I think that this is something a lot of people get wrong. I’ve seen writers who relish in their wordcraft, enjoying how they’ve, say, reduced a reader to tears. They throw out a cornucopia …
Read more “Raw Honesty, and Why Writers Who Want To Do This Right Have No Choice”
