So many of my students are very ambitious. Ten lectures, a pile of writing assignments and a workshop simply aren’t enough for them. And one thing that happens frequently in my courses is that someone will ask me about a topic, in one class, that I’ve written a lecture for, in another. So I make some of that material available here.
Recent Essays & FAQ responses:
Writer FAQ: Should I revise my manuscript to make it more marketable?
Teaching writing is like… the car metaphor essay.
And because one car metaphor deserves another, the spark plugs of fiction.
Older material:
Qualities of prose: a list of things I look for when I’m judging the line-by-line writing in a manuscript.
Eye Bookisms: Being a technical article on the overuse of eye-related imagery and action.
Revision, from Macro to Micro. This is a tech writers’ technique that can work nicely on fiction.
Not all drafts are created equal: a few thoughts on qualitative grading.
The Science-Magic Continuum
Setting the Stage (setting in speculative fiction)
A Question of Character
Plot – What’s the Problem?
Revision and Marketing.
What Makes a Book Good?
Blackmail in fiction.
