Hello all. I’m having a tough time getting this chapter going today, so I thought I’d get the juices rolling by listening to myself talk about writing and hope someone out in the aether benefits from the bolivating. Earlier today, I had a phone chat with another writer just getting rolling on his first novel. […]
Read more +Many of you may not know it, but in addition to writing, I’ve taken up stand-up comedy over the last few months. My first time on stage was back in June or July on a lark. A local comedy collective here in Milwaukee called the Caste of Killers was putting on an open-mic night, which […]
Read more +Wisconsin finally decided to commit to the whole “winter” thing, so I’m here basically locked into the house for the day. A few things have cropped up in the community of writers and publishing in the last week or so, and I thought I’d take a minute to add my thoughts. First, there was the […]
Read more +Good morning internets. Before we wrap up the slush pile series, I have a couple of housekeeping announcements to make. First, and most excitingly from my perspective, I’m going to be Thursday’s guest for the Damsels of Dorkington weekly video chat. I’ve hung out with these crazy kids at places like VisionCon and GenCon. They […]
Read more +Hello again. I’m cramming in as much work as possible this week ahead of Immortal ConFusion this weekend, so let’s get today’s post rolling. Last week, we talked about the critical importance of crafting a killer opening. This week, we’re delving deeper. Once you’ve hooked the slush reader with a brilliant line or introductory paragraph, […]
Read more +Good morning, internets! I hope everyone’s New Year’s is getting off on the right foot. It’s another week, so it’s time for the next installment of Escaping the Pile. Everything we’ve talked about so far: cover letters, formatting, word count, compatibility, has been about preparation. These are things you can do to improve the odds […]
Read more +Well, the two week long fugue of parties, presents, food, ball games, and drink is over, and it seems we’ve stumbled into another new year without too many casualties. So it’s time to return to real life. While we were all busy, Sarah Hans accepted my short story “Coffee and Collaborators” for her debut anthology […]
Read more +Hello world. I’m not going to lie, I’m dragging something fierce to pull myself out of the post-Christmas malaise. I’m full of too much lasagna, Andes mints, and seasonal beer to be a valuable member of society, and next week, we’re going to do it all over again. However, I promised you the next segment […]
Read more +Good afternoon, aspiring writers! Today, I’m starting a six-part series on what you can do to kick your work to the top of the pile and start getting noticed. But first, what makes me think I can tell you anything? Well, I’ve managed through hard work and a generous helping of luck to get over […]
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