I have lost count of the number of times that someone has told me that I should take my long manuscript and split it into two (or three) and call it done. This particular conversation comes up every single time I mention to anyone how long my manuscript is, and it’s actually not outrageously long — it just happens to be over 100,000 words. But let’s face it, my work is high fantasy, and I would struggle to think of any high fantasy novel that wasn’t over 100,000 words (a high fantasy intended for adult audiences).Read More
Category Archives: A Writer’s Journey
Books could almost be immortal
I have seen many debates over that last few years about whether the introduction of the eBook has killed the publishing industry. Many have asked whether books are a thing of the past. It’s a valid question, but this is not the first time the question has been asked.
Think about all the old doomsday stories. In many of them, society has been left to flounder, and the knowledge of the past is frequently lost. Reading becomes a lost skill or something that only a select few know. Languages evolve and unless certain knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, history becomes this mysterious thing that none of us understand.Read More
Ghostwriting: I won’t do it…
Recently, I was approached by someone to become a ghostwriter for their adult thriller novel. Mixed emotions ran through my system. The initial inquiry was heartfelt with a story of a friend who had recently passed away, resulting in the writer struggling to get her mojo back. I did sympathize, but the fundamental tenants behind ghostwriting to me are just wrong.Read More
There is no such thing as an aspiring writer…
There is a term that I have seen bandied around in the bios of various writers, and it’s a term that I don’t like: aspiring writer.
What I don’t understand is how one can aspire to be a writer. You can aspire to be an author. You can aspire to quit your day job to become a full-time writer. You can aspire to share your writing with the world. But aspire to be a writer?Read More
The Perfect Gift for a Writer: A Dictionary
As the title suggests, I recently received the perfect gift that any writer could get: a dictionary. But this was not just any dictionary. This was a copy of The Compact Oxford English Dictionary.
Big whoop, I hear some of you say. Well, actually, it is.
The Oxford English Dictionary (2nd Edition) is a 20-volume beast. No joke. Published in 1989, it clocked in at 21,728 pages. And that doesn’t include all the supplement materials that have since been added. The 3rd Edition is still in production and is not expected to be published until 2037. I hate to think how big the Oxford English Dictionary will be by then.Read More