Yeah, it was gross. Not a brilliant idea.

Lebron James needs to write fiction novels. After two years of building up enough suspense to kill an entire herd of cattle, he set the stage of his story with the most heartbreaking song and dance this side of a Lifetime movie. It was a masterful buildup of suspense, with the "will he or won't … Continue reading Suspense Driven Mercenaries

Sometimes writing the book takes an open mind. I'd been struggling with The Bronze Lion for a few weeks, kicking myself in the butt and trying desperately to get things going. But no matter how hard I tried, the book just wouldn't go. It was annoying, frustrating and I was almost ready to give up … Continue reading Flexibility

Play rehearsals for "My Fair Lady" are ramping up. As a result, my free time (aka writing time) has drastically been reduced as we prepare for the show's opening next month. Granted, my first scene in the musical is my easiest (I'm a man from Hoxton who asks Professor Higgins where I'm from. No singing … Continue reading My Fair Karpathy

Is this one of those things that you enjoy tormenting me with, Oh Great & Mighty Muse? Is this one of those promises that a teen boy receives from his girlfriend on Prom Night, only to be denied when Daddy taps on the back window with the butt of his shotgun?

If you go the extra mile, you'll end up a mile past where you want to be. - Peggey the Editor. Truer words, as a writer, have never been spoken. Of course, the picture below lies. Lies big. Lies like the dog in front of the door who doesn't want to move and insists that … Continue reading That Bad Extra Mile

Author Sharon Lee talks about the difference between writing on spec (speculative, meaning you haven't sold anything yet... the situation for most new authors) and writing with a contract in hand. It's fairly enlightening, and a good rule of thumb for new writers out there. http://sharonleewriter.com/2010/06/contract-vs-spec/

The very image of it brings to mind something that Warren Beatty should never, ever be proud of. You hear certain lines, you picture... who knows what you picture.

Oh sure, I could claim that I've been too busy, or life got in the way. But the fact of the matter is, I'm a lazy writer. Really, it's true. I sit and stare at the computer all day, waiting for my brain to kick in. Sometimes it takes a cup of coffee. Other times it takes two pots of the brown, mercurial crap.

Next thing I knew, the character who was supposed to be a one and done turns into the carbon version of my little sister and a recurring character.

April was a pretty creative month for me, especially considering that my computer was down and on the fritz for a decent chunk of time. It's spring, which is usually when my body starts gearing up to put down what my brain came up with throughout the winter. This is the actual work time of … Continue reading More Work Hours Gone Good

This has been your public service announcement, brought to you by the folk who brought you that guy from that one movie that you absolutely thought was almost as good as last summer's favorite song.