Monthly Archives: May 2021

You Think Halloween Is Scary? Ha! (Encore)

I’ll tell you what’s really scary. I’ll share a secret that’s seen little exposure over countless millennia, and for good reason: it’s frightening in the extreme. You probably think you know what I’m talking about, but you don’t. You can’t … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Curse of Backstory (Encore)

Of all the story-writing sins committed by beginning writers, by far the worst consists of dumping a trailer-load of backstory on the unsuspecting reader. Fortunately, this error becomes clear almost immediately, at least to the reader. As an editor, this practice … Continue reading

Posted in editing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Who Else Would You Ask, If You Could? (Encore)

Note: Since my bride and I were on vacation this past week, I didn’t get as much writing time in as I usually do. So, I’m reposting a tale written a while back. I hope you find it amusing. This … Continue reading

Posted in short fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Writer Warm Ups (Encore)

Most of us are creatures of habit. Writers, especially, fall into that category. We’re probably not as bad as big-league baseball players who have more rituals than a pasture full of priests, but we, too, can be pretty odd when … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, Uncategorized, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Historical tidbits revisited (Encore)

Q: What, exactly, is a historical tidbit, and if not used as a plot point, what good is it? A: It’s merely a history writer’s gold. If you click on the illustration above, you’ll see a larger version. Wikipedia says … Continue reading

Posted in Historical writing, novel writing, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments