For Writers Only (Okay, Relax, Illustrators, Too)
Sunday, October 26th, 2008 Posted in Fun Clips, the writing process | No Comments »[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxschLOAr-s] Thanks to Richard Spaulding, an old friend, who passed this along. The man behind this video, Dennis Cass, has a pretty cool blogsite, Dennis Cass Wants You To Be More Awesome. He really does!
Jigsaw Jones: What’s In a Book Cover?
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 Posted in Jigsaw Jones, the writing process | 1 Comment »One of the central themes of this blog is that whatever touches my life as a writer is valid content. Or as my pal Matthew Cordell might say, "blog fodder." So, thus: I recently got this note from my ...
Inside Scoop: Book Covers, Along Came Spider
Sunday, October 19th, 2008 Posted in Along Came Spider, the writing process | No Comments »On Sunday night I began to write a post about my new "Jigsaw Jones" cover, but didn't have all the info I needed to make it happen. So, instead, let's just dub this COVER WEEK and begin here: A while back, ...
Elmore Leonard’s Rules for Writing
Monday, October 13th, 2008 Posted in Readings, the writing process | No Comments »As part of a series called "Writers on Writing," published in The New York Times, Elmore Leonard penned a thought-provoking article that first saw print on July 16, 2001. Every once in a while I remember that it exists and ...
The Writing Process: Theft (and Tom Chiarella)!
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 Posted in Fun Clips, the writing process | No Comments »I was reading an article in Esquire this morning, "How to Be a Sweet-Talker" by Tom Chiarella. He's a fine writer and I've read his work for several years. I came across this sentence: I spent the great flood lying in ...
Fan Mail Wednesday: #15
Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 Posted in Along Came Spider, Fan Mail, the writing process | 3 Comments »Okay, imagine that I'm holding a large cardboard box filled with thousands of paper scraps. I roll up my sleeve, reach in my hand, stir things up a bit, and pull out a note. Wow -- what are the odds? ...
Deleted Scenes: Six Innings
Friday, October 3rd, 2008 Posted in Six Innings, the writing process | No Comments »During the revision process for Six Innings, I cut more than 10,000 words. It was a very difficult time for me, filled with doubt and uncertainty. But I trusted my wise & experienced editors, Liz Szabla and Jean Feiwel, and ...
Opening Sentence: Guess the Book . . . and More!
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008 Posted in Readings, the writing process | 4 Comments »First, again, I'm just a little overwhelmed with things these days, so this blog hasn't gotten the attention I'd like to give it. If I can work out some technical issues, I'll be back with a wallop. In the meantime, I'm ...
Writing Process: Six Innings
Thursday, September 18th, 2008 Posted in Six Innings, the writing process | 1 Comment »I've never had a particularly good memory. Most of the details are lost, but essences remain. As a writer, those essential feelings are what feed my books. However, when it comes to baseball, I do have startlingly vivid recollections. Here's one ...
Backstory: A Sense of Smell
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008 Posted in Along Came Spider, the writing process | No Comments »Like most people, I have a nose. But mine doesn't seem to work very well. Smells don't really register with me on a conscious level. I mean, sure, I get the big unavoidable ones, like fresh brownies in the kitchen ...