Tag: novels vs. short stories

Writing and Publishing Plans moving forward

Over the past few months, I’ve been spending a lot of time experimenting with AI writing and finding ways to incorporate it into my writing process. The goal so far has been twofold: I’ve accomplished both of those things, but I can’t hit them consistently without burning out. Writing with AI has proven key to… Continue reading Writing and Publishing Plans moving forward

Short-form vs. long-form fantasy

For the last month, I’ve been doing a lot of research into the fantasy genre, rereading all of the original Conan the Barbarian stories by Robert E. Howard and a bunch of the other ones too, by authors like L. Sprague De Camp, Lin Carter, Bjorn Nyberg, Robert Jordan, etc. I’ve also been reading a… Continue reading Short-form vs. long-form fantasy

A weird thing I’ve noticed

So I’ve been making good progress on Children of the Starry Sea, writing about 2k words or one scene per day. But in the last couple of weeks, I’ve also had a bunch of short stories drop in my lap, two of them from dreams. My best writing time is between 4am and 6am, so… Continue reading A weird thing I’ve noticed

Short Story: Christopher Columbus, Treasure Hunter

So I finished this one a couple of days ago, but I forgot to write about it then, so I’m writing about it now. Hard to say much when this is the second in a series and the first one hasn’t come out yet, but I’m actually quite pleased with how this one turned out.… Continue reading Short Story: Christopher Columbus, Treasure Hunter

NaNoWriMo 2021: Day Four

Words Written Today: 2,206 Children of the Starry Sea: 0 “In the Wake of Zedekiah Wight”: 2,206 Science Fiction from A to Z: 0 Total Words Written: 8,595 Total Words Remaining: 41,405 Total Words Ahead: 1,927 Really fun scene today in my short story “In the Wake of Zedekiah Wight,” which is quickly turning into… Continue reading NaNoWriMo 2021: Day Four

End of July update

Holy crap, is it the end of July already? I guess it is. So I’ve been making progress on my current WIP, A Queen in Hiding (Sons of the Starfarers: Book 7). Not quite as much as I would like, but it’s coming along. As usual, of all the stories I could have written, I’ve chosen… Continue reading End of July update

What I would do if I were starting out now

In a word, short stories. Write a bunch of short stories. One or two a week if possible. Keep that up for a year or two, tapering off at the end to transition into novels. But keep writing short stories even after novels have become the main focus. Make a serious effort while writing short… Continue reading What I would do if I were starting out now

The timelessness of novels

Every few months, an article about the “death of the novel” makes the rounds on the internet. This subject, the impending doom of one of literature’s most enduring forms, is a perennial favorite for bookish handwringers everywhere. If it isn’t ebooks that’s going to kill the novel, it’s millennials, the internet, our dwindling attention spans, or… Continue reading The timelessness of novels

Thoughts after finishing The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara

WOW. This was an amazing book. A highly memorable book. A book I will return to again and again in the future. There comes a moment when reading a truly amazing book when you don’t think that it can possibly get any better. It’s a ten out of ten, easily five stars. And then …… Continue reading Thoughts after finishing The Last Full Measure by Jeff Shaara