How Avatar should have ended

Before I came out to Washington DC, I saw Avatar in the theaters.  AWESOME movie.  Loved the concept, loved the characters, LOVED the science fiction elements and how well they were woven into the story. However, like much of the stuff that comes out of Hollywood, I was disappointed with the ending.  It felt too… Continue reading How Avatar should have ended

Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson

Nobody knows why the government chose the small town of Two Rivers, Michigan, as the site for a top secret military project.  Even most of the people involved in the project don’t know what it’s really about.  That’s alright, because most of the denizens of this backwoods community are used to minding their own business.… Continue reading Mysterium by Robert Charles Wilson

Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, an ancient race of sentient aliens known as the Amarantin went extinct just as their civilization experienced a golden age.  No one knows why, but archeologist Dan Sylveste is determined to find out.  Unlike the other colonists on the remote planet of Resurgam, he believes that the answer may… Continue reading Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds

something

So…I figure it’s been a week and I should probably post something on this blog. Wow. Well, work is underway on Ashes of the Starry Sea, and I’m starting to have a love-hate relationship with it.  Most writers say you first novel isn’t that good, and you just need to get it out of your… Continue reading something

Outlining for a discovery writer

I’m almost finished with the rough draft of Bringing Stella Home, but I can’t shake the feeling that this draft really sucks and is full of holes.   Part of that is probably that I wrote the whole thing  out of the top of my head.  The only part that I really took the time to… Continue reading Outlining for a discovery writer

13,837 words in a day?

Yeah, that’s right.  Believe it or not, I barreled through about 13,837 words today.  That’s thirteen THOUSAND, not thirteen hundred. Now, only about a thousand of that was new stuff  that I was writing.  Most of the rest of it was rearranging scenes that I’d already written, touching them up only a tiny bit.  I… Continue reading 13,837 words in a day?

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Sabriel doesn’t know it, but her father is more than just a powerful necromancer; he is a key in the political intrigue of the Old Kingdom–the land beyond the wall. When he interrupts her class at Wyverly college by sending a hand–an enslaved spirit–from beyond the fourth gate of Death to drop off his sword… Continue reading Sabriel by Garth Nix

White Wolf by David Gemmell

Skilgannon the Damned is one of the mightiest warriors in the world, yet every day the memory of the innocents he has killed haunt him.  He seeks solace in becoming a monk, but as alliances break down and wars sweep the land, mob violence comes to the monastery and Skilgannon once again takes up the… Continue reading White Wolf by David Gemmell

Progress!

I’m sludging through the middle of Bringing Estella Home.  I’ve heard people call this the “blue collar work” of writing, all the parts between the beginning chapters and climactic ending chapters.  I believe it. In particular, I was having some difficulty with chapter 7 last week.  I have, basically, three separate plot threads tied up… Continue reading Progress!

update on the novel

Ughh……. Alright, in the tradition of last year when I would write until 2am every night and then blog on it before going to bed, here is another update on how Bringing Estella Home is going right now. It’s getting tougher.  I’m right in the middle of it right now, in chapter 7, and I’m… Continue reading update on the novel