I drafted my first novel last fall. I spent the summer reviewing notes and outlining, and in the process, wrote little notes to my future self. I meant for these to make writing the next book a smoother process, but now I see that every book is a different beast. I’ve got a new story […]

A friend of mine recently told me about an app called Replika designed to be a personal AI companion to foster mental wellness. It’s available to talk any time of day about any topic in a judgment-free environment. I was interested right away. This sounded like a great way for someone to improve their social […]

I need to look in the mirror and make a confession: I don’t write short stories. When I got back onto Twitch, live-streaming writing sessions was one of my goals.  And it’s a goal I have yet to deliver on.  Part of it is because I haven’t found a pool of prompts that really satisfied […]

I purposely set aside the blog the last couple of months to focus on revisions on my novel.  There were a couple of weeks where so much paper was scattered around my apartment that the only spot to sleep was my couch.  I’m glad to say that revisions are done and I’m able to catch […]

No, I have not found religion. I’m talking about a different kind of bible. I read a post that Chuck Wendig wrote about plotting and preparing for a novel, and the story bible was among the suggestions.   Story bibles aren’t new. In fact, when I looked it up on Wikipedia, I found links to […]

Paul Frommer made Na’vi.  Mark Okrand made Klingon.  J.R.R. Tolkien made Quenya, Sindarin, and many other languages. Constructed languages have accompanied fictional cultures for years, and are pretty much a requirement in future writing.  The reader’s attention to detail is such that they will register whether or not something is off linguistically just as they […]

Social media is a double-edged sword.  It’s a great way to get your work out into the world, connect with like-minded people, form new relationships, and play raunchy hashtag games.  It’s also a great way to run into trolls and rig elections. I saw the birth and rise of social media from the day it […]

It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this blog, so long that I wiped it clean to start over fresh.  And now I feel like Robin Williams in that scene in Jumanji where he asks, “What YEAR is it?!” So for the more perceptive of you, yes, I’m alive and re-re-restarting my blog. I’ve been […]