March did not exactly start off with a bang – Saturday was reasonably busy, but then I got nailed with serious insomnia Sunday morning (not a thing I am normally prone to, thankfully) and the rest of the day my brain felt much like wet taffy. I can no longer function on 4 hours of […]
State of the Meerkat, Monday Edition Read More »
Today, as those of you who follow me on Twitter may have seen, I wrote my way into a massive conflict between Story & Outline. Decided to give them pistols at 10 paragraphs, and let them sort it out. Much to my surprise, that worked. Or rather, what worked was, I looked at History and
some people don’t understand me when I talk to my screen…. Read More »
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then here’s a blogpost about what I’ve been up to recently… (the research-corner of my office, currently given over to material for SILVER ON THE ROAD.  The brown paper on the wall hosts a rotating series of post-its and relevant-to-the-chapter information, while the
Snapshot of a Life… Read More »
For newcomers: the wordwar room is an online co-writing session, wherein convivial peer pressure (in 30 and 60 minute ‘wars’) makes the words happen.  Also the griping, whinging, and idea-testing.  The room runs 24/7, with members across the globe. Any serious-about-it writer is welcome to join us. ——————- Ideas are easy. Execution is where you
Weekend Wisdom (?) from the Wordwar Room…. Read More »
So, remember a while back I was talking about that thing that made me Very Happy, but I couldn’t talk about it? I can talk about it now. Â Laura Anne Gilman’s SILVER ON THE ROAD, launching The Devil’s West series, the story of a sixteen-year-old growing up in the Devil’s Territory, west of the newly-formed
Exhales, inhales, lets out the news… Read More »
Two weeks ago, sitting in Mary Robinette Kowal’s “how to give a reading” seminar at Illogicon*, we discovered that I don’t hum. No, really. She asked us to do a voice exercise that involving humming up and down your range, to expand it, and I… couldn’t. It was such a strange, unfamiliar request, that the
Finding Your Voice (no, not that voice, the other voice) Read More »
I’ve returned to the WiP and can confirm that if it does not love me just yet (after the month hiatus) it is still very fond of me and is willing work work together to make things right again. Me? I still adore it. Even when it makes me crazy. ——- In other writing news,
Saddle Up, Saddle Up! Read More »
from mb_galleycat at Most Authors Make Less Than $1,000 a Year: DBW “The majority of authors make less than $1,000 a year, according to a new report from Digital Book World. Almost 80% of self-published authors and more than half of traditionally published authors earn less than $1,000 a year, according to the report. A little more than 40
In which practical meerkat has a few words about money, writing, and freelancing Read More »
This is a story about a story. Â But it’s more than that. Somewhere in early 2012, I’d started working on a story, set in the same universe as my short stories “Crossroads” and “The Devil’s Jack” (forthcoming in DEAD MAN’S HAND). Â But about three thousand words in, I realized that there was more here than
“I am terrified, but I’m not afraid” (a writing year in review) Read More »
Every Tuesday I take a small chunk of something I’m working on – fantasy, mystery, mainstream, whatever… and post it.  No titles, no other info, utterly random. Y’all can give feedback or not, as you wish.  Or even try to guess what it’s from, if you’re so inclined.  There may or may not be a
Tease Tuesday for November 19th Read More »