Category writing
Writers With Issues?
Who doesn’t have issues? We all got ’em. Take a good look in that mirror and if you’re human you’ve got your share (some more than others) of quirks, habits and flaws. Collectively, these are your “issues.” They aren’t all bad, don’t get me wrong. That mix of psychic stuff is what makes you – you. […]
Let Me Enjoy My Happy Place
The Time In Between Writing Projects I’ve found that sweet spot, the one right after you finish reading a good book, and wrapping up the revisions on a manuscript of your own. A warm glow spreads from the center of my being. Could this be contentment? This vaguely familiar feeling smells of an overheated computer […]
Do You Suffer From Revision Brain Syndrome?
Revision Brain Syndrome (RBS) RBS is destined to be added to the list of serious psychological maladies in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th edition (DSM V) as a condition plaguing millions of writers. (cue Sarah McLachlan sad puppy music here) Self-diagnosis is difficult and I’ll warn you now to stay […]
A Survivalist’s Guide To Writing
Survive You need to think like a survivalist when you start out on a writing adventure. The only goal in this first draft is to survive. The key to surviving your writing project is all in the preparation. Traditional survivalists are a sturdy lot who know what they are getting into before they step out into the […]
Wanna Go To Mars?
We got this all wrong… I’m sitting at my keyboard and revising (as I’m supposed to do) and something shiny crosses the monitor and pulls my attention away like a moth to a flame. A news wire reports that over 200,000 people have applied to travel seven months through space and live on Mars. The […]
What Color Is Your Asshat?
What Color Is It? Recently, social media went on meltdown status over the color of a dress. A Tumblr photo set off a barrage of comments over the viewer’s perception of the color. Was it white and gold, or black and blue? (It was white and gold – and hideous) Perception. This little haute couture […]
What Is The Honey Badger Telling Me?
Honey Badger Don’t Plot So, I’m sitting at my keyboard drafting the last few chapters of a novel and I know where the story goes. I know how the plot lines come together, how the characters change and I’m just about ready to wrap this one up. I’m at this point because I’ve outlined, planned and […]
50 Shades of Big Brother
Is there a ghost in the machine? Technology is prepping for a takeover, if you believe the news accounts these days. Nanomachines, gene therapy, smart phones, a proliferation of drones to serve mankind and self driving cars are on the drawing board. While it isn’t the Jetson’s flying cars and robot maids we were all […]
Writers and Serial Killers
Writers and Serial Killers have more in common than you think. I binge watched (yes, I should have been writing – consider me scolded) the first season of Hannibal this week, something that I’d put off for a while. The Thomas Harris novels, Red Dragon, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal were gripping and the movie […]
Make Procrastination Your Bitch
Listen. Can you hear that? Tick, tock, tick, tock… The clock spring unwinds and each swipe of the pendulum is like a 50,000 volt charge to your frost-protected nether regions. Get off your ass – tick, get moving – tock, get something finished for crapsake – tick. Time is wasting! This particular time of year […]
James L'Etoile 