Dialogue tags. Sometimes it seems like everyone wants to do away with them. But me? I love dialogue tags. Let me count the ways: Dialogue tags offer clarity! Which is handy, especially when characters are tricksy, many in number, or not yet established. (Or when you’re not Hemingway.*) The placement …
There is such a fine line to walk in writing, isn’t there? Between too maudlin and poignant. Between expecting readers to be mind-readers and detailing every etching. And, fundamentally, between all issues of more vs. less. For instance. It can be tempting to say there is a correct degree of …
What I want is a virtual book of first chapters. One I can read on my phone or PC. I want to …
Are you as obsessed with data as I am? Probably not! (I really like data.) But on the off chance you are, and …
I remember when I first had to learn how to write for an audience. It was a writing class which shall go …
I’ve played in a great variety of awesome campaigns, from super serious, complex homebrews to goofy, irreverent escapades. And yet, somehow, whenever …
When encountering fantastical fiction in the wild, it can be quite the chore to classify it, what with all those characters, monsters, …
There is a point in doing things at times for exacting quality, and at times for endurance. They have different purposes. Sometimes, …
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”—Michelangelo Even though it’s meant for sculpting, this is …
Kids—and parents of kids—often ask me what they can do to become a writer. I have my answers, involving education, community, and …