Tag Archive: dystopia

What should I write next?

April 24, 2015 1 Comment

After my Mad Men book is out, I plan to switch focus to fiction for a little while. Have two things in mind. Two novels that are DONE but that require my attention for the next few steps in the process. Help me decide which to focus on: 1) A children’s / middle grade fantasy novel that keeps with classic fantasy tropes/clichés (think Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain books), i.e. young boy on an adventure, mouthy princess, dragons, etc. I think it’s fun and love the characters, but I don’t think I can sell it to a publisher – it’s too “standard,” and these days they want something unique – so I aim to start on the sequels and self-publish it as a series. 2) A dystopian science fiction novel about a cynical teenager who…
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Writing

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Husbandly news in the, errr … news

May 11, 2011 0 Comments

Here is a little piece about the ol’ Husband book that appeared in today’s Birmingham News. Check it out. Heck, ReTweet it, too. In more exciting news, I’m just days away from wrapping up final edits on the first draft of a science fiction novel. It’s an action-packed story set in a dystopian America of the near future. I still have a long way to go on it but hope to be feverishly writing the next draft by Memorial Day.

Random Musings, Writing

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When your own stories surprise you

November 4, 2009 0 Comments

I’ve already mentioned that I’m working on a dystopian science fiction novel. It will be, I hope, Philip K. Dick meets George Orwell thrust into a Stephen Spielberg film. That’s the aim, at least. I’ve had some rough nights where the words just don’t want to come (and those that do are crap), and other nights when things click and I’m at the edge of my seat, wondering what’s going to happen to our protagonists. Wait, shouldn’t I know what’s going to happen to my characters? Well, yes and no. I’m writing with an outline, but it’s pretty loose. It’s a series of milestones the characters and/or plot must reach (though even those milestones can change in the course of the writing). A general roadmap…
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Writing

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The novel chugs along

October 19, 2009 1 Comment

Since vowing last Thursday that I would finish the first draft of my dystopian science fiction novel by the end of the year — a ridiculous vow, considering all else I’m juggling on a daily basis — I’ve averaged just at the maximum end of what I need to average to get it finished. In doing so, I’ve slammed out a couple of chapters, wrote my way through a three-chapter action set piece, and figured out a plot puzzle that had been vexing me. Wrote myself into a corner while I was at it, but I’m sure that will work itself out one way or another. I just have to keep writing and “discover” what happens. But it’s only been four days. That’s but a…
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Random Musings, Writing

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Back to the keyboard!

September 15, 2009 0 Comments

After taking a long break from writing, as of last night I am officially behind the keyboard again. Or in front of the keyboard. Whichever. It’s been about six weeks, which is as long as I’ve gone in quite some time. Sure, I had a good deal of work to do on my comic anthology during that time, but by the end of the process it wasn’t writing that needed to be done, it was largely administrative stuff and layout work. So last night, after another superb episode of Deadwood, I sat down for a short writing session. Got back to work on my dystopian science fiction novel, which has its flaws but is coming together okay. When I feel a little better about where…
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Writing

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