Musings from the basement...

My blog sucks

My blog sucks. I’m well aware of this fact. It’s not for lack of trying, it’s … well, okay, maybe it’s partially true that lack of trying comes into play. After all, it’s not that I’m incapable of dazzling you with insightful commentary about all manner of things, from the Tantric underpinnings of the television show Lost to the undisputed fact that pineapple is a delicious pizza topping, it’s that I’m unwilling of dazzling you with insightful commentary about all manner of things, from the Tantric underpinnings of the television show Lost to the undisputed fact that pineapple is a delicious pizza topping. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Also, the truth is I’m just very busy right now. Or trying to be, at least. Hell, even…
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Writing Collaborations

Collaborating with another person is a funny, sometimes touchy thing. It can be a minefield. It can be enjoyable and easy. It can be a great experience. It can be a chore. It can make you a better writer and it can make you wish you never agreed to the project in the first place. I’ve worked with many people over the years, most recently on A Year of Hitchcock and Pitched!, and every experience differs wildly from the last. Writer Alan Moore said of collaborations: Collaborations all have a different nature, they all work in different ways, because any two individuals are gonna have a different chemistry between them. You have to be sensitive to the person that you’re working with and they have…
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Writing-related New Year’s resolutions

I’m not much for New Year’s resolutions. They’re either a laughable waste of time, a recipe for disappointment, or both. But I do believe in setting goals, especially when it comes to what I want to accomplish with my writing. I’m way too scatter-brained and easily distracted to stay focused without a clearly defined set of goals in front of me. So with this in mind, last December I outlined a set of goals to accomplish in 2009. They were as follows: 1) Finish refining my middle grade fantasy novel and BEGIN SEARCHING FOR AGENTS. The book needs at least one more pass before it’s ready for prime time, but that should not stop me from being ready to start the querying process. 2) Finish…
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Total. Author. Meltdown.

Wow. This juvenile meltdown by a published author is making the rounds on the Internet right now, and it’s great reading. The gist is simple: reviewer on Amazon.com gives a book a bad review, the author responds to the review, and total bugfuck hilarity ensues. The author descends into a meltdown laden with conspiracy theories, secret supporters (none of whom we actually see), and a seemingly insatiable need to dig their hole ever deeper. If you at all like watching train wrecks, this is fantastic morning entertainment. I just can’t fathom what’s going through someone’s head when they do this. Even major authors sometimes fall prey to it. Someone doesn’t like your work? Fine. That’s part of writing. You feel like you want to respond?…
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