Tag: writing advice

The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt I: Three Tips for Describing Female Characters

June 3, 2018

Indie authorship seems to have exacerbated my penchant for masochism: I can’t help looking at the bestseller lists, even though it only leaves me sad that my books aren’t on them! Browsing the top titles a few weeks ago, the blurb for Dan Brown’s latest novel Origin caught my eye. After reconnecting with one of … More The Beautiful Scientist Problem, Pt I: Three Tips for Describing Female Characters

The Air-Speed Velocity of Ravens: “Game of Thrones” and the Importance of Consistency in SFF Writing

August 22, 2017

Spoiler alert: this post contains minor spoilers for Game of Thrones Season 7 Episode 6 “Gendry is obviously not Robert Baratheon’s bastard,” I observed to my Laddie during the most recent episode of Game of Thrones. “His father has to be The Flash.” After a few days’ hiking with the wight-hunting party, our warrior-blacksmith seems … More The Air-Speed Velocity of Ravens: “Game of Thrones” and the Importance of Consistency in SFF Writing

Review: Saving the World One Word at a Time: Writing Cli-Fi

July 6, 2015

I received a promotional copy of this book from Ellen Szabo in exchange for my honest review: thanks, Ellen! In the preface to this book, author Ellen Szabo writes “I wish someone had told me when I was young that separation of the `hard sciences’ and `creative arts’ was a false duality”. I can certainly … More Review: Saving the World One Word at a Time: Writing Cli-Fi

Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 7)

June 10, 2015

This post concludes a seven-part series discussing my experience writing climate fiction in my novel, Blue Karma. Conclusion Over the past week, I’ve shared the five greatest challenges I encountered writing the cli-fi genre: turning a vision into a narrative, defining the scope and thematic focus of the story, drawing inspiration from current events, and avoiding rhetoric. … More Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 7)

Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 6)

June 9, 2015

This post is part six of a seven-part series discussing my experience writing climate fiction in my novel, Blue Karma. Challenge #5: Step Away from the Soapbox As both a writer and a bibliophile, I think the greatest power of fiction is its ability to provoke thought. Here the cli-fi genre has a clear mission. Less than … More Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 6)

Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 5)

June 8, 2015

This post is part five of a seven-part series discussing my experience writing climate fiction in my novel, Blue Karma. Challenge #4: The Headline Tango Writing Blue Karma felt like a race against time. Over the year it took me to finish it, more and more headlines about epic droughts , floods, and changing attitudes about water use peppered the … More Environmental Hazards: Five Challenges of Writing Climate Fiction (Part 5)