The Benefits of Writing Conferences

It’s not every day you get to hob-nob with and take classes from great authors (Dan Wells, Aprilynne Pike, David Farland), agents and editors (Laura Rennert,Nephele Tempest, and Krista Marino), and tons of other fabulous authors and aspiring ones.Me and Kami, my sister-in-law, at...

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Did you ever wonder…about looking for aliens?

One of my favorite movies (and books) of all time is Contact. The search for–and finding of– extraterrestrial life in that story is so different than in many sci fi classics. I remember the first time I saw the movie, I was fascinated to learn that SETI (Search for...

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5 Drafts: Tips for Conquering the Dreaded Rewrite

The first time I traveled to Ghana was in January, at the peak of the Harmattan season. For two months, strong winds blow across the Sahara desert and down to West Africa, blanketing the sky with a thick coat of dust. It gets everywhere– in the corners, in the wall...

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The Muse-Fish

You hear a lot from writers about their muses. The word muse conjures up images of some formless, mystical creature that comes down with a magic wand and –bwang!– the writer is inspired. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not over here knocking muses. It’s very true that sometimes,...

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Did You Ever Wonder...

I was sitting at my desk at work the other day, staring woodenly at the apple on my Apple, and I began to wonder. Who the devil took a bite out of that apple? Is it symbolic? Is Apple trying to hint that they’re the Eden of computers? Did some marketing guy decide a whole apple...

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It's in my Blood

In talking with my co-workers the other day, I rediscovered something about myself. I’m a complete nerd. We were all dreamily reminiscing of the days of childhood, when we ran carefree through parks, rejoiced in staying up until 10 pm to play nightgames, relished summers spent...

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Weaving the Story

Over on Guide to Literary Agents, Agent Cameron McClure of Donald Maas had this to say about what stands out from the slush: “‘Good writing’ and ‘voice’ are high on the list, as is a strong plot, original premise, both internal and external character conflicts, and a sense of...

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