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Rick Loomis, In Memoriam

Rick Loomis In Memoriam Rick Loomis passed away last week. He was a man of passions, and one who had that rarest of combinations: the ability to learn and the ability to laugh at himself. He was sharp and insightful and capable of surprising you. I knew Rick for forty-two years. He was a friend […]

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I’m Teaching a NANOWRIMO Prep class

I’m Teaching a NANOWRIMO Prep class

This October, I’ll be teaching a NANOWRIMO Prep class for the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University. In the past I’ve offered similar classes (alone and in conjunction with Aaron Allston) to get writers all organized for National Novel Writing Month. The task of writing a 50,000 word novel inside […]

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Why Puppies are sad, and always will be

Why Puppies are sad, and always will be

Let me state from the outset that I have zero interest in awards. While they are an honor when fairly awarded—and it would be fun to have that merit badge in my collection—the reality is that in the big game, Hugos, Nebulae and other awards really mean nothing to the life of a working writer. […]

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High Intensity Writing Workout No. 7

High Intensity Writing Workout No. 7

Up to this point, the High Intensity Writing Workouts have focused largely on characters and dialogue. Characters are the lifeblood of any story. We read for characters. If a writer can get them done correctly—making them believable—then the writer will have a career. What most writers don’t realize is that the worlds we create—no matter […]

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High Intensity Writing Workshop No. 6

High Intensity Writing Workshop No. 6

Despite the fact that this will be one of the shorter exercises, it’s one of the most important you can use to develop characters and their unique voices. Previously I’ve had you work on dialogue so you could avoid the “he said” tags which make dialogues choppy. By the end of this exercise you’ll understand […]

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Rogue One

Rogue One

It’s a bit of a shock, but also kind of fun, to find your Twitter feed blowing up because of a blockbuster announcement. Yesterday the news came out that the first Star Wars™ stand alone movie would be Rogue One. I can’t tell you the thrill that ran through me with the news. I don’t […]

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High Intensity Writing Workout No. 5

High Intensity Writing Workout No. 5

This week’s workout expands a great deal on what you did in HIWW No. 4 because it’s all about character. Last week I had you creating a basic character, listing out a handful of facts about her, generate some goals and story ideas, then go back and change one fact. From there you got to […]

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