In life’s cracks, I’ve been absorbing as much fiction as I can and taking note of the experts at work. Any of the great writers will tell you that to write well, you gotta read well. With that in mind, I decided it would be fun to share some of the stuff I come across that seems worth studying in …
With my son passed out on the couch, my wife and I spent an evening watching a TV show called Breaking the Band. While illuminating, it tends to tell the same three-act story: Band forms, Band excels, Band dies. There are all sorts of reasons for this. Pressures leading to drug and alcohol abuse. Tragic accidents. But the seemingly number …
After seeing a comment on my recent post from friend and prolific writer, Harvey Stanbrough, I realized that I didn’t do a very good job of defining what “writing well” actually means. Ironic, considering how Adler and Van Doren felt one of the keys to “reading well” was to come to terms with an author–in other words, what do certain …
Knowing the rules of an art is not the same as having the habit. Mortimer J. Adler & Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book In my scheduled reading time (because it needs to be scheduled–spare time doesn’t exist in my current incarnation 🙂 ), I’ve been re-reading one of my favorite books: How to Read a Book by …
I’ve mentioned my friend and author, Harvey Stanbrough, to you all before, but I wanted to let you know that he’s published a helpful, practical book to help writers get out of their own way: Quiet the Critical Voice You can get it through Smashwords for $8.99 or save 11% and purchase directly from him for $8 even (using PayPal). …
This post has been migrated to a permanent page with links to subsequent articles. Go here to check it out! -Phillip
He wasn’t a smart guy, but he thought he was. And that was the crux. I believed him and tried to make him do things a smart guy would do. And then I got stuck. Many times. What had started out as a fun, simple short story that I figured I’d wrap up in a couple of days wound up …
Today is a day that for seven years, seemed like that dream where you’re running and running towards something but that something seemed to only get further and further away. I’m happy to say I’ve finally reached that something–publication. For those that don’t know, this time last year, I was in the throes of writing a short story every week and …
Starting today, I have ten weeks left in which to finish fifteen stories if I hope to meet the goal I set on July 31st of 2017. Whether it’s fighting sickness, familial and work obligations, or general lethargy, the enemy is around every corner (I feel a little out of sorts referring to family as the enemy, but the writing …
