Fiction Discussion Wednesday—The Lottery
I decided to pick this story because of a discussion with my host here on Whidbey Island on the appeal of horror fiction. I talked about how horror, at its…
Notes On 27 Takes
I wrote this story quite a while ago, and it took its sweet time finding a home, so remembering exactly what possessed me to write it is a bit tricky,…
Notes On “The Ungriftable Howard Zez”
First off, sorry for having been away for so long. The usual excuses apply. Anyway, I'm afraid I don't have a ton of notes to give for this story. It…
Should You Outline Your Next Novel?
I don't write a ton of stuff on literary craft here. (I haven't blogged a whole lot period in the last couple of months, I know.) But the Twitter chat…
Some That Man Might Be?
All That Man Is by David Szalay My rating: 2 of 5 stars I kept waiting for the irony to kick in. As I read stories of one white, straight,…
I’m Looking For A Few Good Readers
A maximum of five, to be exact. I've got a version of Born Under A Bad Sign uploaded to a secret location on the interwebs, and I'd like the thoughts, impressions, and very…
Have Any Of You Lost Friends By Including Them In Your Fiction?
I haven't, mainly because I don't think I ever have included friends, relatives, or acquaintances in any of my work. Any of you who've read my works and seen yourselves…
Thinking Fiction
Join my new little discussion group over at Goodreads to dig into the connections between philosophy and fiction. Thinking Fiction 63 members Writers and readers come together to discuss a…
I Am An (Anxiety) Dreamweaver
Scott Southard, keeper of a blog of literary musings, wrote a humorous post on literary genres, and the factionalism they encourage, that got me thinking about how I choose to…
Recreating Hitler
I've been doing a lot of straight history on the blog over the last month or so, but when it came to Hitler, I saw little advantage in rehashing his…