5 Things ’77 Star Wars Taught Me About Storytelling

In a little over a week, fans and non-fans alike will be flocking to the local theater to gobble up the next installment, and shall I say “revamping” of the Star Wars saga. I, for one, am looking forward to it. I have a screen quality costume that I constructed a few years ago.  It’s

5 Tips To Hook Readers With Characterization

One of the biggest problems I have when reading a book is that if the characterization is flat I will soon find myself wandering away from the book to doing other things.  This is not due to my tendency to write every day no matter the circumstances, but actually lies in the strength of the

New Podcast Up: DIY Books and Episode 7

In this podcast, Ryan and I discuss the question: “How much of your novel (besides writing it of course) should you hire out and how much should you do yourself?” We both have much experience on either end of this and want to share what we have learned about hiring people and doing our own publicity, book covers,

W is for So What?

As a teacher of analytical writing, I often have to ask my students to think about an argument by first stating their opinion about the argument and then asking themselves the question: “So what?” This applies to writing pros as well. So you’ve written that awesome fantasy novel crammed with all the lovely creatures, characters

A Galaxy Not Too Far Away

“G” is for Galaxy, and in a galaxy not too far away I had the opportunity to entertain the crowd who came out to watch the Oklahoma City Barons play hockey.  (I know the “G” here is a stretch, but go with me.  It was a blast). I am a member of a local Star