Category Archives: Novels

Professional Wednesday: Writing All Sorts of Stuff

Posted on March 3, 2021 by dbjackson

As I mentioned in last week’s Professional Wednesday post, I have a teaching gig coming up. I’ll be leading a couple of critique workshops, and this Saturday, I’ll be giving a long talk on writing epic fantasy. This opportunity came … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesdays: Lessons From Manuscript Critiques — Simple Is Better

Posted on February 24, 2021 by dbjackson

I am reading stories right now for a teaching gig I have coming up in early March. I’ll be running a critique workshop, and so I not only have to read and comment on the manuscripts, I also should take … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: My Declaration of Creative Independence

Posted on February 22, 2021 by dbjackson

So many professional issues on my mind today — I’m finding it hard to organize my thoughts into something coherent. These remain hard times for creators. Writers, musicians and composers, visual artists of all sorts, actors and directors, dancers and … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Placing Your Inciting Moment In the Right Spot

Posted on February 10, 2021 by dbjackson

Generally speaking, writers — from beginners to professionals — know what it means to have an inciting moment for our stories. The inciting moment is the occurrence that sets in motion all the events that constitute our narrative — Luke … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Lessons From A Recent Edit

Posted on January 27, 2021 by dbjackson

As part of my new Professional Wednesday format, I intend to tie advice posts to issues I am encountering “in the moment” with my own work. And so, today, I share with you a few insights that grew out of … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Creativity and the Market

Posted on January 20, 2021 by dbjackson

As a professional writer — as a professional in the arts — I take on several career roles. I am an artist, of course. I create. I am an editor, and not just in the traditional sense of editing the … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesdays: Editors and Writers — The View From Both Sides

Posted on January 13, 2021 by dbjackson

Right now, not for the first time, I find myself on both sides of the editorial process. On the one hand, I am co-editing the DERELICT anthology, reading submissions and starting to think about how authors might want to improve … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: A Ton of News, and Organizing My Time

Posted on January 6, 2021 by dbjackson

Welcome to my new Wednesday blogging feature, Professional Wednesdays. As some of you may remember, back around Thanksgiving I asked you for advice on the future of my midweek posts. My Writing-Tip Wednesdays were well received throughout 2020, but by … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Why Do We Create?

Posted on December 30, 2020 by dbjackson

I just reread my first post of the year, when I first discussed my weekly blogging plans, and my goals for the months to come. I closed the post with “Happy 2020. May it be your best year yet.” How … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Ten Books You Should Read

Posted on December 23, 2020 by dbjackson

Early in the year — even before the pandemic hit — I wrote a post in which I basically said that all writers should read. There are certain “rules” about the profession that are actually negotiable — writers don’t really … Continue reading →

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