Tag Archives: Guy Gavriel Kay

Professional Wednesday: Reading Books Several Times

Posted on August 23, 2023 by dbjackson

I have just started reading a book that I have read at least one time before. Maybe two. It is Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay, a terrific historical fantasy set in a world modeled after Tang Dynasty China. The … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, part V — What Makes a Good Ending?

Posted on July 12, 2023 by dbjackson

Continuing my Professional Wednesday feature on “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings,” (previous posts can be found here, here, here, and here) I now turn to endings. And I will begin by stating the obvious: The ending to our story is likely … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, Part I — Openings

Posted on June 14, 2023 by dbjackson

This week, I launch a new series here in the Professional Wednesday feature — “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings.” Sometimes I focus on minute details of writing in these posts, arcane points of craft or business that are helpful to some, … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: My Approach to Writing Book Reviews

Posted on May 11, 2022 by dbjackson

After publishing my review of Guy Gavriel Kay’s marvelous new book, All the Seas of the World (coming from Viking Press on May 17), the good people at Black Gate Magazine approached me about writing more reviews for them, something … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Punctuating Our Stories (Not the Way You Think I Mean It)

Posted on March 23, 2022 by dbjackson

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” We all know the line. Even people who haven’t seen Casablanca know the line. (And please, don’t get me started about not seeing Casablanca. I mean, sure, it’s dated, … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: “Write What You Know,” part II

Posted on January 12, 2022 by dbjackson

Put another way, I was driven . . . not merely by the fact that I “know” these things, but rather by the fascination and passion that drove me to learn about them in the first place. With last week’s … 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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Monday Musings: How I’m Coping

Posted on October 19, 2020 by dbjackson

I’ve written about politics and social issues a lot in recent weeks, and I want desperately to avoid doing so again this week. It’s not that I don’t have more to say. I do. But I feel as though I’d … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Writing Musically

Posted on August 26, 2020 by dbjackson

It will come as no secret to anyone who knows me that I am a huge fan of The West Wing, in particular Seasons 1-4, when series creator Aaron Sorkin was writing nearly every episode, and his creative partner, Thomas … Continue reading →

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TIME’S DEMON Blog Tour, So Far

Posted on June 3, 2019 by dbjackson

Time’s Demon, the second volume in The Islevale Cycle, my time travel/epic fantasy series, came out last week. The reviews have been very nice, with SFFWorld saying that the book is “about as perfect a second book in a series … Continue reading →

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