Tag Archives: writing

Monday Musings: Missing DragonCon

Posted on September 7, 2020 by dbjackson

Like so many of you, like so many of my fans, my colleagues, my friends, I was supposed to be in Atlanta for DragonCon this Labor Day weekend. Yes, I have taken part in several online panels and visited with … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: How To Handle Profanity In Your Writing

Posted on September 2, 2020 by dbjackson

Have you watched the HBO series Deadwood? It’s a Western, the creative child of the brilliant David Milch. It’s violent, brutally realistic, and absolutely the most profane thing I have ever watched, with the possible exception of the Academy Award-winning … 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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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Let’s Talk Trunk Novels

Posted on August 19, 2020 by dbjackson

A good idea remains such, regardless of the market and our inability to execute that idea when first it comes to us. Sometimes we need to grow into the ambition of certain projects. Let me tell you about my trunk … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: How Are You Doing? How Am I Doing?

Posted on August 17, 2020 by dbjackson

How are you holding up? No, really. I’m asking. I’m asking you, and I’ve been asking myself over the past week or so. This is a remarkable time we’re living through. Obviously, I don’t mean remarkable as in “This is … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Short Fiction Anthologies — When Does an Idea Become a Story?

Posted on August 12, 2020 by dbjackson

What is the difference between an idea and a story? It sounds like a basic question, but we have just begun the Zombies Need Brains Kickstarter for the coming year’s anthologies, and once again I am hoping to co-edit one … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: The ABCs of Character

Posted on August 5, 2020 by dbjackson

Last week, I wrote about befriending our characters, as a way of using empathy to improve our character development. This week I would like to continue the discussion of character work by taking a slightly different approach to creating and … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Befriend Your Characters…And Be-Character Your Friends

Posted on July 29, 2020 by dbjackson

This will be a relatively brief Writing-Tip Wednesday post. It’s a lazy, hot, stormy day and I’m feeling, well, lazy and hot… So far this year, I have used my Wednesday posts to offer advice about any number of things, … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: World Building Lessons I’d Forgotten

Posted on July 22, 2020 by dbjackson

Back in early March, I posted about creating magic systems, and said then that I expected I would post about world building at least once more over the course of the year. And so here I am, making myself a … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: The Allure of the New Shiny

Posted on July 15, 2020 by dbjackson

All of us who write have felt it. Many of us have given into it. Others have resisted. Personally, I’ve done both — with different projects and also within a single one. We loves it and we hates it, but … Continue reading →

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