Dan's Sci-fi & Fantasy Blog

Howdy. The Arduous Edit continues to not be quite as arduous as I expect. Here are the vital statistics: I’ve completed the first...

Howdy, I recently finished Damn Fine Story by Chuck Wendig, and it’s, well, a damn fine writing craft book. If you haven’t read anything...

Howdy, After about one month, the Arduous Edit is coming along far faster than I ever expected. Like holy moly fast. Having a week off...

Howdy, Well, I’m almost 3 weeks into the Arduous Edit. Good news. It’s not nearly as arduous as I feared. In fact, it feels much like the...

Howdy, I’ve knocked out short story this month, just completed it this morning. The draft that is! Seeing that there are only seven days...

Howdy, Holy moly level great news! The Great Rewrite is done and dusted. It took a little bit longer than I hoped, but still went, all in...

Howdy, While reading the chapters about the steps in the hero’s journey in Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, I started mapping...

Howdy, An interesting article recently got passed around on the old email by members of my writing group. This particular article on the...

Howdy, I’m still reading Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey, and I continue to be super impressed. Practically every page is...

Howdy, I just started reading Christopher Vogler’s The Writer’s Journey. It’s one of those writing craft books I’ve known about for a...

Howdy, I’m pleased to report, just the last time, the great rewrite is proceeding awesomely. Right now, I’m rewriting chapter 31....

Howdy, Holy Moly! Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass is a real gem. I’ve had another eureka moment while studying it. He points...

Howdy, I don’t know about you, but characterization has always given me one hell of a hard time. I like to think I have improved this...

Howdy, As June come to an end, I excitedly anticipate my two short stories coming out in July. It reminds me of some advice I heard...

Howdy, Matt Bird recommends accepting that the rough draft/1st draft/completed manuscript will need to be entirely rewritten. I’ve...

Howdy, Recently, I started revising my latest manuscript. Yes, I did take Matt Bird's advice and set aside the draft for a few weeks…...

Howdy, I first heard about riff-writing from book editor Elizabeth Lyon when she visited my writing group a few years back. The riff in...

Howdy, This post is another tip from The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird. It's one I've taken advantage of many times in the past. Matt...

Howdy, Today I thought I'd share one of the best pieces of writing advice I think I’ve ever encountered. A couple of years ago I saw...

Howdy, I recently finished The Secrets of Story by Matt Bird. Wow. What can I say? Scads of storytelling advice fill each page. Most his...