Tag: writing

Tales from the Oubliette: Full time writing, month two

This month has flown by. February is a short little month, but still. Where did all those days go? Anyhoo, things I’ve learned in the past four weeks: 1) Apparently, there will be one week in which all the writing I do is deletable crap. So, as was the case in January, the first week’s…… Continue reading Tales from the Oubliette: Full time writing, month two

Clarkesworld interview!

Recently, the most excellent Jeremy L. C. Jones interviewed me for the February issue of Clarkesworld magazine — and it’s now live! In ‘Wendigo, Waistcoat, Spyglass and Other Words’ Jeremy and I chat about style, the short form, and “the human side of even the nastiest creatures.” Jeremy asked such fantastic questions — it was…… Continue reading Clarkesworld interview!

Tales from the Oubliette: Full time writer, one month in…

This is what my oubliette looks like… No, seriously. I’m not just sitting in my living room writing my book most days, or taking the laptop to bed… So, it’s been a month since I got my grant. A month of being a full time writer. This has been a completely new experience for me:…… Continue reading Tales from the Oubliette: Full time writer, one month in…

Three Cheers for Arts SA!!

THIS JUST IN: HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY FOR ARTS SA!!! I got the grant I applied for — not all that I requested (my budget was a bit cheeky), but all that I need to write full time for much of next year!! Goodbye daydrudgery, hello novel!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂  

Regency Fairies, Midnight & Moonshine, and other writing matters

‘Tis the season to be writing! Dayjobbery is pretty much finished until after Christmas — yay! — and this morning I did the final edits on ‘Drinks and Measures’, a Regency fairy story I’ve been working on for the past few of weeks. It’s full of wigs and frocks and food and manors (and manners!)…… Continue reading Regency Fairies, Midnight & Moonshine, and other writing matters

Tuesday Therapy: Eating Elephants

So I’ve decided to start a new weekly segment on this website, called ‘Tuesday Therapy’. Basically, I’ve been thinking that Tuesday lacks an identity: in the whole scheme of the week, it kinda falls through the cracks. It’s not abhorrent, like Monday; it isn’t a promising hump, like Wednesday; and few of us celebrate its…… Continue reading Tuesday Therapy: Eating Elephants

On Being Productive

All writers have different habits, good and bad, that influence their productivity. Some prefer to write things out long-hand, some like to plot and plan, some simply need to check Facebook and Twitter and twelve different email accounts before they can focus on fiction. We all know our own foibles, and we know equally well…… Continue reading On Being Productive

A carrot or two about writing as capital ‘A’ Art…

A while ago, Lee Battersby emailed to say he was running a series of posts about Art over at the Battersblog, and asked me to contribute to the Treacherous Carrot discussion. And, lo. Contribute I did. Art and beauty and writing — I could’ve talked about this topic for ages… In February 1880, William Morris…… Continue reading A carrot or two about writing as capital ‘A’ Art…

The Flensing of the Baxter

Over at The Word, Alan Baxter tells the tale of joy and woe of having his story flensed by the Evil Drs Brain: flense verb, flensed, flens·ing 1. to strip the blubber or the skin from (a whale, seal, etc.). 2. to strip off (blubber or skin)… I wrote a short story recently that I…… Continue reading The Flensing of the Baxter