Imposter syndrome is, simply put, when someone doubts themselves (and their work) and is afraid of being revealed as a fraud. Ironically, the first tweet I saw as soon as I made this here post live on my blog, was this: You’ve written and published a book. It’s getting good reviews and positive feedback. So that means that the crippling fear of writing the first draft of your next book is gone for good, right?…
Today I came across a Kickstarter campaign for a role playing game. The reason I found it was because someone had posted about its…uniqueness in one of the board game groups I’m apart of on Facebook. The RPG campaign is essentially shrouded in mystery, complete with pen-on-paper art drawings (from when the creator was apparently 12 years old), little to no information about the lore or gameplay, and an ego to fill a small moon…
Comedy plays a huge role in our lives. I mean, think about it…there are massively popular late-night TV shows based around making fun of current world events and situations. What’s so funny about the president of the United States (besides his orange completion and Pidgeotto hairstyle)? Why do we get a good laugh over Mr. Kim of North Korea when he’s launching missiles and threatening the USA? From a certain point of view, these…
Writing is a huge part of who I am. I’ve been doing it since I was a wee lad, and continued through high school, college, and grad school. Now, I still get to write, as far as time allows. This summer has been all kinds of crazy, with three family reunions to attend, family staying with us for weeks at a time, and other time-consuming activities that are fun, even though they don’t involve writing.…
Happy 2017! I know, I know…I’m a little late on the welcome wagon. It’s been a busy December, and things have finally slowed down (enough, at least). One of the best things about the new year is I get to set New Year Goals. Goals are essential for growth; without them, a person would be like a boat without a sail, drifting in the sea, being taken wherever nature pulls it. By setting goals, we…
Unless you’re an inter-dimentional time traveller, you probably don’t know a whole lot about space combat against fearsome alien races. Likewise, you might not be very familiar with the way dragons live, how they fly, or even hunt for food. And yet, new writers are often told to “write what you know.” Writing what you know is a lot like trying to find a job straight out of college. Jobs require experience, but in order…
Last night I had the memorable experience of being interviewed for an online teaching position by my laptop. I’ve had interviews in person, over the phone, and quite possible via Skype (I just can’t remember if that last one actually happened…). But I had never been interviewed by nobody. The institution in which I applied decided it was best and most fair for all applicants to take part in an on-demand video interview. I did this…
Let’s talk about luck. Luck of the draw, luck of not getting run over by Santa’s reindeer (sorry, Grandma)…You know, luck. In stories, we don’t really like it when some lucky happenstance comes around and makes things all better for the protagonist. I mean, buddy, if you’re a good protagonist, you gotta learn to do things yourself! Right? Yes. And no. But mostly yes. However, while we don’t want our characters getting by all thanks to…
It took me all of 19 days, but I reached the 50,000 word count for NaNoWriMo! While it may look like it came easy since I’m done with 10 days left to spare, let me tell you, it was far from easy. The writing was, of course, enjoyable. I love figuring out who my characters are, what bugs them, and how they react to the story. I love connecting bits and pieces together into something much…
I’m halfway there! I have surpassed the 25,000 word mark in my NaNo novel. To be honest, I didn’t even know if I would make it this far! But I did, thanks to my lovely wife who demands me sit down and write each night. What would I do without her? My novel is going as planned. It’s also going in places in which I never expected. Before November, I constructed a short outline of where…