Category Archives: On Writing

Adaptability in Creative Pursuits

Recently I experienced mounting frustration not because I was blocked and accomplishing nothing, but rather that I was focusing on one aspect of my work and neglecting others. I had determined that I would write at least five hundred original … Continue reading

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Remembering Greg Bear

Science fiction and fantasy writer Greg Bear died on November 19, 2022. I was (and am) an outlier, having lived overseas for thirty-five years and only recently, in the past several years, having become acquainted with other writers in the … Continue reading

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An Appreciation of Bruce Taylor, aka Mr. Magic Realism

It may seem odd to interrupt the posting of a lengthy three-part book review for an essay on another subject, but I have just received the disheartening news that my friend Bruce Taylor died a few days ago, and this … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The Writer’s Crusade: Kurt Vonnegut and the Many Lives of Slaughterhouse-Five by Tom Roston

Let’s start with the title of this fascinating book, with its reference to the “many lives” of Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This is an allusion to the multiple drafts that Vonnegut wrote over two decades before he was satisfied with … Continue reading

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Staying Alive; or, The Martian as an Allegory of the Human Condition

“Never despair, but if you do, work on in spite of despair.”- paraphrase of Edmund Burke Recently I checked out my various accounts so I could assess my financial situation, and I received a devastating shock. It was much worse … Continue reading

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Keep Doing What You’re Doing

Often we create resolutions for the New Year because we are convinced that changes need to be made in our lives. Perhaps something is not right; something is out of kilter. We resolve to do whatever needs to be done … Continue reading

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The Days It Doesn’t Happen

Every writer has a different approach to the process of putting words on paper. Some who write long novels or major works of nonfiction prepare backgrounds or research for months or even years and then binge-write until the work is … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Never Say You Can’t Survive by Charlie Jane Anders

This is a slim volume consisting of a series of essays that first appeared on the Tor.com website. Its premise is that writing fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy, can help you survive in the midst of the shit storm … Continue reading

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What I Would Do in a Perfect World

I’m talking here about a subjectively perfect world, not a world in which there is no more war, crime, poverty, and so on. I’m talking about what I would do if I could do whatever I wanted, unencumbered by the … Continue reading

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Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

An interesting thing happened this morning while I was conducting a bit of research before beginning this essay. If you search online for articles on imposter syndrome, you will find no end of them, including from prestigious publications such as … Continue reading

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