When I talk to self-publishers out there, I find that they have several misconceptions about e-books. Here are the myths: 1. My book will do much better as an e-book because it will be more accessible to readers. 2. Most people have e-readers now anyway. 3. Customers can check out e-books from the library … Continue reading »
Posted in May 2012 …
10 Cheap Yet Fun Summer Activities for Kids
Summer is here, and if you are like me, the money isn’t there for trips to the zoo, water parks or amusement parks. What to do? Kids need stimulation, and will get bored very quickly sitting around playing video games and watching television. These two activities are the biggest time wasters and usually do not … Continue reading »
Tolkien’s Advice About Relationships: Writing Real Romance
J.R.R. Tolkien had three sons and one daughter, and in a letter to his son Michael he discusses his views on women’s issues, marriage and the truth about men in relationships. In this letter written in March 1941, Tolkien is very explicit, and very wise on the subject. As a writer, we can glean from … Continue reading »
Writing the Apocalypse: Economic Collapse
As a precursor to the release of my new novel This Broken Earth, I will be posting periodic research I have been doing into the possible downfall of our world as we know it. I wanted my novel to have a realistic feel as if the events I describe could possibly happen to our world. … Continue reading »
Serializing My Novel: The Monster Is Too Big to Tame
I have had the release date for my next novel posted in the right hand column of this blog now for several months, but something happened to me yesterday that may push the thing back even further. More story popped into my head. After wincing and shaking my fist at the powers that be who … Continue reading »
Men In Black 3: A Nice Capstone to the Trilogy
Every trilogy must have a capstone film. Return of the Jedi is the capstone for the Star Wars saga because it ties all the loose ends together and gives us more connections between characters that we did not realize or that were not revealed in the first two films. The Last Crusade was a capstone … Continue reading »
On pacing guides
Reblogged from Granted, and…: “What do you think about district pacing guides?” I am asked this question a lot. To answer it, let us consider the origin of the idea, in competitive racing. My daughter runs track. She is a fine miler, on course to break 5 minutes this spring (she ran 5:09 to win … Continue reading »
Teaching The Lord of the Rings: A Common Core Unit for High School Students
J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is probably one of the most important texts written in the 20th century. It is also a text that most students can read without much difficulty if given proper time. Most teachers do not realize that the epic saga can be used to teach most of the Common Core … Continue reading »
How to Use Scrivener to Write a Screenplay
Scrivener is probably the best word processor available. Most writers like myself who have been writing for a long time will find Scrivener a welcome addition to their desktop. I use the program exclusively to write novels, but it has many other functions, one of which is screenwriting. Here are the steps: First, open a … Continue reading »
Houghton Mifflin Files for Bankruptcy and the Publishing Industry Limps On
The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday reported that “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co., the publisher of authors from Mark Twain to J.R.R. Tolkien, sought bankruptcy protection to eliminate more than $3 billion in debt. The company, based in Boston, listed $2.68 billion in assets and $3.53 billion in debt in Chapter 11 documents filed today in … Continue reading »
