I wrote a personal essay on how it felt to be a woman warrior in medieval reenactment combat (SCA). It started as something I just wrote for myself, as I was working on my memoir about playing football. Then I Read more…
Ronald Reagan figured out a way to develop support for the right among the working class. It was brilliant in its simplicity: Lie. Pretend you already did. He spoke in his speeches about a silent majority of conservative Americans who Read more…
A piece of advice I have often heard is that your story must clue the reader in to its genre quickly. “In the first line, if possible.” I remember getting quite tangled up in my thoughts, trying to introduce character, Read more…
In October of 2012, I got my first pro-rate acceptance. I waited breathlessly to be able to announce it to the world once I’d signed a contract. That day never came. The magazine folded, and I received a kill payment Read more…
When I was an unpublished, aspiring writer, oh lo those 15 years ago, I was soaking in desperation. I thought-screamed, “What do you want from me?!” over every rejection letter. If they’d only say, I could write it! I tried Read more…
I’ve talked and blogged a lot about the 2012 Clarion Write-a-thon, which was such a pivotal moment in my development as a writer. Recently, I took a look at my personal records of that experience and realized it was ten Read more…
I applied to do a “Big Idea” blog post on John Scalzi’s blog for The Gods Awoke ,as I did for Galactic Hellcats. Well, I didn’t get it, but this is what I would have posted. If gods were real, Read more…