So I’m a stage 2 writer. Or maybe early stage 3. I don’t know. And until I read Dean Wesley Smith’s “Stages of a Fiction Writer”, I had no idea what any of that meant.
Stages of a Fiction Writer is a short book. Very short. It doesn’t have very much concrete content. And yet it’s eminently readable. I should know, I’ve read it twice now. Read More
So this month’s been interesting. I went on an emotional roller coaster with both my writing and my life. Generally, looking back, I’m happy how things turned out with my writing. Read More
I’m a writer. I’m also a game designer, game player and game lover. And, folks, I hate what writers do to games – most writers simply don’t know how to write games.
Let’s take a prime example: Harry Potter’s Quiddich. Harry’s the Seeker of his team, meaning that if he catches the Golden (or Silver, if you’re a fan of the books) Snitch ball his team gains 150 points and instantly wins1.
So what would this do to the game, if it was real? Since catching the Snitch is worth 150 times as much as scoring a goal, why is there only one guy (Harry) chasing it? Well, those are the rules. I buy that. There are plenty of dumber sports2. But why should the players at Hogwarts be written as dumb? Read More
This week I thought I’d try something different.
I get a lot of ideas, for stories, for games, for products or ways to save the world. Mostly nothing comes out of them, but some intrigue me enough for me to start developing them. I had one such epiphany a few days ago and this is what I’m going to do: I’m going to describe how I take a game from an idea to a tested prototype, and possibly more.
I’m writing this as I go along. The game might turn out to be crap. It might turn out to be impossible to make. It might turn out all right and be submitted. I don’t now. This, folks, is game design reality TV. Here goes. Read More
I’ve got this problem: I’m lazy.
Or, I’m not lazy as such. I’m more of a work avoider.
Ok, I’m not really a work avoider. I love to do stuff. I just have a bit of trouble getting started.
A-ha!
Folks, my name is Filip and I’ve got procrastinitis. I procrastinate. Not because I want to. Not because I need to. Not even because I don’t want to do the work. I procrastinate because it’s hard getting started.
There are a lot of reasons why you can’t get started. Perhaps you don’t know what you want to do. Perhaps you don’t have the skills. Perhaps you don’t have the time1.
But perhaps all you’re missing is the right hook. Read More
You can plug away at your dream, hoping for that big break, struggling with motivation, with time, with everything, and do it alone. You might make it. It is possible.
But it’s not bloody likely.
I know. I’ve been there. Sometimes I’m still there. But I’m struggling like a worm at an angler’s convention to find support for my dreams. Having support for your dreams can be the difference between making it and giving up. Having support for your dreams can be the difference between burning bright and burning out. Having support makes things easier1.
And it’s damned hard to get it sometimes. Read More
If you want to be a successfully published writer, all you need are four words.
Start at the Top.
You can debate what successful, published or writer means (do self-published writers count? do exposure markets count?), but I’ll define it very simply: a successfully published writer is a writer who makes money from her writing. Simple as that. So how do you achieve it?
Start at the top.
That’s it. Start at the top. Start by pitching your top market, the best paying one, the one that responds the quickest, the one which has the most readers, or favorable reviews, or chocolate chip cookies. Doesn’t matter how you define your top market. Just find it and start there.
Why? Because 1 percent of something is a million, billion times better than 100 percent of nothing.
And yet, most writers won’t submit to their top market. They’ll throw away their chance at achieving their dream before they even try. I know, I’ve been there. And I tossed away a lot of chances before buckling down and sending out to top markets. And getting published. And if I can, you can, too. Here’s how. Read More
Since I came back to work in mid-February I’ve been cranking out texts, both work related and fiction. I think this is one of my most productive months to date, even though I only worked half a month. Sometimes it’s amazing to see what you manage when you’re rested.
My goals for the month have been to submit all the stories that I got rejections for when I was on vacation, and to finish a few stories that I had clogging my hard drive1. I have to say that I managed to do marvelously. Also, I’m writing while sitting in a child’s recliner which pinches my butt2 and having my computer on the sofa table, which is way too low, while workmen take my workroom apart and install an new wardrobe. Which won’t have anything writing related in it, or even anything cool. Unless you count my 15-year-old Speedos. Read More
Flash fiction, micro-fiction, short-short fiction, call it whatever you want. It’s fiction that’s shorter than 1000 words. Or 1500 words. Or between 500 and 1000 to separate it from the Drabble. Whatever, Flash is short, flash is fun. Which is the first reason. Read More
Tick. A second is one sixtieth of a minute, a minute one sixtieth of an hour.
Tock. I am a good man.
Tick. The day is divided into hours because the Egyptians had a love for the number twelve.
Tock. Breathe, Justin. Calm. Good men don’t die for no reason.
Tick. A clock pendulum makes the same sound as a rifle cock. Click. Read More