If you had told me a couple years ago that I would forsake my meticulous outlines, I would have never believed you. Writing a story is analogous to an old sea voyage. You can start with the nautical charts ahead of time or you can set out on the seas and see where the wind … Continue reading From Plotter to Pantser (Writing Update)
books
What I Read – May 2022
Read widely. It’s on nearly every writing how-to article out there. But while it is always my intention to explore new genres and vary my reading, I end up sticking to the same type of books I always read. So, I invented a regimented system, specifying the exact order in which I would read different … Continue reading What I Read – May 2022
My Top 25 Bizarro Books (As of Now)
Certain books stay with you for life. They worm their way into your thoughts when you least expect them to and you can revisit them in your mind whenever you need that escape. No genre does that more for me than bizarro fiction. In a recent post, I mentioned that Mykle Hansen’s The Cannibal’s Guide … Continue reading My Top 25 Bizarro Books (As of Now)
Working on a New Novelette (Update)
In my last blog post, I preached my new positive and productive outlook in the face of my cognitive troubles. My execution? Decent not great. I certainly accomplished far more than I would have if I had stuck with my doom-and-gloom philosophy. My New Project Image via Wikimedia Commons I needed a project. My current … Continue reading Working on a New Novelette (Update)
Thinking Positively and Productively
“You only fail if you stop writing.” – Ray Bradbury. I came across this quote shortly after posting last week’s grim update. In it, I had effectively given up writing until the fog of my medications cleared. And who knows how long that would be? Bradbury’s words pulled me back. Yes, I might create a … Continue reading Thinking Positively and Productively
Writing & Reading Update – March 2022
I don’t like to get too deep into my personal life on this blog, but this is a writing update and some personal issues have affected my productivity. This was a bad month at baseline, enough to hamper my work. To treat this, my doctor doubled my medication. This higher dose screwed with my brain … Continue reading Writing & Reading Update – March 2022
How I Write a Novel
Some of my novel/novella manuscripts I believe that there are very few rules to writing. No one way to do it. For instance, one of the most common designations of writers is plotter or pantser (i.e., outline or no outline). I am firmly (if not obsessively) in the former category, but for every author it’s … Continue reading How I Write a Novel
What I Read – February 2022
These last several years I’ve been intimidated by longer books. After all, I was on Goodreads, which rewards readers who consume as many books as possible. Now that I’ve shed that site and its philosophy, I find myself drawn to longer works once more. As such, two of the four books below are over 500 … Continue reading What I Read – February 2022
Writing Update – February 2022
What type of writer am I? I posed this question in my last writing update and now I think I have an answer. I decided I couldn’t pick just one genre and achieve the “singular focus” I spoke of. It’s just not who I am. Horror is my love these days, what I think of … Continue reading Writing Update – February 2022
What I Read – January 2022
I’m barely a month into this new year, and I’ve already broken a resolution. I vowed to read 60+ books in 2022. It was soon after I made this vow that I watched a video-essay that talked about reading for quality not quantity. I realized: What’s the point of reading if you’re going to treat … Continue reading What I Read – January 2022
Zé Burns | Blog 