Thoughts from the Writer’s Desk

I’ll start this writing advice essay by pointing out that giving writing advice is an iffy proposition. What works for one person might be useless or even detrimental for another,…

I don’t typically swing an axe around my apartment while editing an anthology, but this time, I did. For my latest, 120 Murders: Dark Fiction Inspired by the Alternative Era, one…

Much has been made of Ernest Hemingway’s judgement that ‘the first draft of anything is shit’. But why? It’s such a crass truism, one that, thanks to the profanity of…

Without the right beginning, a successful creative piece is impossible. This may sound self-evident, and yet the process of working through a story or novel is such a chaotic and…

If you’re a writer, it’s the classic interview question (or even the one that just occurs in general everyday chat.) ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’