Debating the value of an idea or belief is not debating the value of the person who holds it.

Some people are willing to separate themselves from their ideas, while others are not. I have some acquaintances who are easy to discuss differences of opinion with, because they don’t take it personally. Others get frustrated when I question an idea. I don’t necessarily question because I disagree, but because I want to view it fromContinueContinue reading “Debating the value of an idea or belief is not debating the value of the person who holds it.”

False progress activities (Getting nowhere, but working so hard!)

One thing we do when working towards a goal is something I will now coin “False Progress Activities.”  This is when we want to procrastinate the hard part of a goal (e.g. actually writing the darn query letter) and we instead focus on tasks that help, that are far easier, but give little progress. For example,ContinueContinue reading “False progress activities (Getting nowhere, but working so hard!)”

(Anti-)Social Media

Why do they call it social media? People share a lot of words, but so much communication is lost. Body language is gone. Tone of voice is gone. Touch is gone. People spend their lives experiencing other people through the medium of little pixels on a screen, rather than directly experiencing them. It’s like aContinueContinue reading “(Anti-)Social Media”

How do I find the right editor or agent?

So I’ve been searching for agents and editors, and sheesh this process is hard! First, I bought “2016 Novel and Short Story Writer’s Market” and “2016 Guide to Literary Agents.” Then I went through the publishers and agencies that represented fantasy and I highlighted which ones I thought might be good (because they didn’t explicitlyContinueContinue reading “How do I find the right editor or agent?”