Write Me No Problems

When I think of writers of future fiction, I think of the admonitions of almost every good manager I ever hand. "Don't tell me problems," they would say, "bring me solutions." Fiction writers could keep that advice in mind, and in particular, authors of future fiction or so-called speculative fiction. It is not particularly speculative...

The Idea that #Writers Must #Read Everything Is Absolute Bullsh*t (Unless you know how and why to read)

Okay, I will admit that this idea is a recurrent theme of mine. Anyone who has heard me talk about writing has heard me call bollocks on the idea that  novelists cannot hope to become good writers unless they read every novelist they can find. Stephen King is a particular advocate of this way of...

Is Proper English Dead?

Yes. Yes, it is. Bourne? Seriously? The word is "borne." pic.twitter.com/vyhBCSSLt2 — ʙɪʟʟ ᴊᴏɴᴇs, ᴊʀ. 🖋📷 (@billjonesjr) April 4, 2018 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js It was killed by idiots and poor journalists. Sigh.

Garnering Distinguishment

Men, particularly successful ones, have had the advantage over the years of having been able to gain distinguishment as they age, while women merely age.  Now, I know that your immediate reaction might have been for you to be stumble over the word distinguishment rather than note what I said. Let me assure you; I...

Drumpfing on the U.S.A

This was always meant to be my writing (only) blog, but since I've spent my time writing and not marketing, there's been nothing to post here. However, I've come to realize that writer isn't my occupation, it's my identity. I write because I have a boatload of things to say irrespective of whether anyone wants...

Chief Injustice John Roberts: On the Wrong Side of History

In 1967, after a unanimous (9-0) decision to forbid states from restricting marriage among people of different races, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote: "Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual, and cannot be infringed by the State." In 2015, in...

Inspiration, Demarcation, and Respiration fe di Nation

So, I was sitting here, doing what I normally do this time at night, which is to miss the Bess to my Porgy, when WordPress dropped me the badge above. Now, normally, we don' need no stinkin' batches around here, but this one is a inconspicuous but important demarcation point for me. Eight years on...

Inequality

He is a ghost. You can tell by the way they pass but do not see. He is tethered there, rippled by time and indifference. The tilted shadow of injustice mocks him, as do reminders of the destruction reaped from his passing. This is H Street, NE, in Washington D.C. Things are finally changing--but not...

Falling, Part 3

Part 2 Here is the conclusion to Chapter 13 of Emprise. If you like it, you might like the rest. The entire book is meant to read like whispered promises, like kisses, like lyrics sung by a lover, the universe, or God. You don't have to believe in a God or something beyond the mundane...

This Week’s Rant Is About …

Perception is not the same as reality. That simple truth has been echoing through my head, after reading a "review" of Hard as Roxx. Now, all things considered, it wasn't a bad review. And, I wouldn't care if it was a bad review. I care that it wasn't honest. The review, you see, decided that...