Author | Joseph L. Selby

Tag: writethink

  • NaNoing My Problem

    When I finish revising a novel, I feel like the train from the climax of Back to the Future 3. Doc Brown threw in those special logs and now I’m going twice as fast as a normal train. Reall, that works for when I finish the novel the first time and when I revise it…

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  • Does Boston Make Me a Bad Writer?

    Once upon a time, I had thought to craft a blog post entitled “The New Yorker’s Guide to the Rest of the Country.” Many of the agents whose blogs/tweets I follow not only work in New York but grew up there as well. They will then jet off to various parts of the country for…

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  • The Importance of a Name

    THE TRIAD SOCIETY is a pre-steam punk fantasy. What does that mean? That means steam technology is in its early advances. I don’t have airships or the like. I have steam-infused water and other similar “inventions!” Reliarach is the first kingdom on the Crescent Sea to develop such technology, the other six kingdoms being in…

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  • Trading at $1,365.00 an ounce

    A good beta reader is worth his or her weight in gold. As of closing October 13, 2010, gold traded at $1,365 an ounce. An ounce is equal to 1/16 of a pound. (2.2 pounds equals 1 kilogram for you metric folks.) Assuming Elizabeth Poole weighs about 110 pounds (when she’s soaking wet maybe), that…

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  • Stuff Stolen from Other People

    Eric at Pimp My Novel retweeted this blog post that has a great quote: “An absolutely necessary part of a writer’s equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment the world hands out and the punishment he inflicts on himself.” – Irwin Shaw I’ll try to…

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  • Redux: There is No Such Thing as Writer’s Block

    Not quite sure why people are so much more willing to read blogger than live journal as one is just as easy as the other (other than displaying in reader, but we won’t get into an RSS feed discussion). Anyway, because it has reared its ugly head again, I feel inclined to repost one of…

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  • A Ponderance: What do you think is back there?

    My good online friend and beta reader, LurkerWithout works nights at a hotel. Having held this job myself, I understand his psychological pain. To pass the time, he will occasionally doodle and share those doodles with the masses. (That’s you and me, in case you were wondering just who was amassed.) Today’s offering is worth…

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  • Beware the AYFKM, My Son

    There are plenty of reasons a person may stop reading your book at the beginning: overwriting, underwriting, rehashed plots or story elements, a disconnection with the protagonist. I can’t even list the number of books I’ve picked up and put back down before the end of chapter 1 (it’s a long list). That’s the important…

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  • Frenetic

    I have stopped revising so I can read BLUE FIRE. I haven’t opened my computer since Monday evening. This isn’t too bad because I should finish the book by tomorrow. It’s not a long-term delay or anything. And reading a good book is a great way to recharge one’s batteries. Keep the juices flowing and…

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  • BLUE FIRE, Writing to Age, and the Agency Model for eBooks

     BLUE FIRE by Janice Hardy released today. Some how, I switched the 10 and the 5 and thought it wasn’t coming out until Friday even though new books come out on Tuesdays. I are dumb. So I get an email while riding the train into work saying the download is available. I turn on my…

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