The journal and sometimes blog of author, Joseph L. Selby.
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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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The Selby Invitational
If you’ve browsed my website (and specifically the Inkwell), you will have noticed that I’ve done some work with D&D. I love me some role playing games. RPG play is highly regionalized. There is a reason D&D was born in Wisconsin. The epicenter of fanatical role-playing is the Midwest. Sure there are groups out here…
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REVISIOOOOON! REVISION.
I love revision. My love for revision is inversely equivalent to my love for writing queries. When I get into a groove on revising, the words to “Tradition” from Fiddler on the Roof change to “Revision,” and I hear the chorus shouting it over and over in my head. I’m 1/3 of the way through…
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Hobo Writing
So I live in New Hampshire (Nashua). I work in Massachusetts (Boston). While this may seem extreme to drive from one state to another for someone living in the middle of a huge state (read any state not in New England, Delaware, Maryland, or Hawaii), it’s not that far. I drive 20-30 minutes to the…
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The Hard Part
I got a pass on WANTED: CHOSEN ONE, NOW HIRING today. This particular agent has looked at BLACK MAGIC AND BARBECUE SAUCE as well and is very good about giving feedback with rejections. What struck me today is that his comment was very similar to a comment Elizabeth Poole gave me when she beta-read the…
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Pre-Ponderance
This isn’t a fully formed story idea, but something I wanted to write down for later. Today is my birthday (and if I weren’t so tired, I had a completely different post I wanted to make but now I’m just going to go watch “Repo Men” instead). For my birthday, I went up to the…
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You Gotta Fight for Your Right…to Read?
I’ve offered tacit support of SPEAK during the flair-up against the comments made in Springfield last week. I didn’t hop on the bandwagon and speak out against it for a couple reasons. First, I’m fat, and doubt I could hop on a bandwagon if I wanted to. Second, I don’t think my message would reach…