Category Archives: Character

Tuesday Musings: What Makes An Effective Villain?

Posted on February 18, 2025 by dbjackson

I love villains. I love writing them. I love reading them. I love seeing them brought to life on big screen and small. Well, let me modify that. I love villains in fiction and movies and television shows. I can’t … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: It ALWAYS Feels Good To Finish a Book

Posted on April 1, 2024 by dbjackson

I could have ended this post at the title. That really is the point. I have been writing fiction for close to thirty years. I have finished more than thirty novels and as many pieces of short fiction, and yes, … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Writing Work-For-Hire Projects

Posted on August 16, 2023 by dbjackson

Love what you write. I say it a lot. It is the single piece of advice I always offer when asked what tips I would give to young writers (young of age, young of career). And I believe the advice … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings, part III — The 60% Wall

Posted on June 28, 2023 by dbjackson

Today, I add to my series of posts about “Beginnings, Middles, and Endings,” with a continued focus on the vast middle of the novel. If you wish to go back and read my first two essays in this feature on … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: What We’re Watching These Days

Posted on June 26, 2023 by dbjackson

Today’s post is a bit late, for which I apologize. It also offers a break from some of the more weighty topics I’ve covered in my Monday posts. I sometimes feel that I get too serious with my essays week … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Trust Yourself. No, Really.

Posted on May 10, 2023 by dbjackson

Trust your reader. This is editor speak for “trust yourself.” It is something I say often to many of the writers I edit. But what does it mean? I have had my own lesson in “trust your reader” in recent … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Learning From Each of Our Projects

Posted on May 3, 2023 by dbjackson

Ideally, every new book and story we write is not just an adventure in imagination, a chance to discover new characters and settings and narratives, but also a learning opportunity. I continue to improve my writing with each project, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Bell Bridge Books, Belle Books, Character, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Radiants, Short Fiction, The Chalice War, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Professional Wednesday: Learning From Each of Our Projects

Professional Wednesday: When To Fight an Edit, and When To Let it Go

Posted on April 5, 2023 by dbjackson

I know my knee-jerk response is not always my wisest response. All of us who have gone through the editorial process are familiar with the conundrum: We want to work with our editors. We want to cultivate reputations for being … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: My Best Mistakes, Part I

Posted on February 8, 2023 by dbjackson

A new month, a new blog series. Not that I’m committing to doing a series every month. Really, I’m not . . . . [Sigh] What have I done . . . ? Over the course of my career, which … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Three Ways To Help Your Short Fiction Submission, and Three Ways To Doom It

Posted on December 21, 2022 by dbjackson

The deadline for submissions to Artifice and Craft, the anthology I’m co-editing with Edmund Schubert for Zombies Need Brains, is ten days away. December 31. As of this writing, we are closing in on 400 submissions. The anthology will have … Continue reading →

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