Category Archives: Writing Life

Professional Wednesday: Another Letter To My Younger Self

Posted on May 24, 2023 by dbjackson

Dear Younger Me, Yes, it’s me again — Middle Aged David. Upper Middle Aged David, actually. I know I wrote to you earlier this week. I remember doing so. I’m not so far gone quite yet. But I thought you … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: A Letter To My Younger Self

Posted on May 22, 2023 by dbjackson

Dear Younger Me, Yes, that’s really our hairline now. Calm down. It’s not— Would you please calm down? Thank you. What did you expect? Seriously. Dad was bald. Bill and Jim had lost their hair by the time they were … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Looking At Our Old Work With Compassion

Posted on May 17, 2023 by dbjackson

I continue to read through and revise the books of my Winds of the Forelands epic fantasy series, a five-book project first published by Tor Books in 2002-2007. The series has been out of print for some time now, and … 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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Monday Musings: Mental Health and My Complacency — A #HoldOnToTheLight Post

Posted on May 8, 2023 by dbjackson

I should have enjoyed last week. We had the release of The Chalice War: Stone, the first book in my new Celtic-themed urban fantasy. Lots of spring migrants (talking ’bout birds here) moved through our area of the Cumberland Plateau, … 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 →

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Monday Musings: This Blog, My Books, Your Support

Posted on May 1, 2023 by dbjackson

This Blog: I want to say from the outset that I love maintaining this blog. I write my twice-weekly posts because I enjoy sharing my thoughts (on Mondays) and my writing tips (on Wednesdays). Writing on demand in this way … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Eliminating Excess Verbiage, Part II

Posted on April 26, 2023 by dbjackson

Last week, I revisited an old Magical Words post I’d done about eliminating excess verbiage in our writing, putting a new spin on the discussion. As promised, I would like to continue that conversation today. Before I dive back into … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings: My Favorite Babies

Posted on April 24, 2023 by dbjackson

This post is not about my daughters. I swear. I love my girls exactly the same amount. Except maybe around my birthday, when my love for them is directly proportional to the quality of the presents they give me. Other … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Eliminating Excess Verbiage, Part I

Posted on April 19, 2023 by dbjackson

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have been doing a tremendous amount of editing and revising these past several months. Between co-editing (with Edmund Schubert) the Artifice and Craft anthology for Zombies Need Brains, revising my upcoming Chalice … Continue reading →

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