Tag Archives: character

Professional Wednesday: Why Fantasy, Why Magic?

Posted on March 30, 2022 by dbjackson

My oldest brother, Bill, who we lost several years ago, was an avid reader. He loved books of all sorts. Every year, he made a list of the National Book Award nominees — finalists and books on the long list … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Punctuating Our Stories (Not the Way You Think I Mean It)

Posted on March 23, 2022 by dbjackson

“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” We all know the line. Even people who haven’t seen Casablanca know the line. (And please, don’t get me started about not seeing Casablanca. I mean, sure, it’s dated, … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Most Important Lessons — Trust Yourself, Trust Your Reader

Posted on March 9, 2022 by dbjackson

Today, I’m introducing a new feature for my Professional Wednesday posts: “Most Important Lessons.” We are coming up on the 28th anniversary of the start of my career (which I trace to the offer I received from Tor Books on … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Top Ten Reasons You Need INVASIVES!!

Posted on February 16, 2022 by dbjackson

In case the daily teasers and cover art reveals and previous blog posts all failed to tip you off, this is release week for Invasives, the second Radiants novel. It comes out on Friday, February 18! Yay!! Release weeks are … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Throw Nothing Away — A Writing Lesson Courtesy of INVASIVES

Posted on February 2, 2022 by dbjackson

February has begun, Punxsutawney Phil has done his schtick, and time seems to be moving at breakneck speed. In a little over two weeks, Invasives, the second Radiants book, will be released by Belle Books. Like Radiants, this is a … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Ten Books You Should Read

Posted on December 23, 2020 by dbjackson

Early in the year — even before the pandemic hit — I wrote a post in which I basically said that all writers should read. There are certain “rules” about the profession that are actually negotiable — writers don’t really … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Dialogue Attribution Revisited

Posted on December 16, 2020 by dbjackson

So why am I revisiting the topic now? The short answer is it’s Joshua Palmatier’s fault. Maybe I should give you the long answer.   Back in the early spring — it feels like a hundred years ago now — … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Call For Stories, and Submission Advice Revisited!

Posted on December 2, 2020 by dbjackson

I am co-editing a new Zombies Need Brains anthology with my friend, Joshua Palmatier, who is the founder and owner of Zombies Need Brains. Joshua is co-editing all three of the ZNB anthologies this year, which to my mind is … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: The Quickening

Posted on November 18, 2020 by dbjackson

Okay, writers, raise your hand if any of your characters have ever done things you didn’t expect. Yeah, I figure that’s most of us. Now raise your hand if your characters have ever done things you really didn’t want them … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Descriptions and Point of View

Posted on October 14, 2020 by dbjackson

Description does not — cannot — take place in an emotional or circumstantial vacuum. Not that long ago, I offered tips on writing scenes involving sex and violence, and essentially said that dealing with such encounters is almost entirely a … Continue reading →

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