Tag Archives: how to write

Creative Wednesday: Communicating Our World Building To Our Readers

Posted on December 1, 2021 by dbjackson

Tomorrow night, I will be giving a talk on world building here at the university, in a themed residential house devoted to writing. The students from the house, at least those I’ve met so far, are earnest and passionate and … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Submitting To Our Newest Anthologies

Posted on November 24, 2021 by dbjackson

Thanksgiving is upon us, and the year is winding down. But for those of you who write and who are looking for publication opportunities, I want to point out that the open call for short story submissions for this year’s … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Thoughts on Teaching Writing

Posted on March 17, 2021 by dbjackson

As I have mentioned previously, this past weekend, and the weekend before, I participated in the Futurescapes Writers’ Workshop as both a lecturer and a workshop instructor. I gave a talk on writing epic fantasy, and then ran critique groups … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: The Two World-Builds

Posted on March 10, 2021 by dbjackson

They don’t care that the twelfth king of Hamsterdom was Belchamiethius IV, known to his subjects as “Conquerer of the Exercise Wheel.” They don’t need to know the names of each mountain peak in the Twelve Dunce Cap Range. This … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Writing All Sorts of Stuff

Posted on March 3, 2021 by dbjackson

As I mentioned in last week’s Professional Wednesday post, I have a teaching gig coming up. I’ll be leading a couple of critique workshops, and this Saturday, I’ll be giving a long talk on writing epic fantasy. This opportunity came … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesdays: Lessons From Manuscript Critiques — Simple Is Better

Posted on February 24, 2021 by dbjackson

I am reading stories right now for a teaching gig I have coming up in early March. I’ll be running a critique workshop, and so I not only have to read and comment on the manuscripts, I also should take … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Placing Your Inciting Moment In the Right Spot

Posted on February 10, 2021 by dbjackson

Generally speaking, writers — from beginners to professionals — know what it means to have an inciting moment for our stories. The inciting moment is the occurrence that sets in motion all the events that constitute our narrative — Luke … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Lessons From A Recent Edit

Posted on January 27, 2021 by dbjackson

As part of my new Professional Wednesday format, I intend to tie advice posts to issues I am encountering “in the moment” with my own work. And so, today, I share with you a few insights that grew out of … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: Creativity and the Market

Posted on January 20, 2021 by dbjackson

As a professional writer — as a professional in the arts — I take on several career roles. I am an artist, of course. I create. I am an editor, and not just in the traditional sense of editing the … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesdays: Editors and Writers — The View From Both Sides

Posted on January 13, 2021 by dbjackson

Right now, not for the first time, I find myself on both sides of the editorial process. On the one hand, I am co-editing the DERELICT anthology, reading submissions and starting to think about how authors might want to improve … Continue reading →

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