Tag Archives: reading

Professional Wednesday: Reading Books Several Times

Posted on August 23, 2023 by dbjackson

I have just started reading a book that I have read at least one time before. Maybe two. It is Under Heaven, by Guy Gavriel Kay, a terrific historical fantasy set in a world modeled after Tang Dynasty China. The … Continue reading →

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Professional Wednesday: “Hidden Brain,” Perception, and Fiction

Posted on October 5, 2022 by dbjackson

On a recent drive I began listening to the Hidden Brain podcast, with the brilliant Shankar Vedantam. I had listened to scattered episodes before, but never in a systematic way. But this was a long drive and I wound up … 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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Creative Wednesday: Books To Buy For The Writer In Your Life

Posted on December 15, 2021 by dbjackson

‘Tis the season for giving, and for searching out gifts for the writer on your holiday shopping list. Or, if YOU are the writer on your holiday shopping list, searching out gifts for yourself! And so I thought I would … 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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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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Monday Musings: More Thoughts on the Pandemic

Posted on March 16, 2020 by dbjackson

So, you’re tele-working now. Or you’re home with kids whose schools have closed. Or, like me, you’re just back from driving fifteen hours round trip to pick up your kid from a college that is closed for “two weeks,” but … Continue reading →

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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Writers Read

Posted on February 26, 2020 by dbjackson

I’m tempted to leave the post at that and go open a beer. Writers have to be readers. Period. Full stop. But it’s morning, and I really shouldn’t be drinking beer this early, so allow me to elaborate… In last … Continue reading →

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Monday Musings — Lessons in Rock and Roll

Posted on January 6, 2020 by dbjackson

Artistic careers are hard. We all doubt ourselves; we all suffer setbacks. In many respects, diligence and persistence are at least as important as raw talent… I’m sharing this with you because, though I say these things on convention panels … Continue reading →

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Community and Genre, part 2, and Another Giveaway!

Posted on August 5, 2015 by dbjackson

Surely there is room in this genre for quiet stories and loud ones, for the old-fashioned and the new-and-weird, for space opera and epic fantasy, for military SF and urban fantasy, for writers of all races, religions, sexual orientations, and … Continue reading →

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