I tried watching Cobra Kai. The premise, as I assumed it, was interesting. I thought we'd be catching up with the villain from the original Karate Kid, which is true--we do. But I assumed we'd find out that villain wasn't actually a villain, an idea that the prologue (cut almost entirely from the original film)... Continue Reading →
Process in Progress #1 – The “Promises Outline”
My process has always been manic. It's 2010 and I'm a plotter, 'cause that's obviously the way to go! My first novel was a mess even though I outlined it, but that's only true because I wasn't thorough enough. "Thorough in what way?" you ask? Why, thorough with my characters' micro-expressions, of course! This new... Continue Reading →
Edited in Post – The Rest of She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
It's been over two years since I did the first "Writer Watching" for She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. While rereading it, I had a bunch of nervous laugh moments whenever I'd said shit like, "I'll talk about that next time!" Yeah, I have no idea what "that" was. What I do know is that... Continue Reading →
There’s a Video Game Controller Out There, on That Roof
Disclaimer: I don't want to write about what's going on right now, because it's all anyone is talking about. As an American, I find it so difficult to watch the news that I can only take it in 5-minute bursts at the end and beginning of the day. So, if you were hoping for my... Continue Reading →
Don’t Save “the Good Part”
I sometimes wonder about "the good part" of a story. You know--that part where everything comes to a head, or something huge and game-changing happens? I look at stories with very clearly defined moments like those, often dominating the narrative by the creator's design, and I think . . . . . . what if... Continue Reading →
2019 – One of the Worst & Most Important Years of My Life
I had . . . plans for this year. Thinking back to January, I remember being bright-eyed with wonder and excitement about my creativity. I don't remember why. I'm not saying I lost my love for writing this year. I just got hit by life so hard that I genuinely don't remember why I was... Continue Reading →
Remembering
I don't do well without distractions. At this point in my life, being in a quiet room, without anything to do, ends horribly for me. Like characters in some of my older stories (vehicles for me to express the phenomenon), I start thinking of the many, many things that are going wrong in my life.... Continue Reading →
Drafts – Gwin, the Red Markison
The other wayfarers were eyeing Gwin, all of them shameless about it. Not just because he was the only Avian waiting in the mayor's antechamber, but because he was a Red Markison. There were over a hundred races of Avian across the world, with far more visual distinctions than human races. Dramatic differences in crests,... Continue Reading →
Drafts – The Steelskins
Musa almost walked into them. Coming out of Lucky's, pulling his coat tight against the cloud-dimmed afternoon, he didn't notice the steelskins until there were six of them, in varying degrees of contrapposto. Only one of them eyed Musa--a stern look through a dented visor, promising there were no answers to be had here. The... Continue Reading →
Just Checking In: Welcome to 2019
It's a new year. A new chance to finally get the life I want. For me, 2019 feels almost like a last chance though; my internal gauge of Published Heat has officially dropped back down to 0, and if I get to 2020 without getting published again, it's probably going to spin down further, into... Continue Reading →
Inktrap 