How do you get story ideas? When I talk to non-writer friends this is the second most frequent question they ask; it’s the question asked by the friends that take your declaration of interest in writing seriously. The question “friends” ask who don’t take your writing seriously is usually something like “You What?​” That’s often followed … Continue reading WRITING “THE LAST TEAMSTER”

I participate in several on line discussion groups, which can at times suck time like a black hole and spew distraction like a geyser. And I confess that often, depending on the topic and the poster, I edit the incoming with a heavy finger on the delete key. But at other times I am engrossed … Continue reading NO TIME LIKE BLOG TIME

Lots of readers and writers ask what if the well runs dry? The well, meaning the creative fount from whence flows stories and all other manner of inspiration. It has never been the right question for me. The well, the source of story ideas, the movies in my head, the idea nuggets, the oh-shit-think-about-thi­s flashes … Continue reading WHEN THE WELL RUNS DRY

TODAY'S GUEST BLOG IS BY SUSAN WINGATE. Susan is the Pacific Northwest award winning author of Drowning, and the Bobby's Diner series. Susan Writes: In Fantasy: Writing alone = HeavenIn Reality: Writing alone = Heaven In Fantasy: Being alone = HeavenIn Reality: Being alone = Loneliness For years I've told people how much I love … Continue reading SPENDING TIME WRITING, SPENDING TIME ALONE

Before reading on, be sure to stop in again on October 6th for award winning author Susan Wingate's guest blog. Here's Bob's news: Life is a constant process of reinventing oneself, or at least replenishing and repairing oneself. Last winter in Southern Idaho was a roller coaster ride, with periods of nice weather and then … Continue reading WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING & WHAT’S TO COME

OK, I'm trying to double my mileage again. Below is another re-posting of some comments made on the Odyssey alumni blog spot. This was in response to a question on how one selects POV for a story. Here's a slightly edited version of what I had to say: I'm sure this is an iconoclastic opinion, … Continue reading DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE — POINT OF VIEW

Recently the Odyssey blog site took up the topic of story setting, asking how graduates of the Odyssey workshop develop their story settings. Do the settings exist fully developed in our minds eye? Do we have some system of working out settings, like drawing maps or using other resources (emphasis here was on speculative fiction, … Continue reading ALL THOSE PICTURES IN MY HEAD

I wish I could say that I was a perfectly disciplined writer. That I adhere to a firm writing schedule every day. That I track my output and regularly submit everything. I’d be lying if I said those things without qualification. For me, “writing regularly” still means many spurts of writing throughout the year. The … Continue reading WORKSHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP?

I can’t imagine a writer emerging from someone who doesn’t read. Sure, there are movies, TV, books-on-tape, and even plays. But I think “something” is lost if the work is not assimilated by reading the written word-- if you don’t see sentence, paragraph, and story structure and punctuation on the printed page. It’s something like … Continue reading LEARNING TO READ TO LEARN TO WRITE

You can see it has been a while since my last post. It's probably worth a comment on that. My perspective on blogging is a little schizoid. It falls somewhere between viewing blogging as a disease that I take precautions against catching, and viewing blogging as the biggest cheap rush an opinionated retired guy has … Continue reading BLOGOMANIA VS. BLOGOPHOBIA