Monthly Archives: March 2020

Tone-Deaf

Posted on March 30, 2020 by midiguru

I’ll make this short. It’s late, and I’m tired. One of the more destructive things a writer of fiction can do is insert a sentence that breaks the tone of a scene. And here we have a fine example. As … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

You’re On Your Own

Posted on March 30, 2020 by midiguru

Writing fiction is a lonely business. With the rare exception of collaborations, most of us write alone. There’s a lot to keep track of when one is writing a novel, and each of us has to take responsibility for every … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Seeing Is Believing

Posted on March 21, 2020 by midiguru

For a year now, I’ve been meaning to do a few videos in which I read brief excerpts from my fantasy epic. A few weeks ago I was invited to read aloud at the next meeting of the Tri-Valley Writers, … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Quite a Coincidence

Posted on March 21, 2020 by midiguru

By now the memory is hazy, but I think it may have been John Barth who said (rather pontifically, and I don’t have the exact quote, so I’ll reconstruct it), “There should be exactly one coincidence in a novel. If … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Getting the Story Started

Posted on March 11, 2020 by midiguru

If you want a lesson in how to start a fantasy novel brilliantly, I suggest Naomi Novik’s His Majesty’s Dragon. The story opens with a mid-Atlantic battle between a British ship and a French ship. The details (swords and sails) … Continue reading →

Posted in fiction, writing | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Okay, I Lied

Posted on March 4, 2020 by midiguru

It appears I’m not quite finished with my Unitarian Universalist dumpster dive. Yesterday I thought I was, but today I decided I really ought to sit down and read the “Findings Related to the Southern Regional Lead Hiring Decision [in] … Continue reading →

Posted in religion, society & culture | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Last Word (I Promise!)

Posted on March 3, 2020 by midiguru

By now I’m thoroughly fed up with the back-and-forth on Todd Eklof’s book The Gadfly Papers. Eklof himself has been besmirched by the Unitarian Universalist Ministers’ Association, and without a clear explanation as to why they censured him. His critiques … Continue reading →

Posted in religion | Tagged , , | 4 Comments