Monthly Archives: October 2020

Aromaa

Posted on October 31, 2020 by midiguru

This week I’m thinking about the design of board games. I’m not an expert! But I love these games, and it’s an interesting topic to ponder. A few years back, an enterprising fellow named Omar Syed designed and released a … Continue reading →

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Halma, Tell Us!

Posted on October 29, 2020 by midiguru

The game of Halma was invented in the 1880s. By today’s gaming standards it’s very old-school. The board is too large, and play with four players is bound to be rather tedious. You can read about it on wikipedia. It … Continue reading →

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Games People Play

Posted on October 29, 2020 by midiguru

If you look at it from a certain angle, everything in life is a game. Ultimately you lose, but along the way you can have quite a lot of fun. For many people, the first rule of the game is, … Continue reading →

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Is This U?

Posted on October 25, 2020 by midiguru

For a few months now I’ve been avoiding the controversy that has been simmering in Unitarian Universalism. The fact that there are no Sunday services does help me stay out of it. Also, I just don’t need the aggravation. I … Continue reading →

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Superstructure

Posted on October 21, 2020 by midiguru

If you’re writing fantasy, and especially fantasy novels, you’ll want to devote some serious attention to world-building. If you google “fantasy novel world-building,” as I did this evening, you’ll find any number of blog posts that will offer suggestions. Some … Continue reading →

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The Wrong and Grinding Load

Posted on October 13, 2020 by midiguru

It’s never a good idea to criticize one’s fellow authors, especially in public. But I’m in a hellish mood today, so I may as well slop a little of it around. In search of a jolly distraction, I ventured into … Continue reading →

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Characters

Posted on October 11, 2020 by midiguru

True confession: I have trouble coming up with a decent plot. Sometimes I can do it. Other times I have what I think is a strong plot, but sooner or later it turns out to be weak. One way of … Continue reading →

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Beta, Schmeta

Posted on October 7, 2020 by midiguru

When I was first starting to write fiction, there was no such thing as beta-reading. The term comes from software development, and it’s certainly vital in that area. I have beta-tested other people’s software, and I’ve had others beta-test my … Continue reading →

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Don’t Ever Change, Dahling

Posted on October 7, 2020 by midiguru

Ah, well. Sic transit gloria mundi and all that. I spent several hours today doing a detailed and thoughtful critique of the opening of a novel by a fellow in one of my Facebook writers’ groups. I emailed it to … Continue reading →

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The Book Business

Posted on October 4, 2020 by midiguru

As a writer, sitting all alone at your desk or tapping away on your laptop in a coffee shop, you’re in a one-on-one relationship with your book. There’s really no alternative. You can’t constantly be jumping up, dashing over to … Continue reading →

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