Tag Archives: writing

Middle-Grader Road Grading

Posted on February 17, 2020 by

Why are middle-grade books my chosen writing genre? I’ve written middle-grade and young-adult fiction, and picture books (which I’ve tried to write; but can’t do it well). Somehow middle-grade plots, characters, and ideas are what populate my mind.  Perhaps it’s … Continue reading →

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The Useful Cage

Posted on February 2, 2020 by

How the Storytelling Format Can Limit a Fictional Narrative Strategically As a writer who has created almost all of his fiction in third person limited, using a standard narrative format, I’m always exploring how established novelists use or misuse format … Continue reading →

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Love, a Dream, and a Theft

Posted on March 14, 2018 by

My Secret Relationship with Ursula K. Le Guin’s Mother by Chuck Mallory To understand, you need to know I grew up in a very small town in the 1960s. My mother was able to put me in first grade at … Continue reading →

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When Your Own Writing Spooks You

Posted on March 17, 2017 by

Clean the basement. That’s how you find pieces of writing you never remember writing. I found one, and am going to throw it away. It isn’t bad as much as it is strange. In 2008 I took a stream-of-consciousness writing … Continue reading →

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Angst. Just your general angst.

Posted on March 21, 2016 by

I know writing is not supposed to be fun. I know it is not necessarily supposed to be hard. I know it can work well as you get into the “flow” and time and space disappear beneath the rapid-fire sequence … Continue reading →

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The Strangest Quotes You Have Ever Heard, No Kidding

Posted on July 11, 2015 by

Here’s what happens when you open an old box you forgot you had and look inside… Continue reading →

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The Secret about Historical Fiction and Sci-Fi

Posted on January 22, 2015 by

Chicago is known for its long horrible winters, and being a writer and avid reader, I always have plenty to do indoors. However, sometimes the writing is arduous and you need a break. Then you get to that weird in-between-good-books … Continue reading →

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