September 20, 2025
I thought it might be time to start sharing a bit of this universe, where it’s going and who’s taking you there. And I thought it’d be fun to start with character names.
September 19, 2025
Writers are a worrisome bunch. We can come up with many great story ideas and just as many weird things to worry about (beyond even imposter syndrome).
September 16, 2025
Getting back to 100-word drabbles, here are three of mine that all were published a decade ago. Sadly, the venue that published them, SpeckLit, ceased functioning sometime in 2018. I’m forever grateful to Alex Fayle and his crew for being my first paid market.
August 31, 2025
Writers and authors tend to read a lot, I've been slowing down lately. But here are some of the books that I've read or re-read recently and would recommend.
August 27, 2025
This is the first half of a scene in a story I'm developing. I know, that description sounds vague as all get-out. Sorry, I like it that way.
August 21, 2025
As part of a writing course I was recently taking, we were asked to develop some character profiles. this is the profile I developed for one of the antagonist.
August 18, 2025
As part of a writing course I was recently taking, we were asked to develop some character profiles.
August 16, 2025
One of the interesting weeks we had in my writing course was where we had to deconstruct then rebuild a famous story, in this case, Frankenstein. I decided early on that my version would have Elizabeth Lavenza (Victor von Frankenstein's fiancé) as the hero, and that the story would involve nanotechnology.
August 13, 2025
Writing is often filled with tropes - preconceived ideas that both the writer and the reader bring to the story. For this assignment we were asked to redefine a fairy tale trope of our choice. I chose trolls.
August 9, 2025
For a creative writing class, I was taking, we had to write a 500-word scene from The Catcher in the Rye demonstrating a specific perspective of our choice. I chose to do third person limited from D.B.'s perspective.
August 2, 2025
I want to explain about extraneous plot, and how I’m trimming a big chunk out of the last third of a novel to make the story flow better. There’s also consequences to the characters by doing it.
July 26, 2025
My first actual paid stories were six 100-word stories (often called “drabbles”) in 2016. I was paid US$5 for each. It was a big shot of validation early in my career.
July 23, 2025
One of our assignments in my first writing course was to write in a voice you don’t usually use (first person versus third). This was my entry.
July 16, 2025
I think there’s an opportunity to give Romeo and Juliet a very satisfying twist. Think on this: How does Romeo’s time alone in Mantua challenge his feelings for Juliet?
July 15, 2025
During my first writing course, I wrote four different stories for the final assignment. We could only submit one. This is one of the ones I chose not to submit.
July 12, 2025
One theme I wanted to explore in the first Deacon Carver book was how bureaucracy weighs down organizations. One of my key scenes for demonstrating that was in Deacon’s onboarding process, where he confronts the concept of “cost-to-company.”
July 4, 2025
In my writing course, we were tasked with writing a scene. it was to be exactly 500 words in length, and during the scene, the reader was to become aware of a truth without it being said.
April 10, 2025
I don’t usually use people I know as an inspiration. But this time it just fit so well. As soon as I saw our writing prompt, I knew exactly who this was, an old co-worker.
September 4, 2024
This is long overdue, and I apologize. But it will be a while yet. There are two reasons you …
March 2, 2024
This is a three-part post. The first focuses on software and websites that offer Software as a …
February 13, 2024
With over twenty years' experience as a writer, I thought I'd share some software and Software-as-a-Service sites that I've found indispensable,
February 4, 2024
In this polarized age, once you’ve stated an opinion, you’re simply not allowed to change. Not in today’s discourse, not on social media. So why do it?
July 12, 2023
In a series that I’m developing, I’ve got a bunch of characters from a variety of backgrounds and …
May 11, 2023
Two months ago, I started selling my own clothes online as “Skrap Apparel on Etsy.” I don’t have a …
March 15, 2023
Ok, I’m trying to sell clothes on Etsy. The key word here is Trying, because Etsy makes it almost …
February 7, 2023
I’d like to think that Chewie is a bit more of a risk-taker after Han dies. We have the impression that Chewie checked Han’s crazier impulses, but I think the opposite was also true.
January 19, 2023
You don’t really know uncomfortable public embarrassment until Japanese business people have apologised to you. Seriously, it’s off-putting.
December 12, 2022
This is the time of year when I actively avoid anything by Pentatonix, Mariah Carey, or Paul McCartney. Santa Baby has no place in my music rotation, nor does Driving Home for Christmas.
December 10, 2022
That’s part of being a teacher: Giving your best and sending them on to their future. We’re just one station on their journey. You don’t get to know what that future will turn out to be
October 2, 2022
Look, we’re all struggling to make money, authors as much as anyone else. “Buy My Book! But …
July 18, 2022
Writers think carefully about what to call their stories. So do publishers. I have one story that may be being hindered by its title. Let me expla
May 21, 2022
A friend asked me what was the weirdest thing I’d ever written. The question sent me down a memory hole.
March 23, 2022
I don’t mean my aspirations, wishes, hopes for life. I mean my alpha wave middle of the night dreams have changed.
March 3, 2022
Like many of you, my life has been impacted by misinformation, especially during Covid.
February 13, 2022
A discussion among authors around a list of suggested trigger warnings got me to thinking: how would the books that influenced me stack up to this list?
February 11, 2022
Back when I was in university, I wrote some short fiction. I even got some backhand praise for it (“It’s too real, you’re writing a memoir and passing it off as fiction”), if not the best grades
December 24, 2021
Every Christmas, Santa flies all around the world, visiting all the good little girls and boys. And somehow our air defense system just lets that happen?
August 18, 2021
Hey plotters, ever wonder how a pantser creates? Here's one perspective.
August 4, 2021
“What's in a name? that which we call a rose. By any other name would smell as sweet.” Sure, but every writer knows that names are important.
July 31, 2021
(Please note that although I write mostly science fiction, this post is about real world politics. Feel free to leave now).
July 30, 2021
It appears that the same divide that exists in science fiction also exists in historical fiction
July 22, 2021
For the “Cool Solution looking for a Problem” to work, the experts in your story need to be smarter than your target audience
July 14, 2021
I met an astronaut once, and it wasn’t Richard Branson.
July 1, 2021
I recently participated in an author’s workshop where a very well-established, …
May 22, 2021
I hope twitter never adds an edit button. The ramifications of it would probably kill Twitter.
April 10, 2021
Well ... a blog post that discusses both The Lord of the Rings and Friends? This oughta be good...
April 6, 2021
We can all name a university that has an amazing reputation but how well does that reputation reflect the quality of their most recent graduates?
March 25, 2021
Sorry, rant about corporate over-reach ahead.
March 14, 2021
Then there was the time we created a news network, a revolution, and a plot to kidnap a person. All because of peacocks.
February 27, 2021
Back in the heyday of the original tech bubble, I worked in a small new media shop in Toronto.
February 20, 2021
Please don't make me take Facebook's side. Please.
February 15, 2021
A forum that I participate in was asked the question, “This pandemic aside, are cinemas still …
February 9, 2021
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about a quick conversation I had with an absolute stranger 36 years ago (No, I’m not holding a grudge).
February 5, 2021
Language and culture are obviously heavily related to each other, and impact each other greatly, but I wonder what role climate plays in the development of verb tenses in language.
January 22, 2021
The title of this article is NOT my view, nor is it clickbait. It’s the punchline to an anecdote I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.
January 4, 2021
Ornithopters are one of the more interesting pieces of technology in the Dune universe (that and Chairdogs). They do really exist, at least as a concept. Their practical use had never been achieved, not for human flight.
January 4, 2021
I got wondering if there's such a thing as an accurate 3D model of our galaxy.
October 29, 2020
(UPDATED March 2021) What if the lamest "October Surprise" turns out to be a Russian operation?
October 20, 2020
I’ve written perhaps thirty short stories, at least as many dribbles (100-word stories), three …
October 5, 2020
Sixteen years ago, I arrived in Seoul, South Korea to begin teaching English in a hogwan (after …
September 23, 2020
Like many of you, I’m not thrilled with Facebook. They’ve taken too much information, too much control, and not shown enough restraint. I’ve read about the ways that Facebook radicalizes QAnon followers, supports racist groups and generally does not act like a good local or global citizen.
September 22, 2020
There’s this idea, called the great filter, that is used to explain why we haven’t found alien …
August 3, 2020
This article contains spoilers for Jurassic Park, The Rise of Skywalker and The Last Emperox. …
July 29, 2020
I’ve been writing for most of my life. That’s a number of decades, if you can’t tell from my …
July 22, 2020
Whatever happened to the future? I never thought I was going to get flying cars. I never thought I …
July 13, 2020
I used to keep a travel blog called Vicarious Vistas. It was the first site that I attempted to …
July 1, 2020
It all started with open-heart surgery. Yes, an odd spot to start. I was the recipient of that …
December 21, 2019
It’s a simple thought. Twenty, thirty, forty … seventy years from now, will anyone be …
December 17, 2019
Christmas is in 8 days. I thought I’d end the year on a festive note, so here’s some …
October 9, 2019
I doubt it’s a surprise that I’m working on a book. I’m actually working on a lot …
August 27, 2019
As most of you, I was surprised at how quickly Disney released the D23 footage of The Rise of …
July 23, 2019
Have you ever written something then read it later and thought, damn, who wrote that? It’s …
May 13, 2019
There are teachers and then there are teachers. Never the twain shall meet.
April 10, 2019
I’ve had an idea in my head for a while, and along with it, a word: fanon. It seems to me that …
April 9, 2019
The science is in: cats know their names. New research proves what every human slave has known for …
March 3, 2019
Blasting The Last Jedi and Solo for their faults has become a past time in certain circles. …
February 1, 2019
No, that’s not a typo. Ludwig and Natasha were cats who had only one tail between them.
November 14, 2018
So an update on my first NaNoWriMo. We’re just finishing day 14. If you’re on track, writing 1,667 …
October 29, 2018
I’ve never done NaNoWriMo (and don’t want to have to type that name a lot – too many caps!). …
October 26, 2018
I’ve been having sleep difficulties recently. Sometimes this means I can’t sleep, for tossing and …
October 24, 2018
Have you ever been so disgusted with a book — the story, the editing, the whatever — that you’ve …
October 12, 2018
The hardest thing for a new writer to do is to walk away from a sale. I should know, I just did it. …
October 6, 2018
National Geographic has a great visualization of what we know about exoplanets and their …
October 5, 2018
Every writer is told to ‘build a platform’ (get your audience started) before …
September 24, 2018
Rogue One was the first Star Wars film that I didn’t see on opening night. Still, I saw it …
April 29, 2018
I just saw Black Panther, and it got me thinking about willful suspension of disbelief. I?ve got no …
March 21, 2018
When I was a kid, I was a model maker, and was absolutely obsessed with Star Wars. Of course those …
March 3, 2018
There’s a place that I’ve been to, a city that I may be the only person to have ever …
February 24, 2018
I’ve noticed this trend lately in science fiction movies, and it’s bothering me. The …
January 23, 2018
Everyone knows Dune (you do, don’t you? If not, why are you here?), and if you’ve even …
January 15, 2018
(Assume that this post contains spoilers for the first two episodes of Star Trek: Discovery and the …
December 27, 2017
Passengers’ release here in Malaysia bumped Arrival to a later date, which bothered me …
December 8, 2017
Poor stormtroopers, forced to wear limiting armour (you try shooting when your eye slot is so …
November 16, 2017
Right off the bat I want to do exactly what the title says and thank Christopher Tolkien for his …
October 6, 2017
I am absolutely addicted to this site, Windyty.com. It shows you wind patterns live (maybe a 30 …
September 24, 2017
It?s been three years since I left Africa, possibly, but hopefully not, for good (and six years …
September 23, 2017
Lian Hern writes a good tale here, but not a great one. She sets it in a fictional medieval Japan, …
September 5, 2017
Hey, if you haven’t already read Frank Herbert’s Dune, then: a) Shame on you. And b) …
August 24, 2017
It?s the 50th anniversary of Star Trek, and the fans had been hoping for a grand celebration. With …
July 21, 2017
So the buzz this morning is that a number of people are leaving theatres after seeing The Martian, …
July 10, 2017
I?m at a bit of a crossroads with the novel I?m writing (hereafter referred to as WiP – short …
June 24, 2017
There?s a conversation going on in my writer?s group about science fiction that I wanted to pull …
May 24, 2017
After years of training and in some cases as little as days in space, astronauts need to decide …
April 24, 2017
Station 11 is a book with a bit of a buzz around it: written by a Canadian expat living in New …
March 13, 2017
I?ve had one of those realizations, one of those realizations(updated below). I?ve parted ways with …
February 27, 2017
SPOILER & SPECULATION Heavy – Read at your own risk. As most people know by now, the …
February 17, 2017
Let’s talk about Martin Caidin Martin who? You know, Michael Crichton’s contemporary, …
February 16, 2017
We saw Arrival (no ?the? in the title) this past week, and while I loved it, there was a point that …
January 29, 2017
I guess every point of refuge has its price – The Eagles, Lyin? Eyes. Song lyrics – …
January 12, 2017
Something bothered me after watching Rogue One – where was that scene from the trailer? Then, …
December 18, 2016
The passing this week of Greg Lake, singer and songwriter of one of my favourite Christmas songs, …
November 24, 2016
Interesting astronomy news breaking today (October 14, 2015): A star 1,451 light years away from …
November 24, 2016
Many people argue that Galaxy Quest is one of the best Star Trek movies. If you know the movie, you …
November 14, 2016
William Kamkwamba is probably the best selling author I’ve known. He was a student at African …
October 15, 2016
So it?s not news by now that Star Trek: Axanar, a fan film that Kickstarter loves, is getting sued …
September 30, 2016
NOTE: This is speculation, some might say wishful thinking. I?m not siting sources, just offering …
September 24, 2016
As we approach the debut of The Last Jedi, and may get an answer to Rey’s parentage, I …
September 24, 2016
This is the story of the frozen protagonist, but it’s not fiction. Over at SFF Chronicles, a …
September 24, 2016
Obi Wan called it a more elegant weapon from a more civilized age, but is the lightsaber really all …
September 24, 2016
Since the most common-sense idea — “no guns” — won’t work in America, …
September 24, 2016
It?s the hot question on the Star Wars obsessed mind, fuelled by the release of the new posters. …
September 24, 2016
I know I’m getting ahead of myself here, worrying about what would happen to my characters …
September 24, 2016
Recently France?s privacy commission ruled that the European Union?s ?Right to Be Forgotten? law …
September 24, 2016
Who owns the meaning of a story? There?s an anecdote about Kurt Vonnegut that may be apocryphal. It …
September 20, 2016
They say that one of the greatest challenges for a writer is to write in the second person (you) …
September 17, 2016
One of the on-going discussions in our household is how valid expiration dates on food really are. …
September 8, 2016
When I first arrived in Kuala Lumpur, my employer gave me a list of real estate rental agents to …
August 25, 2016
Science Fiction set in non-Western cultures can be very interesting, and lately I?ve been lucky to …
August 6, 2016
I once asked a literary agent why some books have ?A Novel? after their title. The fact that it was …
May 24, 2016
My brother-in-law is what you?d call ?salt of the Earth.? He grew up on a farm. He tinkered with …
May 7, 2016
Rewriting a scene is where the magic happens. First drafts are usually crap (although sometimes …
April 6, 2016
It seems like every old science fiction show is getting a reboot, except perhaps one or two that …
April 2, 2016
UPDATED Given the topic of how a singular death can change history, people usually jump to Archduke …
March 18, 2016
Remember the poster in Mulder?s office in the X-Files? ?I Want to Believe? it declared over the …
February 14, 2016
Why do some creepy songs fail to get a reputation for being creepy? Whenever you mention the topic …
February 3, 2016
Star Wars (1977) introduced us to many interesting characters, among them, a perhaps …
January 11, 2016
I, as much as any fan, bought into the hype and excitement around Star Wars: The Force Awakens. I …
January 1, 2016
You might have noticed a slight(!) change to this site. Just to refresh – here?s the before …
December 28, 2015
Spoilers for the newest Star Wars film, The Force Awakens — a lot of them. Star Wars: The …
October 14, 2015
This is the first year that I’ve made an effort to make money from writing fiction. The …
September 24, 2015
What does it say that the four top awards for science fiction had zero consensus on what deserved …
September 24, 2015
Recently published stories: My First Cosplay (published July 17, 2016) – How would aliens …
September 24, 2015
Like many, I was not only surprised, but shocked by the recent US elections. Michael Moore warned …
September 21, 2015
For a short time there, Keir Dullea was going to be the face of science fiction in the 1970s. After …
September 12, 2015
What happens when your old astromech gets replaced by a shiny new one? R2D2, along with C-3PO, was …
September 2, 2015
So, the most hyped, bitterly fought and controversial Hugo Awards season has come and gone. The …
August 12, 2015
Here’s a question for you. Shouldn’t laws expire? Potato chips expire. Hell, even honey …
August 3, 2015
Forget being a Red Shirt, being blonde on Star Trek could be fatal (to your acting career). After …
July 19, 2015
I hope that I don’t have to tell you that I’m a Star Wars fan. I’ve been less …
July 13, 2015
Terry Pratchett, make that Sir Terry Pratchett, was visited by one of his creations, Death, this …
July 10, 2015
One thing that my partner and I disagree on is cover songs. As often as not, her first exposure to …
July 5, 2015
There has been a lot of good science fiction movies in the past few years, and there have been some …
June 30, 2015
David Gerrold*, noted science fiction writer, had an interesting article on his website, 10 Novels …
June 16, 2015
A few things in the news lately have got me thinking about the first books I read by Isaac Asimov …
June 11, 2015
A year ago I would have told you that I can’t write short fiction, that I need to write …
June 7, 2015
Why is it that the portrayal of artificial intelligence in movies and books are contradictory? …
May 25, 2015
If you haven’t been watching the trailers for Jurassic World, well, good for you. I’m …
May 24, 2015
Long-Term Storage was the third of my four drabbles published on the site SpeckLit in 2015. …
May 7, 2015
The hardest part of being a writer is finding the time to do a good job of it. Writing is much more …
April 27, 2015
There is a branch of fiction writing that is getting more and more popular: Flash Fiction. These …
April 24, 2015
I grew up in Canada with the firm belief that borders were sacrosanct. You couldn?t treat them …
April 18, 2015
Whether you love him or hate him, John Scalzi is incredibly influential and is probably the …
July 26, 2007
The information age was supposed to be the great liberator, making the concept of workplace and …