I snuck some writing in today. I should have the first draft of this short story done tomorrow. #writing

Random guy next to me in the hotel was asking a waitress for book recommendations. I recommended a couple of mine. They ordered them. Cool. #writing #books

“He had an occluded front.” #writing #throwawayline

“If you can make a dead person scream, you really have something.” #writing

“Humans always tend to do what is not right. That’s why oversight and laws exist.” #writing

I need to keep reminding myself, readers don’t want deep meaning nowadays. They want to be entertained and feel good at the end. Theme is passé. Then I remember I write for myself. #writing #books

I wonder if someone has done a study of the average sentence length in books over time. #writing #books

“He was a contract killer. His job was to go in to.a corporation and kill any contracts the company suggested that weren’t beneficial to its workers.” #writing #throwawayline

I guess I’ll have to cut/consolidate a few things in this short story. The word count is around 4K, the limit for submission is 5K. I have more to say. Too bad. #writing #shortstory #mdc3con

This is a brilliant line that can be read two ways. It’s something I try to do. #writing #heinlein

“Good ideas rarely come to one who is busy.” #writing

“Reality isn’t what your mother told you it would be.” #writing

“What’s your nickname?” “Nick.” #writing #throwawayline

“We live in embarrassing times.” #writing

I’m watching people. I’m listening to humans communicate. Getting ideas. Building characters. No good stories … #writing #character

I’ve been writing a short story for the C3 anthology. It’s not what I planned, but it’s pretty good, so far. #writing #mdc3con

“He traded in human commodities,” #writing

“He had many friends, all of whom he knew. His enemies numbered more, with those he had no clue.” #writing #throwawayline

Just because you make up your own genre, doesn’t mean you’re being clever or will sell more. You’re just remixing stuff. #books #writing

“Written history is interesting because it is wrong.” #writing

It is more important that your characters feel alive than to give them purpose. #writing #character

“The living most often avoid being alive.” #writing

The entire concept of “obligatory scenes” is mired in what publishers want to sell and readers can identify. Obligatory scenes make money. That doesn’t mean it’s a good (interesting) book. #book #writing #publishing

The best (most interesting) books are about more than just one thing/theme. #writing #books

Every book presses emotional buttons–either the reader’s or the author’s, hopefully both. #writing #books