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Denouncing Racism Doesn’t Mean I’m “Woke”
Many of my novels involve issues pertaining to race. Given the controversial nature of such issues, this can be challenging, particularly since I am a middle-aged white man. Some might claim that I am unqualified to write about racial issues because I am white. Such a claim is itself racist. The color of my skin…
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On Writing: I Can be God
Years ago, a friend asked me why I enjoyed writing fiction. Somewhat facetiously, I said that writing fiction wasn’t as restricted by reality as nonfiction. That statement was truer than I realized. The artist recreates reality in his vision of what is important and significant. It is in this sense that when I write fiction,…
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On Writing: Should Heroes have Flaws?
I recently read an article about the process of writing a novel. When discussing character development, the author writes, “Perfect characters are boring…. Flaws create conflict. They drive decisions. They make your characters feel like real people.” I don’t want my heroes to “feel like real people.” I want them to be larger than life,…
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Writers Write
Over the years, I have heard countless people express a desire to write a book. While that is certainly a laudable ambition, I am unaware of anyone who has actually written a book. I think a primary reason for this is they don’t understand a simple truth: writers write. And I speak from personal experience….
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On Writing: I Didn’t See That Coming
When writing the first draft of a novel, I frequently think, “I didn’t see that coming.” A character says or does something I didn’t anticipate. When I have explained this to friends, they are surprised. They think I know the action and dialog that will occur in each chapter. While I know these things, it…
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On Writing: Outlining
Good writing is organized, and an indispensable tool for organizing our thoughts is an outline. An outline is a road map for our writing, allowing us to identify a logical order to present the points we wish to communicate. As I noted in a previous essay, thoughts occur to us randomly. If we write in…
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On Writing: Brainstorming
In a previous post, I briefly addressed psycho-epistemology—the interaction between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind in the writing process. When we brainstorm, we must rely on the subconscious mind. The purpose of writing is to communicate. Effective writing makes it easy for the reader to comprehend the main point being communicated. This requires…
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On Writing: Psycho-epistemology
One of the most important, and overlooked, aspects of writing is the relationship between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. Ayn Rand called this psycho-epistemology, which she defined as “the study of man’s cognitive processes from the aspect of the interaction between the conscious mind and the automatic functions of the subconscious.” Psycho-epistemology does…
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On Writing: Historical Fiction
Writing historical fiction presents both challenges and opportunities. The challenges lie in choosing the degree of historical accuracy to include. The opportunities lie in the ability to present events and characters in a more idealistic manner, that is, what could have been and should have been. As an example, the Shattering Paradigms series takes place…
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Nothing More than a Slogan
Once again, Republicans are demonstrating that “property rights” is nothing more than a slogan to be used to attract votes. They are proposing legislation that will “crackdown” on corporate landlords through heavy taxation or similar penalties. The right to property means the freedom to produce, use, and trade material values, including housing. Imposing penalties on…
