Hi, Nothing lasts forever. Items like computers and cell phones become less useful over time (or become problematic as they get junked up with unnecessary files). Minay and I are typically frugal and try to make everything we own last as long as possible, but eventually we do have to repair or replace some things. …
Hi, New Year’s Resolutions (NYRs). I wonder why we choose the start of a new year to resolve to accomplish something we have probably have been meaning to do for some time, but didn’t manage to get it done earlier. If the task was important, why didn’t we do it when we first thought about …
Hi, Medical Update: The ablation procedure (to take a final stab at curing my AFib) will take place on the 21st of this month (less than a week from now). I feel very safe in my doctor’s hands. This is a very common procedure and he’s done a ton of them. But on to the …
Newsletter 57 – February 23, 2024 Hi, Over the previous two newsletters I talked about interruptions and distractions, and about how my writing routine is sort of haphazard (and maybe a little too flexible). I think the main realization I’ve had, after thinking about this for a while, is that I need to find a …
Newsletter 023 – September 23, 2022 Hi, About the image: (Above the Desk) I’m wearing a t-shirt, my usual uniform for about ten months of the year (a minimal spring followed by an exceptionally long summer). All the other two months hold is an almost non-existent winter (during which I switch to a long-sleeved t-shirt). …
Newsletter 019 – July 22nd, 2022 Hi, About the image above: This was taken on Galveston Island on January 4, 2014. I was there for a writing retreat. I’ve been to several different types of writing retreats since then (I’ll tell you about a couple of the others in the next two newsletters), but this …
I often record interviews with people when I’m researching a book, and I’ve noticed that very few people speak without using “fillers” in their sentences. (things like “um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know,” and repeated words). They often appear in speech as a way for speakers to slow their speech long enough to come up with …
You’re facing the blank page, and nothing’s happening (either in your mind or with your fingers). No words are appearing on the screen (I almost said “on the page,” but my tech-geek gene stopped me). Writer’s block has arrived. Or has it? True writer’s block, I think, is more feared than experienced. Let’s pause for …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] For the past several years I’ve submitted queries (although not nearly often enough), and pitched my novels at conferences, with no success. Okay, I lied at least a couple of times in that first sentence. In 2002, I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time, …
[Originally posted on my former blog, Michael Runs the Gamut] It’s almost time for the annual Writers’ League of Texas Agents & Editors Conference in Austin (June 27 through the 29th this year). I’ve signed up have a 10-minute consultation with three of the agents who will be attending. All Spring, as new editors and …