A Post About Plotting and Pantsing at Magical Words

After about a six-week hiatus from posting, I am back at Magical Words, the blogsite on the craft and business of writing that I co-founded and continue to maintain with Faith Hunter and Misty Massey.  Today’s post is about plotting and pantsing, and the ways in which the nature of the book itself can dictate the best approach to take.  It is called, “The Plotter Goes Pantsing:  The Relationship Between Process and Product.”

I have spent the past several weeks finishing one book, revising another, and writing the early chapters of a third. For the last few days I’ve been proofreading the galleys for yet another novel, A Plunder of Souls, the third Thieftaker book.  Busy times, but as any writer will tell you, busy is good.  It’s nice, though, to be posting again, and I hope that this marks the first of more posts to come in the coming weeks and months.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy today’s essay.

A Post About Tomatoes and Writers (Yes, There is a Connection . . .)

My post today can be found at Magical Words, the group blog about the craft and business of writing that I maintain, under the name David B. Coe, with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, John Hartness, and Mindy Klasky, among others.  The post is called “On Writing: Knowledge Versus Wisdom” and it is about the truisms we encounter as writers and the ways in which they are both accurate and misleading.  I hope you enjoy the post.

Two Related Posts on the Business of Writing, Both Up Today

I have two related, cross-linked posts up today.  They are both on the business of writing and publishing.

The first post is my regular Monday post at the Magical Words blog site, which I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, John Hartness, and Mindy Klasky.  Today’s Magical Words post is called, “‘It’s Just Business’: Loyalty Versus Pragmatism in the Publishing World,” and it is about the various factors that go into a writer’s career decisions.  You can find the post here.

The second is my monthly post at the SFNovelists blog site, a site I maintain with over one hundred published authors of speculative fiction.  That post is called “Professional Comportment and What it Does For a Writer,” and it is about the ways in which an author can maintain a good relationship with his/her publisher.  You can find the SFNovelists post here.

I hope that you enjoy both posts and find them helpful and informative. Thanks!

Blog Tour Post on Publishing Trends and Technology

With summer almost over, the Summer 2013 Thieves’ Quarry Blog Tour makes one of its last stops at Magical Words, the group blog on the craft and business of writing that I maintain with Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, James Tuck, and others.  Today’s post is called “Quoth the Book: “Reports of My Death Are Greatly Exaggerated,” and it builds upon an article by James Surowiecki that recently appeared in The New Yorker magazine on e-books, paper books, and the future of book selling.  My post tries to tease out what his observations may mean for writers.  I hope you enjoy it.

A Post About New Beginnings, on the Blog Tour

The Summer 2013 Thieves’ Quarry Blog Tour resumes today with a post at my “home” blog — the Magical Words site.  Magical Words is the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, and James Tuck, among others.  Today’s post is about a recent significant change in my career:  I have a new editor at Tor Books — Stacy Hague-Hill.  I’m very excited to work with Stacy, but the change does not come without a certain amount of trepidation.  That’s what the post is about.  I hope you enjoy it.

Today at Magical Words, Book Identity and THE HOBBIT

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “On Writing: Book Identity, and Why I Didn’t Like THE HOBBIT Movie.” It is about my reaction to the movie adaptation of THE HOBBIT, and the lessons I draw from it for writing. I hope you enjoy the post.

Turning Critiques into Revisions, at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain, under the name David B. Coe, with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “Your Critique of My Work Revisited.” In it, I return to a passage I posted a couple of months ago for comment and critique by Magical Words readers. Today I discuss the process of turning those criticisms into revision. I hope you enjoy the post.

Writing and Revising, over at SFNovelists

Today’s post can be found at http://www.sfnovelists.com, the group blog on speculative fiction that I maintain along with a group of over one hundred published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  It is called “Writing and Revising” and it’s about the unique challenges I’m going to face as I revise my current work-in-progress, and the ways in which I plan to meet those challenges.  I hope you enjoy it.

Two Posts up Today, at Magical Words and SFNovelists

I have two posts going up today.  The first, my usual Monday Magical Words post, can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Kalayna Price, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, and James Tuck, among others.  The post is called “On Writing: Little Things that Yield Big Results,” and about little things we can do to have a big impact on our writing and our productivity.  The second can be found at http://www.sfnovelists.com, the group blog on speculative fiction that I maintain along with a group of over one hundred published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  It is called “The Loss of Another Bookstore,” and it is about the changing face of the book business.  I hope you enjoy both posts.

A President’s Day List of my Favorite Writing Tips, at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “Holiday Post: My List of the Best Writing Tips.” I like to post lists on holidays — light reading for relaxed days — and this one is a list of my favorite bits of writing advice. I hope you enjoy it, and I wish you a happy President’s Day.