I have been sitting on some book reviews for the last couple of months that I want to start putting out into the world. My luck has...

Weeds are part of every garden, every garden bed, hiding beneath every plant, growing alongside them, or even towering over them. A weed...

I have been thinking a lot about the future of writing. I may have more to say on this topic but for right now I want to talk about the...

Too Polished? I have a problem I can’t recall if I have spoken about before. It has to do with the order in which I edit things. I have a...

I want to admit a few things today about editing, writing, and my journey as a writer through the brutal course of authorship. Some...

You know the feeling. The pages are coming slow. You like the voice, the tone, the setting. But something isn’t working. You write a...

The most important thing you will ever do in your garden, nobody is going to see. Today, my neighbor asked me, “What are you planting? I...

A carpet of petals from dying flowers Death in a garden is normal. Plants don’t overwinter well. Plants grow old and stop creating...

Monty Don calls any plant that isn’t where it should be a weed. Dandelions in the daffodil bed? Weed. Dandelions in the wildflower...

I would like to talk to you about my experience with editors for a moment and specifically, grammar. I’ve had four people who have truly,...

I have heard it called the world bible. Until I heard that term, I just called it my rules file and character notes. I build mine as I...

Tropes Done … Pretty Well? Have you ever read a fantasy novel where you knew, within 30–40 pages, everything that was going to happen—but...

I am going to be an internationally renowned physicist, author, biologist, powerlifting champion, and gardener with a flair for airplane...

I am going to ask you to sacrifice a cup of coffee, or at least the price of one. I would love it if you sacrificed the price of your next movie out, DVD purchase, or trip to KFC, and instead spent the same money in a diffrent way to save others. I’m talking, in this instance, about science fiction and fantasy magazines.   Fantasy and science fiction magazines are in decline—digitally, in print, and across the English-speaking world. (Perhaps broader, I don’t know.) While som

I would like you to look at the page structure of a fantasy novel below. An early segment from Clash of Kings We have a familiarity with...

I want to talk to you for a moment about my two cats. Felix is about two years old. He is incredibly athletic, with an easy five-foot...

Let’s talk about my garden for a moment: This garden is a touch overgrown... The garden stretched out like an open wound, raw and gaping...

A few Daffodils... Just as the end of the gardening year is a good time to take stock, so too is the beginning of the gardening year. For...

This is often called line editing, but line editing has multiple parts. Because I am an architectural writer and lean more toward the...

Their time has come... You’ve written your book, and now it’s time to start your edits. Step one: read your book again like a reader....