My thoughts are scattershot right now, puncturing here, glancing off there, not really going anywhere. Not collected or concentrated enough to have proper depth. But, as we all know, writing is far more about discipline than inspiration, so here I am writing a blog post in the manner that one must fold laundry or doContinue reading “A Discipline”
Category Archives: Writing
So Here’s How This Goes
Self-publishing, it’s all the rage! Do your own thing! Get your book out there! Defy the masters of traditional publishing who say what books can and cannot be published! Right? Well, not exactly. I think there are some major pitfalls to hopping on the self-publishing train, which have very little to do with the steepContinue reading “So Here’s How This Goes”
An Update
Well, well, well. It’s been a minute since I’ve even attempted to write a post. Here’s the down and dirty update, with a more detailed one to follow: -My agent left agenting (did I mention that) so I had to decided if I was going to start from scratch and query again, or self-publish. IContinue reading “An Update”
Fallow Fields
This last year has been a difficult one for me, though not really because of the pandemic. I spent the first several months of the year pregnant with twins and the latter half of the year with newborn twins and all the attendant challenges: bitter exhaustion, frustration, feeling like I wasn’t giving my other kidsContinue reading “Fallow Fields”
Story Kernels and Trinitarian Art
I have been thinking lately about how stories grow and also about how the fact that they do so in much the same manner as nature should come as no surprise since people frequently talk about the “kernels” from which their story grew: little bits of almost nothing that blossomed into something enormous, alive, andContinue reading “Story Kernels and Trinitarian Art”
The Everlasting Trope: Battle Couple
When I was younger (a teen or so) and someone asked me what sort of things I find to be “romantic”, this was roughly my answer: “Sitting together, shoulder-to-shoulder before some great battle, drinking coffee next to a fire in the dark. Preparing for the danger to come, knowing what the other was thinking orContinue reading “The Everlasting Trope: Battle Couple”
Philosophy in Fantasy
Fantasy novels almost always come with some philosophy mixed in. Sometimes it’s just as light as two cloves of garlic in the dish, because that taste was never meant to be the star…sometimes it’s as pungent as thoum. Thoum is made of nothing but raw garlic, oil, lemon and salt. It will clear out yourContinue reading “Philosophy in Fantasy”
Everlasting Trope: Dash or Die
I don’t know what the real name of this trope is, but it generally works like this: there’s a ticking clock of some lethal kind and the character has to run–and I mean RUN–to make it in time. Run to slam a gate to keep the monster out. Race to deliver a letter before aContinue reading “Everlasting Trope: Dash or Die”
The Tortoise and the Hare, Otherwise
I have learned recently, being of a tortoise nature when it comes to projects of all sorts, that slow and steady does not always win the race. Sometimes, yes. Often, even. But not always. The parable of the Tortoise and the Hare is deceptive because it assumes that sprinters never act wisely, and lumberers areContinue reading “The Tortoise and the Hare, Otherwise”
The Everlasting Trope: Bad Trope Edition
Even bad tropes, the ones we can all agree are pretty weak or even actively horrible, have an origin. Now, one might say, why bother discussing the reason behind a bad trope? They’re just bad! Because there’s a reason behind everything, and it is always worth questioning and investigating. We study history, the good and the bad,Continue reading “The Everlasting Trope: Bad Trope Edition”
J. L. Odom 