collateral tales 
Tell, Don’t Tell (Revisited)
Keeping your urge to explain in check is one of the essential tools for good & healthy creative writing. For a doctoral thesis, not so much.
Reading Anxiety
Every time I’m reading a book that’s thematically close to what I’m sketching, I fear I’m about to discover that all my grand ideas are just yesterday’s news.
Hi, Ripley. This is Lieutenant Gorman of the… SLAM.
Tiny conceptual steps in the right direction: found a name for the principle military outfit in Cargo.
Oh Noes! Dis Plan …
Turns out, collateral tales is not working the way it was supposed to, and I had to thoroughly revise my plans.
Overquirked!
If characters are overstuffed with mannerisms, they’re gaining in quirks while losing in depth. Quirks and idiosyncrasies, moreover, should have a function.
Hall of Hacks, Pt.II: Dan Brown
While the movie “The Da Vinci Code” did a pretty good job, Dan Brown’s book turned out to be rather awful. Geoff Pullum from Language Log gave it a (buck-)shot.
Foreboding, Part II
Two foreboding techniques tested in (pen & paper) roleplaying storytelling that were supposed to raise suspense and broaden the picture, but failed miserably.
The Famous Thirteen
The very first paragraph of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four tells attentive readers quite a lot about the setting without explaining anything.
Foreboding, Part I
To raise suspense early on before readers can identify with the characters, some use foreboding techniques in form of digressions. This has some drawbacks.
The Reasons Why I Let a Good Publishing Opportunity Slip
Seven reasons why I let a good publishing opportunity slip and keep being glad about it.
Hall of Hacks, Pt.I: Harold Robbins
Watch Harold Robbins not being aware of (or not giving a shit about) even the most basic writing techniques with respect to exposition and voice.
Dashes and Ellipses (American Style)
To consistently differentiate between pauses (ellipses) & interruptions (em dashes) is not only good orthographic behavior, but also increases narrative options.
The Little Boat of Horrors
The exposition of Stephen King’s It is a great example how to switch from summarizing to real-time action and back again to create suspense by superior pacing.
Look Into My I
Aspiring writers often adopt tje first-person perspective for their narrative voice because it looks more simple & natural than the alternatives. They’re wrong.
Synopses and Excerpts
Don’t dread the synopsis and, if need be, how to select an excerpt. Instead, you should love it! Or, if you can’t do that, ask and pay a copy writer.
Resistance is NOT Futile
For the exposition, it is extra hard to resist the Urge to Explain. But try! The greatest story idea is worthless if you hack it to death right at the start.
The Importance of Being One’s Editor
In times when more and more publishers don’t focus on professional editing anymore when it comes to publishing a book, it’s you who should be alarmed.
Cargo and The Big Word Project
Why I bought and redefined the word “cargo” at The Big Word Project to my home domain at www.gyokusai.com.
Tell, Don’t Tell
Writers never show, they tell—but often fall for the cinematography metaphor of fiction writing. Good pacing consists of both narration and summarization.
At the Story’s Business End
Suspension of disbelief: from the viewpoint of the observer, everything that had to happen indeed happened—in order to secure the observer’s existence.