As weekly updates go, this one might be lean. Not lean like last week, but lean as in fewer words. For a change. Maybe. New Series Progress. Progress continues, though perhaps not the pace I would like. I have a 4+ page Treatment for the first novel, 1-page synopses of the other three. I’m putting the main character with a group of friends, so I have their characters all roughed out for the series, as well as the characters for...

I hope this update finds you well. The Eclipse of 2024 nearly brought an end to all mankind. This was my third eclipse, though there might have been a fourth that I don’t remember. I remember the 1984 eclipse in part because it happened around the time of my Papaw’s death. The last one was just a few years ago when we were moving between homes. What have I been up to? A new series idea. The reason I mentioned...

Are you a speculative fiction writer looking to create a captivating fantasy or sci-fi series? Do you struggle to keep track of your story-world’s intricate details, character arcs, and overarching themes? If so, it’s time to consider creating a Series Notebook. A Series Notebook is a comprehensive tool that helps you develop and maintain consistency throughout your speculative fiction series. It serves as a centralized resource that details the scope, rules, concepts, themes, characters and parameters of the story-world in...

Overall, the past week has been quiet. As I look over my notes, so little “progress” was made. Is that a uniquely American concern—that I did not do enough in my spare time—or am I one of those odd types? I said I would give writing with Obsidian a whirl. As whirls go, it was not as dizzying as I hoped. But I started in on a scene. I connected my old GitHub-based PDF/ePub compiler and shook some of those...

This morning, Microsoft asked me if I would recommend Windows. This may sound like heresy, but I said I was a promoter, and explained why. I’ve only willingly had three Windows computers. I built my first computer in 1998, and not knowing any better I installed Windows. Then I built my next Windows computer in 2018. Then in March 2024, I bought my current daily driver, a Dell XPS 13-inch. From 1998 to 2009, I preferred to run Linux in...

It was just a week ago I said I was going to use Ubuntu on Dell XPS as a daily driver for 30 days. Seven days in, I’m already pivoting. There were petty annoyances, such as the scroll direction never complying with my wishes or being inconsistently applied. What’s the pivot? I’m going to use Windows 11 with WSL Linux. This will have me using the Windows UI, but dipping into Linux for the parts that matter. I can also...

Most of my aware life involved computers. My dad had Pong when I was six. I had an Atari at 8, and by 12 I was enmeshed in the Commodore family. I grudgingly used Windows until I got out of the Army in 1999. As soon as I could, I switched to Linux. Even in law school, I sported a Linux-powered laptop (Gentoo). That changed when in 2009 I adopted Apple. I wanted to use Scrivener to write novels, and...

I do most of my goal-setting in October. What follows is my reflection on those goals and a revision to my plan to complete said goals. In 2013 and 2016, I used the “three word” concept to define what I hoped to accomplish over that year. In 2013, it was “write. right. lead.” The three were intwined and focused on being a better father and writer. In 2016, it was “write. restore. realign.” This spoke to my need to stop...

There are few who are still living who were there for the revelation of the Great Fruitcake. Whilst debating with an evolutionist who said the Universe came into existence on its own from a dense hydrogen mass, the revelation came to me. Now I pass this to you. A hunk of the Great Fruitcake. Photo by Ben Wilson

Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! One thing I’ve done over the past couple of years is a scheduled update. Today is the day! Of all the Christmases, this one feels quite a bit un-Christmas-y. With all that has gone on—or not gone on—I thought an out-of-cycle year-in-review is in order. “Out of cycle?! It’s December!” Yes, my friend, out-of-cycle. I do my annual planning in October, which is coincidentally both the beginning of the US Government Fiscal Year...

was in Las Vegas this past week attending the last-ever 20 Books Vegas. Started in 2017, this conference inspired thousands of writers around the world. This was my third such conference, and the last. The primary show runner, Craig Martelle, went out on a high note and passed the mantel. To be honest, this year lacked the energy of the prior two years.