by mike | Mar 5, 2014 | Editing, Humor, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
I just can’t get enough of those great bad opening lines that have been submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest over the decades. Here are some more gems from recent years. Hermann lay with Esmerelda, entwined with one another among love-tangled sheets and he...
by mike | Dec 16, 2013 | Books, Editing, Humor, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
I suppose I’m fascinated, if not obsessed, with the bad opening lines that have been submitted to the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest over the past thirty years. What the heck, they are so entertaining. Here are some more award-winning gems from the past. Enjoy! His...
by mike | Oct 23, 2013 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Editing, Fantasy, Horror, Native Americans, Sword & Sorcery, Thrillers, Writing |
“Hey Mike, where do you come up with those weird character names and place names in your fantasy and sci-fi novels?” Yeah, I used to get that question, or variations thereof, a lot when I did tons of appearances, signings, conferences, and so on. But it had been a...
by mike | Oct 1, 2013 | Books, Editing, Mystery Novels, Publishing, Uncategorized, Writing |
Many folks are focused on rankings, so given that there has to be the best of everything, it stands to reason that there also has to be the worst. The worst plumber, the worst bus driver, the worst brain surgeon (oh please!), the worst airline pilot (oh double...
by mike | Sep 25, 2013 | Books, Editing, Holocaust, Humor, Publishing, Thrillers, Uncategorized, Writing |
It was a dark and stormy night… Just about everyone, writer and non-writer alike, is familiar with that famous—or infamous—opening of a novel, arguably one of the most overused lines ever (even by Snoopy). The guy responsible for it? A nineteenth century British...
by mike | Jun 5, 2013 | Adventure fantasy, Books, Editing, Mystery Novels, Publishing, Writing |
What? No, not me. Before I ever write word one of a new novel I must have a title. More on that in a moment. During my quarter-century or so as a writing coach and editor I’ve had many fiction—and even non-fiction—manuscripts come to me without titles…books that the...
