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“…Rachel A. Brune writes with butterfly-knife dexterity: Always a flashy cut, a dreadful twist, a sideways chance at hope.” ~Randy Brown, co-editor of Why We Write: Craft Essays on Writing War
Category Archives: Writing Reflections
On the Shelf: Professional Development
My reading this past week has been a mix of fiction and nonfiction, all in the category of professional development. One of the things that I’ve internalized from the military is the idea of reading for professional education. In this case, one of the ways I get better at editing and publishing horror is reading horror fiction, as well as books about publishing. So, this week’s On the Shelf reflects that category. Continue reading
Posted in On the Shelf, Reading Project, Writing Reflections
Tagged horror, reading, writing
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Random Thoughts of Randomness
I’m currently in the middle of setting up a series of social media posts. Nothing super complicated, just a daily post on Facebook and Twitter with a hook on a particular story in the fall anthology, and some information on … Continue reading
Finding the Flow
Looking back, most of my first posts of the New Year have basically turned into a laundry list of what I’m planning to do, which usually turns into a list of what doesn’t get done because I’m a chronic overscheduler. So, I’m not going to do that. Continue reading
Why does horror compel us so?
This is why horror, for me, is compelling. Because the best horror shows us the worst that can happen, flashing its Cassandra warning over and over, trying to pull us back from the brink and, as we head blink in the light, trying to get our bearings, turns us toward the better path. Continue reading
Marketing, Promotion, Time Management, oh my!
My daily schedule can get crammed full of stuff faster than I can jot it down in my bullet journal. Finding the time to write, especially when you’re feeling less-than-motivated, can be hard enough, let alone finding the time to come up with a plan to market and promote that writing. Conversely, I’ve also found myself getting into the swing of PR and promo so heavily that I neglect the writing I need to do in favor of making one last Tweet on a trending topic (or crafting a blog post on the topic of time management…) Continue reading
Posted in Coach/Mentor, Writing Reflections
Tagged authors, marketing, promotion, public relations, time management, writers
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Trail Running the Old Fort Ord
There’s nothing like a little panic to motivate one to train more consistently, and so the past few weeks I have been lacing up the sneakers and getting out to do some trail running in the Old Fort Ord. The views are beautiful, the hills are killer, and every once in a while I stumble across a tidbit of military history. Continue reading
Posted in Welcome, Writing Reflections
Tagged military history, trail running, triathlon
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Writing and Fighting–Writing Fighting?
One of the fight writing aspects I hit on is rhythm. Fights, especially those between two people squaring off, have a tempo, a dynamic, that varies from moment to moment. As writers, we must capture this rhythm in our work. One of the best ways to do this is to also vary your rhythm, or sentence length. Use short, scrappy words to pick up the pace. Use longer, meandering words to circle around and around looking for an opening. Punctuation–BAM! Got it. Continue reading
Posted in Coach/Mentor, Welcome, Writing Reflections
Tagged fights, how to write a fight scene, writing, writing process
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Road Trip!
Set out runnin’ but I take my time, a friend of the devil is a friend of mine… I’m not sure why long road trips immediately put me in the mood for some Grateful Dead, but this one in particular … Continue reading
Home, sweet California dreaming home…
Just got back from my two-week annual training with my Army Reserve unit, and it is good to be home. Don’t get me wrong, I had a good time. In fact, it felt good to be back in uniform … … Continue reading
Posted in Writing Reflections
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Blog Security
Some of my visitors may have noticed that Google claims my site is not secure. This popped up as an issue a couple weeks (months?) ago. In true techno-denial fashion, my regular M.O., I was ignoring it because I really … Continue reading