I recently read The Usual Path to Publication, a collection of essays edited by Shannon Page, where genre writers share the story of how and why their first novel was published. It has its merits, and if you’re a beginner I recommend buying it. I was interested in each of these stories, too, since my […]
I’ve been investing more time into short stories, essays, and articles, and with a nice bump of success, too, as I finish a novel and conclude a massive historical project. It’s been great fun, for the most part, and I’ve tried to improve the quality and quantity of my shorter material. This weekend, I carved […]
In the first installment of THE TOILET OF ADVICE, I enjoyed the bliss of offering you the worst .02 cents about writing careers I could muster, a parody of what I see being handed out like free crack to eager first-time addicts. I now feel obligated to offer some genuine and helpful advice. And I […]
“What do you do?” is a normal question that is now a pain to answer. When people find out I’m a military historian, crime and horror and fantasy novelist and short story writer, graduate school adjunct, freelance non-fiction writer and writing teacher, and professional (insert laugh here) improv actor and sketch comedy writer/actor who is […]
If last month concerned managing bad news, this month leaps to the opposite end of the spectrum. Because I’m writing a new series of books for Nightshade Press. Ink spilt. Checks cashed. So, now what? I’m not used to good news. I have no blueprint for what to do with it. In fact, my workaholic […]
Growing up, I didn’t have television; I had books. Our house was tucked away in the mountains, down a mile and a half dirt road. From there, it was a fifteen-minute drive to the pit stop of a town stamped on our home address. I wouldn’t have chosen any of that (I envied the other […]
Anna Yeatts: When we bought “The Ancestors” for FFO, you and I discussed holding its publication until April so that it would coincide with Ching Ming, a famous holiday also known as Ancestors’ Day. Would you tell us about your personal experience with Ching Ming and how it influences this particular story? Laurie Tom: When […]
I wanted to write about MADMEN creator Matt Weiner’s recent essay on perseverance. There are nuggets of wisdom there. The biggest one for me was: learn your medium while getting paid (he did that with sitcoms and other stuff), and when you’ve got a project that you believe in, one that goes against the grain, […]
“Ambition is the last refuge of failure,” Oscar Wilde “Never tell me the odds,” Han Solo I’ve received interesting feedback on FXXK WRITING. Much of it from pros and amateurs in writing, music, and theater, lots of it good, some critical, and a minority have been upset, which I find bizarre. But I was also […]
OR, YOU ARE NEVER WHERE YOU THOUGHT YOU’D BE, LOSER! NOTE: This is a companion piece to THE TYRANNY OF ONE. You don’t need to read it first, but you may want to afterwards. My life and career are not what I’d planned. Once I got my act together as an adult, I believed the […]