Writing is the interesting process of getting the unconscious and the creative parts of your brain to do work. This often involves silencing the (also essential) editing part of the brain until the words are on paper, and yet making this section you’re writing fit nicely with the rest of the story, and making it […]
Heads Down Editing
Since I haven’t updated the blog in a couple of weeks, I thought I’d drop in and let you know how the editing process is going. It’s been a lot like pushing a heavy-laden wheelbarrow up a slope; tough at first, but as I go on it’s building momentum and I’m figuring out where to […]
What is Good Fiction?
Ever since I’ve gotten back from Odyssey, I’ve been struggling with how to integrate their teaching with my own system of fiction. Since the system I wrote under originally sold two books for me, I wanted to hold onto it. But the central principles of Odyssey kept echoing in my brain, so that when I […]
Editorial Letter
On Monday I received my editorial letter, that lovely document from an editor where they tell you what they’d like from your book in revision. Since I’d heard a lot of horror stories from other writers, I was nervous going into it. I had mentally prepared myself for anything from a major gut of the […]
Stuck on Plot? Look at It Like a Child
One of my writer friends recently asked me a question. “How do you plot?” she asked. “I keep getting stuck in the details and can’t pull it together.” I suggested she tell the story like she would to a five-year-old child, in broad terms and without going into a lot of detail. Stick to what […]
Impossible Things Before Breakfast: Or, the Mindset of the Writer of Fiction
To be a writer of fiction, you must believe in several impossible things before breakfast. You must believe in people who never lived, places that never existed, and series of events that never happened. This is the easy part. What is harder is seeing these made-up things clearly, so clearly that you can describe them […]
A Dream Realized – Two Book Deal
Well, the announcement came out yesterday, so I can finally talk about my big news! Here’s the quote from Publisher’s Lunch, which covers the latest sales of books to publishers: Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finalist Alex Hughes’s first two books in a dystopian thriller series featuring a telepath forced to assist a hostile Atlanta police […]
Requiem for Odyssey
Well, I’ve been back from Odyssey a few days now and am finally getting my energy back. It was a crazy ride, and a long one, and it seemed fitting to take a few minutes to toast the experience. Six weeks of in-depth writing craft. Three hours of lecture per day plus occasional afternoon sessions. […]
Odyssey: What It’s Like
Here we are sitting on the end of the fourth week of Odyssey. I’m two-thirds done, and while part of me wants to go home today, another part wants to be here another two months, draining dry every bit of knowledge I can get from all of these great people. Odyssey is a crazy, intense […]
Update & Happiness
I’ve been holding off on updating the blog since I’ve gotten to Odyssey, partly because of the intense workload, and party because I’ve been waiting to share the details of the happy phone call I got on the first day. Still waiting for some of the details on that to work out (more details later) […]
