For years I have been coming here to bleed. I have been sharing with you the wild and horrifying stories of my life and I have been honest, brutally so, about my abuse and my issues. I have been showing it all and not holding anything back. So today I will do the same as… Continue reading The Wasting Away
Tag: Writing
No Way Forward
I’m very good with deadlines. They are never a problem for me. I see a job from far out and I get started on it weeks ahead of time. Usually the post you are reading now would have been done a week ago at least. Maybe even longer. This time though, it is late on… Continue reading No Way Forward
Lost Confessions: Idle
I’m bipolar. Tragically bipolar, I like to say. I have a really bad case of it. For those of you who don’t know what the disease is like, I will describe a manic episode. You can’t calm down. You are jittery like you’re strung out on a pot of coffee. You can’t sleep, sometimes for… Continue reading Lost Confessions: Idle
The Prince of Darkness
“I can’t. I just can’t. You have to find another.” Shadow was crying. It was 2008 and we were stuck. We had signed up for a writing workshop and paid a hefty sum. The cost of admission included a reading from seven people. Five editors would read the first five pages. They would weigh in… Continue reading The Prince of Darkness
Haunted by the Nameless Boy
It’s all in the name. One name can propel a story for me. One fantastic name can make or break it all. I have gotten lucky and created a few great names. Saykobar Hesh, Volacha Brinchay, Kolaster Vagan, Tobin the Treefrog, Rayph Ivoryfist—all these names crafted the character for me. They all brought that character… Continue reading Haunted by the Nameless Boy
The Hope of the Nation
On October 5th my fifth book Song will be released. The cast is led by a wizard named Rayph Ivoryfist. Many and varied are the shades of his personality, and wild and rampant are his powers. He is scary to write for many reasons. How do I challenge a character this powerful? How do I… Continue reading The Hope of the Nation
Illusions of Dialogue: The Vanishing Tag
This is the lesson I have heard when it comes to dialogue: Don’t tag too often. Don’t get too specific with your tag. First, let’s define tag. A tag is very simple. He said is a tag. We have all seen them a million times. Remember that. We will get back to that. Tags are… Continue reading Illusions of Dialogue: The Vanishing Tag
The Illusions of Dialogue
I came from a family of storytellers, I mean, gifted storytellers. They could pick you up and lift you into a tale like none other I have ever known. I apprenticed under them, and it made me the writer I am. I have been telling stories all my life and writing for most of my… Continue reading The Illusions of Dialogue
Vanity
Man, am I about to piss you off. It is amazing how furious a good number of you are going to be by the end of this blog post. Just to let you know, before I get started here, I am a writer—a fantasy writer—and I am unpublished. I feel as though I need to… Continue reading Vanity
Toil and Trouble
I was raised by a clean freak. She was focused on a clean house. I’m not sure if that is how she decided she needed to show her love, or if she just liked a spotless home, but when I was four and I wanted to feel close to her, I would help her dry… Continue reading Toil and Trouble
Jesse Teller 