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Writers

Child, What Be Thy Name?

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Picking names for your sci fi characters for the near future isn’t too bad – just use some of the more modern recent names, throw in a curve ball or two, and you’re golden. But what about when you’re dealing with the far-flung future? Or with an alien race? For your average human in the 25th century, you probably don’t want to go with Brittany, Chelsea, Justin or Tom. But you also have to be careful not to go too far in the other direction and come up with names that people will find too strange and hard to remember, … Read more

John Barrowman Interviewed By Windy City Times

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John Barrowman is that rare person: the multitalented heartthrob. Barrowman – who was born in Scotland and raised in Joliet, Illinois – may be best known for playing omnisexual Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and its popular spinoff, Torchwood, although he’s fulfilling many a fan’s fantasy as Malcolm Merlyn on the CW series Arrow. ( This writer personally remembers him from the short-lived ’90s nighttime sudser Central Park West, or C.P.W.)… Windy City Times caught up with Barrowman last week, talking with him about his sci-fi work, Broadway, Robin Williams and Barrowman’s marriage to Scott Gill. … WCT: So … Read more

My ADD Brain

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OK, so I don’t officially have Attention Deficit Disorder. But I, like many writers, do have a creative brain, one that seems to love to be distracted by just about anything. Especially when I’m writing. Especially when I’m on a deadline. Like right now. I have a short story (well, almost a novella) that’s due for submission 9 days from now. And I haven’t finished the first draft yet. I think I’ll finish it to day if… Oh look, something shiny! Seriously, it’s hard sometimes to focus on the writing. Part of it is that I seem to work better … Read more

Writing in Your Own Tongue

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Some very successful fantasy novels have flirted with inventing their own language or languages – among them the Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien was a professional philologist and Old English specialist) and George R. Martin’s Game of Thrones. But many writers just use a few choice words in their new lingua, to give their stories a bit of High Fantasy flavor. To be sure, a new language isn’t an absolute necessity in Fantasy – it really depends on the story you are telling. But it can add a bit of flair and flavor to your work, setting it apart … Read more

Writing on the Run

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I find these days that my writing time isn’t very regular – instead, I end up snatching bits and pieces of time here and there to be able to wrap up things by certain deadlines. I’m currently racing against a two-week deadline for an anthology at the end of the month, and haven’t yet finished the story, let-alone started on the rewrites. Frantic! We also have company at the moment, which further compresses my time overall, including my writing time. So what’s a guy to do? I’m falling back on technology. I have my trusty little iPhone, complete with Pages … Read more

The Business of Writing

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Just starting out (again) in this whole writing thing, it occurs to me to wonder if it’s still possible, in these days of Amazon.com, free copies, and internet theft, is it still possible to make a living as a writer if you’re not one of the NNYT best sellers. I have more than a passing interest in this, as I would love to see my writing career take off to the point that it became a decent source of income for me. But I worry about the fact that the market has become so diluted on the one hand, with … Read more

Fantasy and the Modern World

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Some of my favorite fantasy series – Lord of the Rings, the Shannara Series, the Wheel of Time – take place all or mostly separated from current day. Although I have to acknowledge that Terry Brooks has since gone on to connect the Shannara books to his A Man of His Word series, which did bring the idea of his fantasy series into the present. It seems to me that this blending of Fantasy elements and the modern world offers a unique opportunity to explore the LGBT community’s place in society, by giving us tools to look at how we … Read more

Which Genre Is Best Suited to the LGBT Experience?

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I’ve been doing some promo work for the anthology The Bear at the Bar (shameless plug there) about bear romance, and it’s gotten me thinking about all the shades of the LGBT rainbow – gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender people, questioning, intersex, bears, otters, drag queens, leather daddies, gym bunnies, and so many more. I’m wondering if, of the three genres of sci fi, fantasy, and paranormal, is any one more suited than the the others for exploring the issues around the LGBT community? I’m not talking about having or exploring LGBT characters in these genres. I’m trying to get at … Read more

Writing Transgender Characters

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I’m getting ready to start another story, my first with a transgender character. The character’s gender identity as a man will be central to the storyline. I am excited to write it, and also a bit nervous – any time you write something you don’t know intimately yourself, you run the risk of either doing it poorly, or of offending the group you are writing about. Still, I think it’s worth the risk. We should always challenge ourselves in our writing, And sure, I may not (probably won’t) write this character as well as someone who is actually transgender, I … Read more

Writing for Myself

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When I was a young writer, I had that big dream – to become the next Anne McCaffrey, or Piers Anthony, or Isaac Asimov – this was well before the days of Harry Potter. I was sure of my writing brilliance.