Category: Opening the Vein

Genre, Genre, Why for Art Thou, Genre?

Posted by on November 18, 2015 in Opening the Vein | Comments Off on Genre, Genre, Why for Art Thou, Genre?

The cringe-worthy moment – “My novel is a horror, romance, thriller, mystery, suspense, historical, paranormal, literary work of genius! It’s so unique and creative that it defies genre! Besides, genres are just useless labels. Writing is creative! It shouldn’t be labeled!” *not-so-patient stare* Sadly, these writers don’t understand the industry. Moreover, they don’t understand readers and that, my lovely strangelings, […]

10 Ways to Stay Sane(ish) On Submission

Yes. The time of dread and doom for writers – being on submission. To the non-writers out there, that means the gut-twisting, soul-shredding wait between the time a writer submits their query or manuscript to an agent and the time they hear back. It’s really not as bad as we make it out to be, well, not quite. And there […]

Eden’s Thoughts On Writing

Posted by on August 22, 2012 in Opening the Vein, Uncategorized | Comments Off on Eden’s Thoughts On Writing

Our torture subject for this week, Hydra Games writer Eden Kupermintz, shares some thoughts on writing. In his words: Writing is an individual experience. Some describe it as a flow, others as an inner voice and yet more as a necessity. I don’t think that there’s one quote that can encompass the magic and mystery that is the writing process. […]

Setting to Illustrate Character Mood

      A keen eye. Observation. Mood. All of these are used to create vivid character emotions using that very valuable tool we talked about before – setting. One other thing it takes to pull this off is knowing your character as deeply as possible and how she’d relate to the world around her. It’s true that it’d be […]

Setting & Your Story

Posted by on July 05, 2012 in Opening the Vein | Comments Off on Setting & Your Story

  Setting is one of a writer’s most useful tools. It can help set moods, show glimpses into the viewpoint character and help solidify their lifestyle, their beliefs and their priorities. To create vivid settings Lain and fall back on our standard – research and world building. Plus some additions of deeply knowing our characters and the art of observation. […]

Keeping it Real ~ Research & Fiction

Posted by on June 19, 2012 in Opening the Vein | Comments Off on Keeping it Real ~ Research & Fiction

  One of the most mind-boggling experiences I’ve had since venturing into the world of writing is the misconception held by those outside of the industry (or worse, those within!) that fiction doesn’t require research. When people hear that I write speculative fiction a common reaction is – “Oh cool! So you just get to make everything up!” Uhm. No. […]

Writing as a Team

Posted by on June 06, 2012 in News, Opening the Vein | Comments Off on Writing as a Team

Join Lain and I at Jess Resides Here for a discussion on what it’s like writing as a team, particularly a husband and wife team.

Discussing Writer’s Block & Interview

Posted by on June 06, 2012 in News, Opening the Vein | Comments Off on Discussing Writer’s Block & Interview

Today on Working Writers and Bloggers we’re discussing writer’s block ~ pop on by! Beauty and Books did a lovely interview that’s live today. Have a fun Hump Day!

Beginnings ~ With Sapphire Phelan

  Please welcome our guest author Sapphire Phelan, author of romance of assorted bents. Thank you Sapphire for joining us here today at Gothic Living and for sharing your experiences as an author! Sapphire: Since my new erotic urban fantasy print book, The Witch And The Familiar contains both eBooks, Being Familiar With a Witch and A Familiar Tangle With […]

Book Review – Hooked by Les Edgerton

    Title: Hooked Author: Les Edgerton Genre: Non-Fiction, Writing Publisher: Writer’s Digest Books Series: No Rating: 5 bats Heat Level: n/a Besides loving Les Edgerton’s style and voice in general – the information in this book is a must have for anyone and everyone in the realm of fiction writing. An unfortunate but true fact is that most editors […]