Author: DremaDeoraich

NaNoWriMo always surprises me. Every Fall, it hovers around the corner like one of our kittens, furry butt wiggling in preparation for The Pounce and, the minute November 1 arrives, it attacks my conscience. I always want to be a NaNoWriMo writer. I’ve occasionally planned to participate. It just never works out. Bad Drema. No…

In September of 2017, I blogged here about an idea for a transgender character, and how my initial inquiries to trans or genderfluid friends and contacts led me to reconsider that story as too stereotyped. Since then, I’ve danced around the inclusion of non-binary characters in my fictional works. It isn’t that I write only…

I see semi-regular comments on Twitter about writers who argue with editors. The overwhelming majority of opinion on this subject from writers who actually get published is this: DON’T. I agree. A magazine’s editor certainly knows better than any of its writers (or potential contributors) what is best for its particular market. That said, I…

In the U.S., winter holidays are just around the corner. That means the biggest season in the year for retail spending. Marathon shoppers know all about how to prepare for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all their associated merchant-inspired lead-ins to this most mercantile of all seasons. Maybe you’re a mad shopper who loves trips…

I recently critiqued an excellent short story for a fellow Critter, a soft sci-fi piece with some hard sci-fi elements, which takes place on a distant world and has a … unique twist. From the moment I started reading it, I was hooked. The author doled out hints and clues about this world in tantalizing…

I was looking over some writing tips on other people’s blogs today when I came across a tip I’ve seen elsewhere, too: Don’t try to write what you think will sell. Write what you want to read. Write what moves you. Write to understand the world around you. These words made an impression on me…

Recently, I signed up to read at a local Hampton Roads Writers “Show and Grow” event, where writers can read their work in front of an audience and receive brief critiques afterward from a 2-person panel of professionals. I’d done it once before, years ago, and got a lot out of it. This time it…

You’ve done all the research necessary to support the premise/science/politics/culture in your story and, in the process, discovered and/or created some damn interesting tidbits of knowledge or worldbuilding. Thereafter, you put your newfound knowledge in the buildup of your first chapter, in a dialogue between two characters, or perhaps in a lesson given by a…