This is another post in The Skill List Project: an attempt to list all the skills involved in writing and selling fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy. Last time, I said that we’d begin looking at the E-word: exposition. So let’s get to it. Opening Exposition Exposition means conveying background information so that the reader [...]

I am on the verge of finishing the manuscript of the third volume in my Thieftaker series (written as D. B. Jackson).  The book is tentatively called City of Shades, and it will not see light of day until the Summer of 2014 (book 2 in the series, Thieves’ Quarry, will be out on July [...]

I wish I were a classical music composer. Or a visual artist — they can get away with it, too. “Third Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Minor.” “Untitled #16.” “Sonata in D.” “Red Four.” Don’t have an actual title? Doesn’t matter! Just call it what it is! Authors aren’t allowed to get away with that. As [...]

This is another post in The Skill List Project: an attempt to list all the skills involved in writing and selling fiction, particularly science fiction and fantasy. Last time, we began looking at the skills involved with world-building. I offered some general principles, including that the worlds we build should be convincing, interesting, and useful [...]