Category Archives: Articles

Unconscious Inspiration

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Fraser

Sometimes, you find inspiration in another work and you don’t even try to hide it: my story “Farewell, Something Lovely” is a rip-off of the Raymond Chandler novel Farewell, My Lovely. I’m okay with admitting my story uses the ideas and … Continue reading →

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Character Letter Writing

Posted on May 27, 2015 by Fraser

Back in the day, I used to listen to a writing podcast put out by Michael Stackpole called the Secrets. It was really good. The site is still up, but I don’t think any of the episodes remain available. There … Continue reading →

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Outlining and Inspiration

Posted on May 20, 2015 by Fraser

I’ve spoken about my writing process before and I am a planner. I need to outline my stories and novels or else they just keep drifting along, trying to find an ending, but instead always finding different ideas and conflicts … Continue reading →

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The Lure of Crime

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Fraser

My present video game addiction is Grand Theft Auto IV. I am not a fan of the cop-killing, which is integral to missions required to move the plot forward, but have come to grips with it. I really like the … Continue reading →

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The Fantastical in the Fantasy

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Fraser

Here I am, with a new idea and almost 2,000 words into a new story and I come to the realization that it’s not really a fantasy story. I’ve always considered fantasy stories as not just stories that happen in … Continue reading →

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Excessive Vengeance

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Fraser

In the fiction on which I am working – it needs a name, doesn’t it? Let’s call it Pandora Excess for now, both it and the RPG of the same working title will need name changes, but it’s fine for … Continue reading →

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In Which I Recognize How Shallow I Am

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Fraser

In case you didn’t know, Nefertiti Overdrive: Ancient Egyptian Wuxia didn’t fund. That’s unfortunate, but I’ve had the last week to just kind of relax (not totally, seems there is always work around the house I can do once I … Continue reading →

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The Music of Creation

Posted on March 29, 2014 by Fraser

I’ve been working a lot on Nefertiti Overdrive, and I’m almost always listening to music when I do so. I have my “Centurion playlist,” the music to which I listened when I worked on Centurion: Legionaries of Rome. I’ve added … Continue reading →

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Writing: Sleep On It

Posted on September 19, 2012 by Fraser

There’s a lot of advice I would give to a writer who asked, and I’ve touched on most of it before. Read. Read outside your genre. Read non-fiction. Observe. Write. Finish what you write. Finish first, edit second. Schedule writing … Continue reading →

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Nice Writers Finish Last

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Fraser

One of my major failings as a writer is that I don’t want to torture my characters. A great way to keep a reader invested in long-form fiction – be it a novel, a series, or a novella – is … Continue reading →

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