Category: Writing and Editing

Kingdom in Shadows, by Alice Willett, age 11

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
December 7, 2012
8 mins to read
1 comments

My daughter likes to write, too. Here’s a recent piece, illustrated by the author. Kingdom in Shadows By Alice Willett The Kingdom of Averendel was dying. One girl looked out of her window, the rain drizzling outside. The girl was crying. Her little sister came in with a letter. The girl turned, wiping tears from …

TSR, Gygax, D&D & me

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
December 6, 2012
6 mins to read
1 comments

TSR. Gygax. The names may mean nothing to you, but to me, they were once words of power, for TSR (Tactical Studies Rules Inc.) published Dungeon & Dragons…and Gary Gygax, who cofounded the company in 1973 with childhood friend Don Kaye, created that seminal fantasy role-playing game, along with Dave Arneson. Now comes news that …

How I became a DAW author

By Edward Willett in Blog, Books, Writing and Editing
December 4, 2012
7 mins to read
1 comments

Here is a tale I’ve told oft before, though never (I think) in print or pixel: the tale of how I became a DAW author. It’s an oft-told tale because I like to share it with writers who are still in that seeking-publication stage, for though the specifics of it are of little use (I …

Some writerly (in residence) advice

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
November 30, 2012
10 mins to read
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From last September through May of this year, I served as writer-in-residence at the Regina Public Library, the latest in a long string of writers to serve in that position, which I understand is the longest-running program of its kind in any library in the country. During my nine months, spending one day a week …

Writing for an audience

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
November 29, 2012
5 mins to read
4 comments

My wife and I have had season tickets to the Globe Theatre here in Regina for many years. One of the great things about having season tickets is that you go to shows you might otherwise not have chosen to attend, because you’ve committed yourself to taking in whatever the artistic director decides to present. …

Every book’s a stage, and all I really want to do is direct

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
November 28, 2012
7 mins to read
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Regular readers of this blog (if such people exist) will know that I act as well as write, and have done since I was 11 years old and in Grade 7 at Weyburn Junior High School, when I was cast in the lead role of Petruchio in a one-act adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of …

My favorite author thinks I’m stupid: the perils of Internet pontification

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
November 27, 2012
5 mins to read
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The great thing about the Internet is the way you can find out way more information than you ever used to about your favorite authors, actors, singers, etc. Or not. Because here’s the thing: most people don’t agree with you. Oh, don’t feel bad, they don’t agree with me, either. Sure, you can find people …

On suffering the affliction of Editor Brain

By Edward Willett in Blog, Writing and Editing
November 26, 2012
5 mins to read
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It’s always a mistake to make a grand pronouncement that one is going to make a valiant attempt to post regularly to one’s blog again, especially after having made similar grand pronouncements in the past and then not following through, but… Consider this my grand pronouncement. It’s not as if I can’t come up with …