Writer's Report 2.0

John Scalzi is a Science Fiction novelist and Hugo Award nominee. In his popular writer’s blog ‘Whatever’ he talks about what you really need to sacrifice in order to be a writer.

“Got a letter today from an aspiring novelist who is wondering if wanting to write means that one has to be willing to sacrifice a great deal for one’s writing and craft. Because one hears of writers who have made great sacrifices in order to work on their writing, including giving up jobs, friends and spouses in order to put their words into being. Does one have to be willing to put that all on the line for one’s art?”

Read the rest at Whatever…

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Advice from a master at page turners: Keep it simple

By Rick Newman
U.S. News article

Elmore Leonard’s 42nd book is his shortest, by far. And that’s the point. After penning numerous page turners later adapted for the screen, like Three-Ten to Yuma, Rum Punch, Get Shorty, and Be Cool, Leonard gave a speech in which he listed 10 pithy guidelines for writers. The list gained a following, and a revised version became Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing. In a recent chat with U.S. News, Leonard, 82, discussed his rules—which include “keep your exclamation points under control” and “try to leave out the parts readers tend to skip”—along with his views on writing, movies, and modern technology: (more…)

Cool Blog: DeepGenre.com has a great article for newbie SFF novelists on what it takes to make a career out of writing Science Fiction & Fantasy novels. The true key to it all? Love what you do.