J. Mark Miller | A Writer's Fantasy |

I saw you at the checkout as you shoved product across the flashing red lines.

You saw me, greeted me with a smile never reaching narrowed eyes, eyes that said, “I know what you think about me.”

“No, you don’t,” I wanted to say. “I don’t know what I’m think about you, so how could you?”

I kept my words to myself instead, returning my own imitation smile.

Barely half my age and already looking out at the world with jaundiced eyes.

Who hurt you? Who told you this is all there is? Who said you can’t change?

So, maybe I do know what I think about you, but it doesn’t make it true.

Maybe you can guess what I’m thinking, but my thoughts don’t create your reality.

I handed you cash, your eyes widened at the sight.

Does the green define you? Does the trade of images of dead men measure the scope of your life?

No, it’s only paper, a symbol of humanity’s estimation of worth. It’s not your worth, but of the products you push.

What is your life apart from this life behind the scanner? Are your eyes the same outside these gray walls?

Do they brighten in the sun as its rays fly across the blue to dance on the grass?

Do they smile when you greet a lover, or cry when you’re parted from them?

Are they always jaded?

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With a name like Chaotic Shiny a website’s gotta be good right?

I have to thank Lynn Viehl at Paperback Writer for posting a bunch of links to Chaotic Shiny’s generators. I’ve already put one of them to good use.

I’m sure many of you have used name generators before—and this site has those—but the real beauty here is the sheer number of generators I’ve never seen anywhere else.

The Civilization Generator helped me flesh out an idea for the central culture of a novel I hope to write in the next year or so. You’ll find generators for superstitions, mottos, laws, languages, and much more.

I highly recommend you bookmark Chaotic Shiny.

I just got The Art of War for Writers by James Scott Bell in the mail yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to get very far into it, but I know it’s going to be good.

How do I know? Well, here’s a simple paragraph from the introduction. Tell me this doesn’t sell the book.

“Because I am, like you, a writer. We understand each other. We are not like other people. We are, in fact, pitiable wretches.”

If those lines don’t resonate with you, you’re probably not a writer.


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The weekend is here, and it’s time for me to buckle down and get some writing done—in between yard work, family in town, and special events. Oh, and I must not forget the Sunday ritual of watching Stargate Universe and Doctor Who.

On to this week’s links.

Slush Metrics at Gabrielle Edits

Writing Wisdom from Dave Cullen at Rants & Ramblings (Rachelle Gardner)

The Worst of Contracts by Chip MacGregor

FAQ: Fanfic by Charles Stross

Feeling Like A Loser? Go Outside for Five Minutes at Consumerist (great advice for writers)

The Series Bible by Nathan Bransford (Scrivener is a killer app for helping you accomplish this easily)

7 steps to creativity – how to have ideas at Write to Done

Are You Getting These 5 Daily Writing Vitamins? at Write it Sideways

Agent Barbara Poelle On: Three Things Debut Authors Should Know When Signing With an Agent by Chuck Sambuchino

Happy writing and enjoy the weekend!

What’s your muse? I always find it fascinating to read or hear about how authors come up with ideas. For many it seems they are given literal bolts of inspiration, something they can’t explain but are nonetheless thankful for. This type of inspiration is rare, and in truth is probably born less of serendipity than possessing a mind aware of the world around them and processing what they see, hear, and read on a subconscious level.

I grew up being a heavy television watcher, and for a long time I led myself to believe all that watching would percolate deep within and result in a myriad of ideas for future use. Sadly, the opposite always seemed to be the case. What I failed to realize at the time is, while enjoying the creativity on display before me, rather than having it spur unique ideas within it seemed to sap my imagination because all the thinking was being done for me.

This is not a case against television or visual media, but it is a kind of call for moderation in our use of it. I enjoy watching Battlestar Galactica or LOST as much as any other speculative fiction lover, but those shows do nothing to spur my own internal creativity. Sure, there are people out there who get into all the hidden meanings and crazy theories, but by and large they are not creating anything new, but rather only speculating on what already exists. The closest they come to creating something new are wild speculations about what might be coming next.

I’ve come to see the fact that many of the most successful authors are those whose minds are constantly open to the new. Great authors are often lifelong learners, individuals who’ve never ceased to be students. Students of what? Well, it seems this is a great question, because it doesn’t seem to matter what is being learned. The simple expedient of acquiring new knowledge spurs creativity in a way nothing else seems to do.

I read in the forward of a book recently how the author got the idea for the foundational structure of the world featured in his book while attending a lecture. He took notes at the lecture, combined it with further research, and embarked on a spree of worldbuilding to make his entire novel possible. The plot as presented would have been impossible without the creation of that foundation.

For me, I’ve found I’ve been able to weave numerous ideas into stories in a way that would have been impossible if not for information gleaned from a few choice websites. I’ve found io9 and Futurismic to be especially helpful, as well as a nifty little site called iCurrent which allows me to customize aggregated news content. There have been several little gems which have contributed toward a sci-fi short story I’ve got in the works.

Lastly, don’t give up reading. Ever. If you want to be a writer, you’ve got to be a reader. Even if you have problems reading works in the same genre in which you usually write—because you find yourself constantly analyzing, or are afraid you’re going to steal ideas—read something. Read in another genre. Read history or biography. Read, read, read.

Happy writing!

I thought I would throw my opinion out here, concerning authors who write with an agenda in mind.

You should stop, really, and here’s why.

As an author, your worldview will seep through and permeate your stories. This is as it should be. If it doesn’t, you might want to question yourself and see if you actually believe anything.

When writing fiction, what is more important, story or agenda?

I’m not going to list any particular books by name, though I certainly have some in mind. Each and every book that starts with agenda first and story second always comes across as exactly what it is, a thinly veiled diatribe not even reaching the height of allegory.

The story always suffers, and what could have been a wonderful book read and recommended by a much wider audience gets relegated to a smaller crowd because it is so patently obvious what the author’s agenda was. The book becomes avoided by readers with a differing worldview, and they start to see the story as one of “those books.” The very minds you wish to change are prejudiced in advance against your work.

None of this is to say you shouldn’t impose your views and beliefs into your book, but do it within the outlook and experiences of the characters, not in running commentary or plot structure. When you become skilled enough to take the time to craft the story first, you will find a much larger audience for your agenda.

Readers buy your book because of story, not agenda.