I earn more writing novels than short stories — and you probably will too — For several years now, I’ve been earning the majority of my income by writing fiction under a variety of pen names you’ve never heard of. And it isn’t anything special about me. Thousands of authors you’ve never heard of are quietly making a full-time living creating fiction. True, thousands of…

Who needs the guilt? — In May 2012, we stayed in a cute little Airbnb cottage on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and it was super-cute and super-convenient, and the hosts were nice and all, and I’ve felt terrible about it ever since. Don’t stay in an Airbnb, y’all. Really, don’t. Author Jared A. Brock has…

Sadly, rich characterization is not the key to selling commercial fiction — Don’t tell me how not to write Indiana Jones. I dislike calling people out, especially if they’re well-intentioned, but I about fell out of my chair the other day when I read an article by a person who wants to teach us how to write characters who aren’t stock types…

I am the cutest baby Red-Bellied Woodpecker you’ll see all day — Am I the most adorable baby Woodpecker you ever did see? As a matter of fact, now that you ask… So why did Mommy just come by and tap me on the head and tell me I’ve got to grub up my own food now? Amethyst’s note This successfully fledged if somewhat…

Lost species can be saved if we fight for them — In 2022, Endangered Species Day falls on Friday, May 20. Of course, in the larger sense, endangered species day is every day. This year may seem especially somber because, late in 2021, the Ivory-billed Woodpecker was finally listed as extinct by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Hope dies last. As…

Making money with ebooks isn’t free in 2022, but it can be cheap — The other day, a struggling writer living on a friend’s couch posted an interesting question to a notorious writing forum. With only $1,000 to spare, the writer wanted to invest in a self-publishing business, and they needed to know two things: …

Three tricks for a new birder’s World Migratory Bird Day — Years ago, I spotted a single chunky brown-and-white bird sitting on my brand spanking new bird feeder. The bird was a migrating female Rose-breasted Grosbeak — identical to the bird on the left side of that photograph — but we’re not going to talk about how long it took me…