When I was going to college, online courses were not really accessible to me as a student. The channel I could go through to “try before I decide” was either the local technical college or places like the UW-Extension office, both of which you have to pay for. One of the great debates about building […]
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Highlights from Previous Seminars: Freelance Writing 101
Digging through the archive of handouts and seminar presentations, I thought I’d post the notes from one of the roundtables I participated in. What is a freelance writer? An independent contractor “for hire” A savvy business owner Has great “time-management” skills Knows what they are worth Has realistic expectations and goals A qualified individual performing […]
Marketing 101: What has Changed for Novelists Selling their Books
Straight out of the comments from this previous post about writing unconventional fantasy settings, author Joe Cooke asked: If we write stories that are outside the bounds of the tried-and-true, how do we get them to market? Dear readers, that is the million dollar question and one that I have heard many, many times. It’s […]
Blog Update: New Functionality
Just wanted to let you know that we’ve been working on ensuring the blog is up to technical snuff (so to speak)…we’ve added a “contact” form and have an updated RSS feed. I’m a bit behind on the re-categorization of older posts, and I thank you for your patience. I would like to feature other […]
System vs. Setting in Game Design
One of the biggest arguments I’ve heard over the past, few years is, “Does system matter more than setting?” The answer is, “Both do.” Here’s why: Game mechanics, for any platform (PC, video, tabletop or card game) handles the pacing of the game, attributing to its mood or what I call “game aura.” If you’re […]