Writing Mercenary

The question that invariably follows when you mention you're working on a book..."but what's it about?" It's hard to distill a nearly 500 page manuscript (over 100,000 words!) down to a sound bite. But it's something writers need to be able to do. In a nutshell, I have always wondered about the Chosen One trope. … Continue reading But what’s it about? →

I attended a workshop this past weekend. I saw three agents. One saw my first 3k words, one saw the query letter (that sells your book to them), and one saw my first page. Writing is solitary and the chance to interact with other writers is important on many levels. Overall, everyone had small things … Continue reading Moving to the Starting Line →

This year is almost over. Like so many, there were ups and down. Things have been rough in my day job, with a lot of uncertainty. But that's not the big takeaway. For me, that is this: I am a writer. I am a writer. Plain and simple. After working at my craft for years, … Continue reading Reflections →

I have a new idea for a novel, so once Fortunes is done, I am hoping to get that plotted. Names are not easy to come up with, but I started devising a new set. In order to come up with a new world, I'll be picking up some history books in eras I don't … Continue reading New Ideas/Old Ideas →

First, a big thanks to all my supportive friends! Here’s my first ever author newsletter. Couldn’t have done it without you! Don't forget to add diana@writingmercenary.com to your safe list so you don't miss a single issue!  Summer's just about over already, and what a busy season it was. Virtually, over the last several months, … Continue reading Newsletter Launch! →

2020 has been a really mixed bag for everyone. The one thing I've noticed it that it's given me new awareness of how important creativity is. Imagination and stories are helping us to explore options, see what the future could be (good and bad), and helping us to grapple with the big questions. I've been … Continue reading Visions →

Recently, a number of events have convinced me that speculative fiction writers must embrace change, no matter how painful. Change is inevitable, and it's foolish to act as if everything is set in stone. Indeed, if we are to be true to ourselves as speculative fiction (SF/fantasy) writers, we NEED to ask the perennial question … Continue reading The Future IS Change…Or, Not More Of The Same →

For most people, New Year's doesn't start until January. As an educator, September feels like a new year. Somehow, though, I've got a third beginning: July. Let me explain. July 2013, faced with great difficulties, after a very long hiatus, I returned to writing. July 2015, my hard work paid off and I traveled to … Continue reading Happy New…July? →

So, another year ending, and time to review. My plans for 2018 were (achieved goals struck through): Complete the MFA thesis novel (military fantasy) by February 1. (August 15, but still done!) Complete my craft essay by February 12. (Done.) Develop a paper into an academic article and send it out to the appropriate journals. … Continue reading Year In Review →