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As the title implies, this blog post is about double negatives.  You’re not supposed to use them, right?  Well, most of the time they’re not appropriate.  Generally they don’t sound good, they’re unpleasant to listen to, and so often suggest a limited intelligence or vocabulary, especially if you use them frequently.  Also, we’re told the second negative tends…

As language progresses, some words go out of style.  Some words disappear completely, while some become meaningless, that is, they’ve lost their meaning out of disregard or displacement.  The recent death of Joan Rivers brought this lesson home because she, as well as all other females who tell jokes, was referred to as a comedian, not a…

Someone asked me a few days ago how much of myself I put into my writing.  I replied that was a hard question to answer.  And even having thought about it for almost a week, I still can’t answer the question in full.  The only answer I can give directly is that I don’t consciously put…

If you’ve done much writing, you may have seen articles in writing magazines or online or such about what writers can learn from this, that or the other.  They may take the form: “What Writers Can Learn From Plumbers,” or “What Writers Can Learn From The Backs Of Cereal Boxes.”  You’ve probably seen them.  I’ve read…

As the title says, we’re building a house in this blog post.  And by “house” I actually mean a “novel.”  That’s because writing a novel is like building a house.  There are a lot of similarities between the two which I think can be instructive in the construction of a novel. Right now I’m working on the…

As a writer, I’m constantly putting words down, either on paper or on a computer screen.  Usually in some sort of order, as in a sentence or a meaningful phrase, though not always.  Occasionally, I’ll come to a stopping point where I’m stumped for the proper word.  I can’t keep every word in the English language…

Well, Bubonicon 46 is over.  The Albuquerque science-fiction convention (The “Con”) was held in early August this year to give attendees the chance to go to other conventions around the world, especially the world science-fiction convention, WorldCon, which is being held in London, England, later in August.  That said, I really felt the early setting of this Con.  I’ve…

A few weeks ago I finished reading David Waltham’s book, Lucky Planet, and I’d like to comment on it in this blog post.  This is not in the nature of a book review, although I do recommend the book if you’re into the question of life on other worlds.  (It was published by Basic Books…

One topic that comes up frequently in discussions of life on other planets is the question of how life got started on Earth in the first place.  Did it develop here all by itself under the pressure of the energy present in sunlight, or was it dropped here by an asteroid or comet or passing…

Back on April 11, 2011, I wrote a blog on using a mask (like, for example, a surgical mask over the nose and mouth) to protect yourself from the obnoxious and dangerous things that sometimes foul our air.  I noted that there are different types of masks, and each must be used properly for it…

I’m no expert on the topic I’m going to talk about here today, but I do have an opinion, and like all of us opinionated bloggers, I’m going to share it with you.  I’ve been trying to interest a literary agent (or publisher) in my science fiction novels for many years now, more than I care to…

The title of this little post is a command issued to all new writers as they first try their hand at putting clear, compelling words, sentences and paragraphs on paper.  “Write what you know,” they’re told over and over  At first glance it sounds reasonable, even a little obvious.  But it comes back to bite and sting if…