Bryan Young's Blog, page 12
April 28, 2015
The Best Editors
I've been thinking a lot lately about the role editors have played in my development as a writer and I think they have a much more important role than many people would admit.
But the editor has to be a good one. They can't have a chip on their shoulder and they need to look at your work as a partnership. Teamwork.
What's a good editor, to my mind?
A good editor is one who is going to force you to ask questions about the reasons behind your thinking. "Why" is how they start most of their sentenc...
But the editor has to be a good one. They can't have a chip on their shoulder and they need to look at your work as a partnership. Teamwork.
What's a good editor, to my mind?
A good editor is one who is going to force you to ask questions about the reasons behind your thinking. "Why" is how they start most of their sentenc...
April 23, 2015
Star Wars Update!
Last weekend I had the tremendous honor of attending Star Wars: Celebration - Anaheim. It was four days of merriment based around the greatest space film saga of all time and I had the time of my life. I was on a number of panels and you can listen to most of them online:
Full of Sith - This is the podcast I host and we had a great show with a lot of cool guests.The Mythology of Star Wars - This panel was a dissection of the mythology of Star Wars and the hero's journey. (I'll have audio of th...
Full of Sith - This is the podcast I host and we had a great show with a lot of cool guests.The Mythology of Star Wars - This panel was a dissection of the mythology of Star Wars and the hero's journey. (I'll have audio of th...
April 13, 2015
Star Wars Celebration and an Update
I'm leaving town tomorrow, so I won't be around to do my regular weekly update, but figured I'd get it out of the way early and let you all know about a chance to sync up with me this weekend at Star Wars: Celebration.
I'll be on four panels and at a variety of other events as well.
As far as my panel schedule:
Thursday:
6:30 - 8:30 pm - Hilton Lobby - Podcast Listener Meetup - My fellow podcast co-hosts and I will be meeting with listeners at the Hilton Lobby in a massive mix and mingle.7:00 pm...
I'll be on four panels and at a variety of other events as well.
As far as my panel schedule:
Thursday:
6:30 - 8:30 pm - Hilton Lobby - Podcast Listener Meetup - My fellow podcast co-hosts and I will be meeting with listeners at the Hilton Lobby in a massive mix and mingle.7:00 pm...
April 7, 2015
Knowing When to Say Yes (...or No)
I get asked to do a lot of stuff.
Whether it's an interview or a short story or an essay, there are a lot of factors that go into my decision to say yes or no. But my first instinct is always to say yes, even when I don't think I'm exactly right for the job.
Why is that?
Well, every project I've ever agreed to that I was hesitant about taught me a lot about myself as a writer, as a freelancer, and produced work I would have normally never embarked to create on my own. Taking assignments forced m...
Whether it's an interview or a short story or an essay, there are a lot of factors that go into my decision to say yes or no. But my first instinct is always to say yes, even when I don't think I'm exactly right for the job.
Why is that?
Well, every project I've ever agreed to that I was hesitant about taught me a lot about myself as a writer, as a freelancer, and produced work I would have normally never embarked to create on my own. Taking assignments forced m...
March 24, 2015
The Ending
Never, ever revise your opening chapter, your opening line, or the opening scene to your story if you haven't already written then ending. Mike Stackpole once told me, "Would you rather thirty chapters of a finished novel? Or thirty revisions of chapter one?" And he's right.
This is probably the advice I give to people more often than anything else.
Writers will ask about when they know how to move on from their first chapter, or they'll ask how to tell if they're opening is right, but there is...
This is probably the advice I give to people more often than anything else.
Writers will ask about when they know how to move on from their first chapter, or they'll ask how to tell if they're opening is right, but there is...
March 17, 2015
On Editing and Revisions
When you're in the midst of a revision on a book that you've been through a dozen times it's easy to get bogged down. It's easy to feel as though no sentence matters and word choices are less than meaningless. It's easy to feel like no one wants to read your book anyway. More than anything, it's easy to forget that you wanted to write this book in the first place.
I've been hovering around those feelings as I toil on the book I'm readying for publication. I've re-written whole sections, I've c...
I've been hovering around those feelings as I toil on the book I'm readying for publication. I've re-written whole sections, I've c...
March 12, 2015
The Weekly Update...
Another week has gone by and a lot of work has been done.
I finished two more short stories. One is called Somnus, and I have absolutely no idea where to place it. I might start sending it out for publication after a revision or two because I don't quite think it works yet.
The other is called Byline and sort of attacked me out of nowhere. I write in my notebook every morning to warm up and I had a great idea for a first line to a short story. Then a second line. Then a third. Soon...
I finished two more short stories. One is called Somnus, and I have absolutely no idea where to place it. I might start sending it out for publication after a revision or two because I don't quite think it works yet.
The other is called Byline and sort of attacked me out of nowhere. I write in my notebook every morning to warm up and I had a great idea for a first line to a short story. Then a second line. Then a third. Soon...
March 3, 2015
Tuesday Update
In an effort to keep my space here more regularly updated, and to get you warmed up to the idea of checking in regularly for my vlog experiment.
Fortunately, I have a lot of news this week.
On Saturday, I wrapped up the draft of the most recent novel I'd been working on, my eighth. I haven't settled on a title yet, but I really like "An Original" (which is the title of the short story it's based on) or "The Counterfeit Man."
I can't overstate enough how good it feels to finish a book. I'm alread...
Fortunately, I have a lot of news this week.
On Saturday, I wrapped up the draft of the most recent novel I'd been working on, my eighth. I haven't settled on a title yet, but I really like "An Original" (which is the title of the short story it's based on) or "The Counterfeit Man."
I can't overstate enough how good it feels to finish a book. I'm alread...
February 28, 2015
My story in Silence in the Library's YA Fiction slate
Silence in the Library, the publishing company that's put out my last two novels and my children's book, is currently doing a preorder Kickstarter for their new slate of Young Adult novels.
It's something you should definitely support regardless of my involvement, but if you're interested, I have a story appearing in this set. In Janine Spendlove's fourth "War of the Seasons" book I provided a short story called "Dust in the Wind." It takes place in the midst of the battle with Winter in the...
February 24, 2015
An Update: Writing Vlogs, Writing, and Appearances
So, I've been told I need to be vlogging, in addition to the sparse blogging I'm doing on this place. And I need to do a better job of giving you all what you want. I think what you want is to hear about what I'm working on and why and how, but also about writing in general.
The Vlog aspect will essentially me being answering your questions about your writing and my work, but to kick that off, I'll begin with some questions I answered for someone else.
At Dragon Con in 2013, Arizona State Unive...
The Vlog aspect will essentially me being answering your questions about your writing and my work, but to kick that off, I'll begin with some questions I answered for someone else.
At Dragon Con in 2013, Arizona State Unive...
