Why I became a Supporting Member of HWA

January 31, 2011 Horror

Ever since I went to my first Stokers Award weekend  (2009, Burbank, CA) I’ve been interested in the Horror Writers Association.  I’ve loved horror for as long as I can remember and when I write fiction it likes to veer into the dark and horrific (the first stories I ever wrote were horror), so the [...]

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I’m Committing to my Creative Success

January 18, 2011 Personal

Over a year and half ago I discovered Mark McGuinness and his site, Lateral Action.  I’ve spoken about them many times on this blog because he has consistently helped me to grow.  As a writer I’ve taken his numerous lessons on creativity to heart, leveraging both his experience as a writer and a creative coach [...]

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Why is it so hard to change from Consumer to Creator?

January 14, 2011 Personal

I’ve really been struggling with this lately.  The push and pull of opposing motivations each packed with their own idiosyncrasies and justifications.  A culture geared in one direction while a dream works in direct opposition.  Anyone familiar with Steven Pressfield knows about "The War of Art".  In the book he describes the force which stymies [...]

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2010: Highs, Lows and Next Steps

January 4, 2011 Personal

Many will agree that 2010 was a crap year.  For some it was the worst year they’d ever had.  For me it was a barely less crappy extension of 2009.  Still shitty in many respects, but after the hellacious 2009 in Los Angeles anything was better.  In spite of this there were a few good [...]

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Careers are Grown

December 7, 2010 Personal

Recently I’ve been re-reading Mark McGuinness’ article "The Story of a Reluctant Entrepreneur", a fantastic tale about how one man’s desire to become a poet somehow led to a successful career as an online entrepreneur.  It was one of those pieces of writing that entered my life at the exact time I needed it.  I [...]

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Creative Collaboration

October 11, 2010 Writing

Writing is traditionally a solitary venture.  The artist is locked in a room left wrestling with the muse in an epic struggle to bring forth the truth they know is deep inside them.  Well… if you’re into a romantic idealization of the writing profession then yes, that description fits perfectly.  In reality, the writer is [...]

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Hate Machine

September 21, 2010 Personal

I have a hate machine in my life.  He hates everything that isn’t like him.  People, religions, careers, even thoughts, beliefs and emotions, the list goes on.  It’s not surprising he is this way because he knows no other.  He was raised by a hate machine, one forged in the fires of a seething hatred [...]

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How Do You Drive Yourself If The Tank’s Out of Gas?

August 25, 2010 Writing

As you can tell from the tumbleweeds around here I’ve been incommunicado for some time now.  People usually say "life gets in the way", but that’s not the case for me.  It feels like I’ve run out of steam and all my words have just disappeared.  Instead of being frustrated it has been a relief [...]

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RetroHack: Knuckle Bump Edition

July 7, 2010 Nerd

Over at RetroHack, my partner-in-crime Ed is celebrating a great blogging milestone.  He has been published and PAID for a guest post.  With all the tips you see online about writing guest posts for free to generate traffic, here’s Señor Fisher making money from his blood, sweat and ink.  Congratulations buddy, may your words be [...]

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WordPress Plugins Spotlight: Comments

June 22, 2010 Wordpress

When I come across a sharp new blog I often wonder what kind of plugins they’re running under the hood.  I’ve always believed seeing a slick plugin on a live site is a million times better than any review you could read on WordPress.  When I first started out, I shared the plugins used in [...]

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Thoughts From A Weekend

June 14, 2010 Personal

If you’ve been following my Twitter feed, you probably heard about my interesting weekend in Ybor City.  Goths in surgical masks, a pit bull sitting at the bar, and one-eye bathroom attendants are just some of the highlights of my adventures in Ybor nightlife.  The transformation from tumbleweed town earlier in the week to hordes [...]

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