Category: Uncategorized
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Medieval Studies is FUN!!!
Medieval Studies as a field has gone from the quintessential example of the useless humanities degree that will qualify you for LiKe nO jObS to a strikingly relevant field of expertise that both will save humanity from AI and explains some of the baffling and harmful decisions of the current US administration and their adjacent…
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A Cover for Breaking the Silence!
Here it is! The cover features our hero Stephen, an orphaned son of a king who enters a monastery as a novice for safe keeping. Stephen is shown here wearing the black robe of the type worn in Benedictine monasteries in the middle ages. In his arms he holds a cythara, a guitar-like instrument popular…
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How NOT to be Distracted while Writing a Novel
Or anything, really If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you’ve tried everything. Or you want to try something new. Or you find yourself getting distracted while writing and are curious about things you might try. This post is not so much advice for the distracted as a product review. But it is an honest…
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Writing When Sick :(
I’m on day 34 of a writing challenge, and I would be lying if I said it was smooth sailing the entire time. About 2/3 of the way through October, I came down with a nasty cold. These are my reflections on powering through writing when I felt like doing anything but. It is inevitable:…
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Time for a Challenge!
It’s fall, and for a good portion of writers who grew up with the NaNoWriMo novel writing challenge, creativity is in the air. And to be honest, I’ve never been able to keep up a daily writing habit without a good, solid deadline. At this point I’ve been writing for decades, but it doesn’t matter…
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I Love a Good Map
In this Breaking the Silence summer update, I muse about maps and what they can add to the experience of reading a novel. (Yes, there will be a map at the beginning of Breaking the Silence, and I’m really excited about it!) Geography and the Novel Geography is hard. Especially to the non-spatially inclined, figuring…
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The Art of the Historical Note
I suppose I knew all along, but never gave much thought to, the fact that once I finished a book I would have to write a whole bunch more things before I could publish it. A whole bunch more things in other genres. One of those things is the jacket blurb, which you can view…
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NaNoWriMo is Dead! Long Live NaNoWriMo!
NaNoWriMo officially* announced their dissolution on Monday, leaving many writers in mourning over the demise of a once-great institution. If this was news to you and you are still mourning, please close this tab. I don’t wish to subject anyone in mourning to my joy that nanowrimo dot org is dead and we can all…
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The View from My Classroom
It’s snowing today, and the snow is so beautiful that the blistering cold does not bother me as much (at least when I’m inside my cozy 67.5-degree classroom). Students are taking a test so I have most of the day to write in relative silence before the storm of grading hits. Today I’m working on…
Tiggy McLaughlin 