Monthly Archives: May 2009

How memory can save you

I’ve learned how memory can save your butt if you’re a writer, the hard way. Whether it’s a compact flash card or a full-on flash drive, it’s important to back up your work as a writer, and the more ways you have it backed up, the better. I learned this when I lost 100-plus pages …

May 31, 2009 – 11:34 PM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in Rants and asides | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Knowing your characters better than your spouse

Sometimes it feels like you almost have to know your characters better than you know your spouse, to be a successful writer. While I love my wife, I can’t say I know all her habits backward and forward. That isn’t essential in a marriage; but to write a novel, you have to know if your …

May 18, 2009 – 2:43 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in late night writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Touchable ghosts

I want to create a ghost who’s touchable. That the goal with my latest project. I’m tired of the old conventions that insist a ghost passes through everything and is mere mist. What’s scary about mist? A ghost who is touchable, however, has more impact. You don’t even know you’re being haunted until it’s far …

May 18, 2009 – 2:36 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in writing | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Finally making progress again

I’m finally making progress again on my first Pizza Delivery Mystery novel, Thirty Minutes Or Less. Longtime readers will remember I lost over 100 surplus pages of manuscript during a hard drive crash in which I had no data backup. It’s been a long road toward working up the energy to tackle the novel afresh, …

May 18, 2009 – 2:31 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in creativity | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Long nights, no writing time

Lately I’ve been putting in a lot of long nights but not getting any creative writing done, even though the engines are turning up in the ol’ creative noggin. It’s frustrating that I’ve spent more time pondering the best acne treatment lately than I have a character’s motivation for murder despite being innocent. So I …

May 1, 2009 – 12:44 AM | By Craig Hansen | Posted in late night writing | Tagged , | Comments (0)