Barely Alive After 2025

by benmweilertNo Comments
If there's one tweak to a famous quote I love it's, "We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy." If this doesn't describe this year's creative efforts, then I hope I don't give myself nearly as much to do next year. I figured I was due a break after a few years of recording and publishing audiobooks for The Fluxion Trilogy. Instead, a project I thought would take a month ended up sucking me in for several. The emotional burden of many things this year forced myself to give my creativity some grace to let a few things drop from the plan I set forth in January. Still, I managed to be quite productive on the few things that mattered most. Here's the summary... 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW The $1,300 Alphabet While I started The $1,300 Alphabet last year, there was plenty of activity with my illustrator, Nancy Anderson, to get this alphabet book containing...
Read More

When a short story is no longer a short story

by benmweilertNo Comments
Over the years, I've usually planned out my writing pretty well. I always felt that each element of the plot had a purpose and a place that added to the cohesive whole of the story. Consequently, I've really struggled with the concept of "killing your darlings." For those of you who haven't heard about this writing tactic, it essentially boils down to being able to let go of certain aspects of your story, especially when they don't add anything to the plot. Part of the reason I've been unable to remove some of these sections from my writing is because I find they're usually quite intertwined with the rest of the story and to remove them would require massive restructuring of the whole plot. To kill your darlings, you must be able to recognize them for what they are. In writing my short story for the next Midnight Writers' Anthology, I suddenly found the story I wanted to tell was much longer...
Read More