Adam Carlisle

I read history books all the time, and I am totally convinced 99% of modern men, including myself, would just die if they were transported to any time pre 19th century. Men of the past almost seem like a different species than what men are now.

Starting your post with “i regret to inform you” and then proceeding to inform the world on nothing regrettable automatically positions you lower than a pair of jorts on the Coolness Hierarchy

Star Wars has so many scenes where the setting is fantasy-like. Ten mins into the Phantom Menace the protagonists, wearing cloaks, are in a forest with no technology except their weapons. It’s the only sci-fi story I can think of that doesn’t feel completely dystopian to me. I think that’s one reason why it is so much more successful than other stories in its genre—those inclusive moments of genuine fantasy.

I like to hide my snacks atop the cupboards where my wife can’t see or reach them

Reading is loading arrows into your writing quiver.

I replaced "grasped" with "clutched" during my editing session. I did so intuitively. I checked the precise definition of each to be sure. Clutched was the contextually superior word because it means "To seize, hold, or grasp something with force, often because of fear, panic, pain, or urgency." It's little things like that give us feedback that we are improving as authors. I first learned the importance of verbs from Stephen King's On Writing over ten years ago. I always keep his advice in mind.

We channel divinity when we write, think and read beside a fire.

"In the Midwest, we call winter's prelude fall, not autumn, because its nature is to fall short of expectations."

I have become convinced the most important part of editing is reading the words aloud. Makes me wonder if I should write every draft by speaking the words as I type

Editing my most recent book and thus far it’s turtles all the way down

Is there a community of authors who read the unpublished works of other authors and give feedback? Seems like that would be both invaluable and motivating

The more theology and history I read, the more I am convinced the “gods,” such as the Greek Gods, were absolutely real. Do I think Zeus was a white-bearded man in the sky who threw lightning bolts? No. That’s just the imagery the spirit cultivated.

Rewriting the first chapter to perfection is the hardest part about writing a novel, and it’s also the most important chapter. It is always the most disconnected from the remainder of the book. The characters begin as undiscovered and abstract. If you can nail the first chapter, you can write a novel people will read.