D. Thomas Minton
writes speculative fiction from his home in the mountains of British Columbia.
Category Archives: Writing
The No-BS Rules For Writing Success
People like to talk about rules for writing, but I’ve found that almost all the rules people talk about are a bunch of BS. That especially applies to all the rules about how to construct a story, how to start … Continue reading
Posted in Goals, Inspiration, Writing
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The Good, the Bad, the—Let’s Just Do the Good
I’ve said several times now that 2015 was a bad writing year for me, and by all my usual measures, it was probably my worst year since I started publishing professionally. I sold only a few stories, finished probably even fewer than … Continue reading
The Year of Getting Back on Track
It’s 2016. It’s the Year of the Monkey (or will be in another month). For me it’s the year I get back on track with my writing. One of my failures last year was that I set no writing goals … Continue reading
What are those steps again?
I feel a little like I’m in a 12-step program today. What’s that first step? Oh, yeah, admitting you have a problem. The second? Accepting it? Hmmm . . . I don’t know. Maybe this is a lousy analogy. I … Continue reading
Posted in Inspiration, Writing
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Inspiration: Sinking Holes
It’s been a while since a new story of my has been published, so I haven’t had much opportunity to continue my series of inspiration posts. I often get asked what inspired a particular story. Sometimes I don’t know the answer—it’s … Continue reading
Editors Should Be Your Writing Ally
An editor should be your ally in writing, not your adversary. We’ve all heard stories of nightmare editors–folks who make substantial change without consulting writers (then say they were only minor tweaks), not being communicative, not upholding contractual obligations (of … Continue reading
For Me, A Sad Hugo Day
So the Hugo Award nominations were announced this weekend. Yeah. . .um. . .hmm. That’s a distressing response. If you haven’t been following the award nominations—and you’re forgiven if you haven’t because I haven’t either—then you’re probably unaware of what has happened with … Continue reading
Perihelion to Publish “Sinking Holes”
I’ve sold some reprints and translations recently, but new story sales have been slow, so I’m particularly pleased to announce that Perihelion has bought my story “Sinking Holes.” It’s scheduled to appear in the May issue, but the editor has told … Continue reading
Impressions of the Nebula-nominated Novelettes
Whew! I barely made it, but I finished the last of the 2014 Nebula nominees for best novelette with a few hours to spare, and got my votes in before last night’s deadline. So what did I think of the … Continue reading
European Tour Continues for “The Schrödinger War”
My short story, “The Schrödinger War,” continues its European tour, this time making a stop at Catarsi. The Catalan publication has accept and translated it for their spring 2014 issue, due out sometime around April. As always, I’m excited whenever one … Continue reading
D. Thomas Minton 