Big Cat, Little Cat: Happy Anniversary What I’ve Learned about… Learning If you try things, you’ll learn things. That’s the essence of what I’ve learned from running the 2 Rules of Writing website this year. I guess it’s the positive version of “fuck around and find out.” It’s also what I went into the project…
Category: Writers on Writing
Writer’s Notebook: Year in Review
“Hi,” he said. “How’s it going? Has the world ended yet?” Terry Pratchett, Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch It’s kind of been feeling like that lately. At least for me. And probably a little bit for Adam, too, who has to edit all of my work before it’s posted…
Artistic Integrity (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat: Artistic Integrity What is Artistic Integrity and How Much does it Cost? What happens to an artist who is commercially successful? Or a politician for that matter? People talk about how “so-and-so went to Washington and forgot who voted them in.” Or “So and so got big and now just makes…
NaNoWriMo: Conflict (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat Feeling Conflicted about Conflict I find that establishing and escalating conflict is the hardest thing to do for a new writer. Picture it: you’ve got your setting and it’s a good’n. It’s somewhere familiar to you, either based on the place where you grew up or on somewhere you’ve been that…
Art and Trauma (Caturday)
Well. It happened again. At such times that tragedy touches a community that one of our own belongs to–a community that is a source of both strength and vulnerability–we make the following choice. Sometimes people who are grieving need to laugh. And sometimes they need to write about their feelings. So here’s the comic. Enjoy…
NaNoWriMo Tips: Overcoming Obstacles.
My credential for writing this is that I have written the manuscript for one novel and it has not been published. You don’t necessarily want to hear from someone who has written (and published) half a dozen or more books and is now summarizing their craft. Leastwise I don’t. When famous authors say some version…
Pride and Prejudice (Caturday)
Big Cat, Little Cat What your Favorite Book Says about You There’s an old joke that the way to steal an English Major’s wallet is to ask them what their favorite book is and then rob them while they’re distracted. Okay I just lied twice. It’s not old. I made it up. And it’s not…
The Tsunami
A WhatsApp-text popped up on my phone, and a notification “ding” tone followed. The screen showed Shelly’s message in a blinding glow. An untimely text from her, although I liked her lots – a very outgoing, intelligent colleague. A promising scholar in the making. “I went to your sharing seminar,” her message read. “Your research…
Shortcuts for NaNoWriMo
So. You’ve decided to write a novel in thirty days. First of all, you’re an idiot. But a good idiot. The kind that doesn’t know their own limitations and so sets out to find them. The kind that inspires people. You’ve probably gotten that look:“So what are you up to these days?”“Oh, you know. Work….
NaNoWriMo! (Caturday)
Middle Cat, the Executive Producer of the hit series Big Cat, Little Cat, is excited to announce that 2 Rules of Writing is hosting a writing workshop for NaNoWriMo. The workshop will be this Sunday (Nov 6, 2022) at noon. Big Cat is probably going to show up an hour late because he always forgets…