January has come to an end, and so it is probably the very last moment to do a 2025 recap post while it is still remotely relevant. So, without further delay, here it is, my year in writing along with my ambitions for the year to come. Reading: Maybe not the obvious place to start … Continue reading 2025 Recap and 2026 Goals for My Writing
Category: Aspiring writer
Reading list for 2025
In enjoy reading. That shouldn't really come as a big surprise to anyone. I am a writer after all. I've never really been structured about my reading, though. When it comes to writing, I strive to apply the principles of deliberate practice: praticing with a specific goal in mind, doing target exercises, getting feedback, trying … Continue reading Reading list for 2025
2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
2025 is well under way already, and it's perhaps a bit late to start looking back at the previous year and how I fared. But, well... it's been a stressful January, and it's only really now that I've had both the time and energy to reflect on 2024. The obvious place to start is probably … Continue reading 2024 – My Year in Writing and Reading
The Anatomy Of A Modern Science Fiction & Fantasy Best Seller
It's been a while since I did a writing essay. In the meantime, I've spent a lot of time reading newer fantasy and science fiction best sellers award winners as well as listening to podcasts about writing and the publishing industry (like the Publishing Rodeo Podcast). This post is the results of all that writing, … Continue reading The Anatomy Of A Modern Science Fiction & Fantasy Best Seller
My 2019 as an Author
It's that time a year, or rather, it has been that time a year already and I'm just late to the party. Anyways, it's time for recaps and summaries and lists of how things went throughout the year. 2019 wasn't exactly the year I had my big break through, finally sold a ton of short … Continue reading My 2019 as an Author
Review: Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass
As soon as I saw Neil Gaiman was offering lectures at Masterclass.com, I jumped at the opportunity. Gaiman is one of my absolute favorite writers, so even though I doubted the lectures would contain some mind-blowing new information, I figured it would be nice to get an insight into his writing process at least. I'm … Continue reading Review: Neil Gaiman’s Masterclass
Real Fake
The below is another piece of flash fiction which I don't think will find a home at any pro-paying magazine, but which I none the less liked enough that I decided to share with the world. Real Fake Thousands of people are marching through the streets of Washington DC today, protesting what some call … Continue reading Real Fake
2018 – My Year as a Writer
With another year gone by, it's time to take stocks, summarize what've learned in regards to my writing, and, hopefully, figure out how to push forward. As always, it was a year with ups and downs. I landed my first publication at a professionally paying magazine, Grievous Angel Magazine (which sadly closed down later in … Continue reading 2018 – My Year as a Writer
Confirmation Bias and Self-delussion
Stepping out of your comfort zone, focusing on improving instead of getting praise. That's what drives us to become better artists. I highly recommend this brief article by Jason S. Riddler on confirmation bias, self-delussion, and how those leads to stagnation. It's worth a read to all us would-be writers (and other striving artists as … Continue reading Confirmation Bias and Self-delussion
A Year of Critical Reading – What I’ve Learned so Far
Psychologist and expert in experts Dr. Anders Eriksson explains in his book, Peak (one of the few self-help books actually worth reading, if you ask me), that the single best indicator of how good a chess player is going to be isn't how many hours of chess they've played but how many hours they've spent … Continue reading A Year of Critical Reading – What I’ve Learned so Far
Toby Backman 