Kenneth Jobe

On Constructive Criticism, Beta Readers, and Being An Accidental Fraud

Constructive Criticism Last week I found a great new (to me) website called Lit Reactor. You may have already heard of it, but if you haven’t, it’s a tremendous resource for writers looking to better their craft (and aren’t we all?). The site is a spinoff of sorts from The Cult, official website of authorContinue reading “On Constructive Criticism, Beta Readers, and Being An Accidental Fraud”

Sometimes, The Book Isn’t Better

Over the past month or so I’ve been listening to the audiobook version of Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I know some people out there don’t like audiobooks, but I really enjoy them. As someone who’s always been fascinated by voice acting, I love hearing a good performance of a good book. I thought Gone Girl wasContinue reading “Sometimes, The Book Isn’t Better”

What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?

I’ve been keeping up with my bizarre new ritual of getting up about an hour early every morning to spend some time on my writing. It’s allowed me time to catch up on other people’s blogs, check my email, try and find publishers accepting novella submissions (which is turning out to be a lot harderContinue reading “What Do You Do When You Don’t Know What to Do?”

Rejection, Dejection, Commendation, and Inspiration

Quite a ride on the Aspiring Writers’ Emotional Tilt-A-Whirl yesterday. I checked my email just before leaving for work to find that my second submission to a publisher has been swiftly rejected. Nothing heartbreaking or earth shattering there; to be honest, I’m not completely surprised. The novella was not necessarily the best fit for theContinue reading “Rejection, Dejection, Commendation, and Inspiration”

The Books of Jobe Not-Really-A-Book Review – Born Standing Up, Steve Martin

There are a select few people out in the world who I consider to be flat-out awesome. Call it what you will – my idols, my favorite people, the people I know would be best friends with me if we could just meet, whatever. It’s people like Ray Charles; Martin Scorsese; B.B. King; Stephen KingContinue reading “The Books of Jobe Not-Really-A-Book Review – Born Standing Up, Steve Martin”

In the Name of the Author, the Editor, and the Almighty Publisher…Please Let Me Call This Work Finished

After I spotted a serious problem with my novella, I went back to rework some of the scenes even though I had boldly declared the work “finished” months ago. Since then, I’ve been tweaking out on it every moment that I have to devote to writing (is ‘tweaking out’ a universal term? Having lived forContinue reading “In the Name of the Author, the Editor, and the Almighty Publisher…Please Let Me Call This Work Finished”

Of Internal Bleeding, Rewrites, and Crank Calls

It’s been another crazy week or two here on the homestead. Usually, my life is so free of drama that just running errands on the weekend is a big deal. The last three weeks , though, have given me enough excitement to last for months. These are sort of random thoughts I probably could’ve splitContinue reading “Of Internal Bleeding, Rewrites, and Crank Calls”

Top 5 Movies I Hated Initially, But Now Love

Before I get on to the topic at hand, a quick note: In 1992, my old band opened for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. We had only been together a few months, and only had a half hour’s worth of material at most. But thanks to our lead singer’s relentless hustling of tickets toContinue reading “Top 5 Movies I Hated Initially, But Now Love”

So, Apparently I’m Being Freshly Pressed…Do I Bring Out the Good China?

I’ve been in a little bit of a funk lately when it comes to my writing. I have been writing plenty, but I’m putting off editing. I have so much editing to do, it’s ridiculous. The blog has become one of my favorite things, when I have something to write about. So I was prettyContinue reading “So, Apparently I’m Being Freshly Pressed…Do I Bring Out the Good China?”

The Forgotten Art of Simple Conversation

Man, oh man, what a crazy few days I’ve had, you guys. I’ve gotten exactly squat done writing-wise in the last week or so. It all began Thursday night, when this happened: This is the view the morning after One Bad Mother of a thunderstorm came rolling through with 89mph winds. It’s a huge chunkContinue reading “The Forgotten Art of Simple Conversation”