Tag: Writing
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Putting Strength in the Bank
A favourite saying among old-school bodybuilders and weight lifters is to put strength in the bank. It means stopping just short of doing your absolute maximum in a training session, to do just one or two reps short of complete failure. It’s hard-won wisdom with sound basis in biology. Strength training requires gradual adaptation over weeks…
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Reflections on the Pulp Revolution
A fortnight ago, Jesse Abraham Lucas wrote a blog post that resonated with me. He wrote about what PulpRevvers call GroffinGate, in which an Internet commentator named Groffin said (among other things): And for all your glorification of the insular and self-aggrandizing indie-literature circuit, you have no minds of comparable skill or prestige, and will not for…
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Holistic Health for the Working Writer
We live in a new pulp era, an era that prizes proliferation and productivity. Pulp Speed, the ability to write at least 3000 words a day, preferably more, is an essential skill for the writer who wants a shot at the big leagues. Through Pulp Speed I have written in the span of two years…
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The Fighting-Man of a Hundred Faces
The fighting-man is the quintessential pulp hero. He has graced pages and screens since the dawn of the pulp age, driving stories through relentless action and raw vitality. He is an enduring archetype, and for good reason. As Bradford Walker discusses: To succeed as a fighting-man, you have to have the very qualities of character that…
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Initial Reviews for HAMMER OF THE WITCHES
Reader reception of my latest novel, “Hammer of the Witches*, has been overwhelmingly positive. With an unbroken streak of 11 5-star reviews on Amazon, it is quite possibly one of the best stories I’ve written to date. Here are a few quotes: The first thing I thought upon finishing the first book of Kai Wai Cheah’s…
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How to Make More Singaporean Writers
Reading Sumiko Tan’s interview with Tash Aw, I am reminded of the questions that haunt the Singapore writing scene. How can we produce more writers? How do we get international recognition? How do we create, in Tan’s words, ‘international literary successes’? From my perspective, the answer is simple: Do not be limited by Singapore. The Culture Crush…