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Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith

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Category Archives: Stories

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Being a Novelist as Opposed to a Short Story Writer

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 28, 2012 by Michael D. SmithJuly 11, 2020

Despite a strong desire from the beginning of my writing days to write novels, for many years I found myself unconsciously kowtowing to what now seems the tyrannical pedagogical assertion that writers “learn by writing short stories” and only then … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Perpetual Starlit Night, Publishing, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

How Do you Deal With Your Backlog?

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on February 29, 2012 by Michael D. SmithJune 27, 2019

I can’t remember, nor does a Google search tell me, which of the great science fiction writers said, more or less: “Keep the manuscripts in motion until they are bought.”  I think it was Heinlein but it doesn’t really matter.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Daily, Double Dragon Publishing, Novels, Publishing, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | 4 Replies

The 2011 Harvest

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on January 5, 2012 by Michael D. SmithApril 7, 2013

Several years back I began compiling a timeline of what writing projects I was working on.  It’s always interesting to see how much builds up over time, and it’s easy to keep up with–just note the start and stop dates.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Process, Collapse and Delusion, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Essays, Jack Commer, Martian Marauders, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Publishing, Science Fiction, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Novels Inventory, September 2011

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on September 18, 2011 by Michael D. SmithJuly 11, 2020

Following is a list of my novels and novellas with terse little elevator pitch summaries and some notes as to their fates.  If there are novel title links, they lead to their detailed info pages on the mothership, www.sortmind.com. Just … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, CommWealth, Double Dragon Publishing, Editing, Jack Commer, Martian Marauders, Novels, Publishing, Query Letters, Sortmind, Stories, The Soul Institute, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

Homage to the Wiess Cracks

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on August 27, 2011 by Michael D. SmithDecember 25, 2024

I never thought much about my stint as editor of the Wiess Crack until I began to see it as another piece of lost energy I wanted to reclaim from the beginning of my writing life. In the small enclosed … Continue reading →

Posted in Early Writing, Editing, Novels, Plays, Publishing, Satire, Stories, Wiess Cracks, Writing, Writing Process | 7 Replies

What Does Your Muse Think of Your Writing Career?

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on August 20, 2011 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 23, 2023

What is Career Art?  Art executed in the pursuit of success and recognition, seeking opportunities, rising, gaining influence and power.  How is this any different at all from rising through an insurance organization? There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make … Continue reading →

Posted in Akard Drearstone, Art Process, Early Writing, Marketing, Nonprofit Chronowar, Novels, Publishing, Sortmind, Stories, The University of Mars, Trust, Writing, Writing Process | 1 Reply

Activity | Cleanup | Foundations | New Work

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on March 7, 2011 by Michael D. SmithFebruary 23, 2023

Where I’ve been the last two and a half months–not really offering excuses for so few blog posts, but that was one of the outcomes. The Sculptures Exhibit In January I set up my exhibit of twelve sculptures at Park Forest … Continue reading →

Posted in Acrylic, Akard Drearstone, Art Process, Art Shows, Collapse and Delusion, Novels, Painting, Sculpture, Self-Publishing, Stories, The First Twenty Steps, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The Art Supply Barn

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 31, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

On a cold morning I visit the second floor of an art store and I see folks I’ve been out of touch with for years.  They are passionate, hearty, close to the world, not given to cynicism or hip irony.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Art Process, Dreams, Stories, Writing | Leave a reply

How Have TV Show Plots Affected Novel Writing Over the Last Sixty Years? (English Graduate Program Thesis II)

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 26, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

A second (and final) graduate thesis, which I again give to someone else to execute, would explore the evolution of novel plots since the development of television. We’ve had to be influenced by television and its time constraints.  By 8:28 … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

The Blog Evolving into the Entire Journey

Sortmind Blog - Michael D. Smith Posted on December 16, 2010 by Michael D. SmithJune 28, 2019

Old Things My first blog entries have been oddly coalescing around past writing. I’ve wondered at the look backwards: “A Mule for Billy” and “Five Query Letters” from the 90’s, Total Annihilation: Camouflage! from my Rice days, “Case 9 of … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Stories, Writing, Writing Process | Leave a reply

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Recent Posts

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus
  • A Blog Post from February 13, 1976
  • A Writing Biography, Part VIII: The Exoskeleton, Archiving, Publishing, The Blog, and the Long Novels, 2011-2023
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Recent Comments

  • Introducing The Benign Incursion – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Unknown Ending for The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on Trip to Mars in Paperback
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The First Childhood Appearance of Jack Commer, September 19, 1962
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The Irregular Origin of The Martian Marauders
  • Jack Commer, Supreme Commander – The Complete Series Omnibus – Sortmind Blog – Michael D. Smith on The UR Jack Commer: A Look at the Childhood Beginnings of the Commer Saga

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Michael's books

Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
4 of 5 stars
Why Meditate: Working with Thoughts and Emotions
by Matthieu Ricard
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
4 of 5 stars
WordPress Web Design for Dummies
by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
5 of 5 stars
Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End...
by Philip Plait
Using Joomla!
3 of 5 stars
Using Joomla!
by Ron Severdia
Serpent's Tooth
5 of 5 stars
Serpent's Tooth
by Toni V. Sweeney
On a cruise Melissa bonds with an older man, Travis, who turns out to be a famous celebrity in hiding from a once successful life. But by degrees we become aware that his enormous success came at the price of bonding with demonic forces...

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