Words Deferred is a blog about writing fiction, in all of its myriad forms.
What am I doing here? I’m reviewing books and giving away my story ideas! But that’s not all…
In 2024 and 2026 I’ve done what I like to call a Year of Short Stories. I spend 52 weeks writing sci-fi and fantasy stories and submitting them to publications. I write weekly updates to discuss my progress, as well as the ins and outs of writing and submitting short fiction in these markets. Read the kickoff, or see all the posts.
Previously, I spent almost two years writing Razor Mountain, a novel that I updated here twice per month. I documented the entire process, from ideas and outlining to the cover design and back-cover blurb to the chapters themselves. You can read all of it on my Razor Mountain landing page.
If you’d rather read some of my free microfiction or hundred-word drabbles, check out the Fiction section.
If you’re looking for something else, use the search, categories and tags in the sidebar, or check out my most recent posts below.
What Comes After NaNoWriMo?
In previous years, this was a question people would ask about December, but that changed in 2025 when NaNoWriMo, or at least its parent nonprofit, The Office of Letters and Light, shut down. It was a strange saga. What started as a goofy yearly event became, by some measures, the…
A Little Halloween Melancholy
It’s the beginning of November, and I’m sitting on my front porch writing this. My children have co-opted my laptop to play Minecraft, so I’m tapping with thumbs on a little phone screen. I don’t mind. It feels like a good day to take things slow. It’s unseasonably warm out…
Hypericum — Read Report
By Manuele Fior (Translated by Matt Madden) Buy (affiliate link) Hypericum is one of two graphic novels by Italian authors that I picked up in my recent library excursion. Both involve Italians traveling overseas in the ’90s. Obviously Italy has artistic traditions spanning millennia, but Italian comics are a complete…
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