It’s interesting, I’m coming across authors who separate good writing and good storytelling. I always thought those writing rules were making me a better storyteller. You can follow every rule and still write a crappy book. You can commit the most horrendous of writing sins and your book becomes a best seller. It’s kinda frustrating…
Does being a writer/avid reader make us overly critical of books? I’ve been having a hard time finding books I like. Can’t figure out why. It’s been awhile since I’ve become so consumed by a story I can’t wait to get on the train or get home to read it. Don’t know when was the…
This weather is weird. The beginning of last week was cold. I was pulling out my hoodie, heavy blanket and my little space heater. The weakened comes and it’s 80 degrees. It worked out well for me. I went to the park on Saturday and Sunday to take pictures. Nature is amazing. I’ve been going…
I’ve never been much of a list person, but world building is turning me into one. My journals have no sense of organization. Going through them is a pain. Recently, I’ve had to list all the major threats facing my characters in book 2. More than half way through the book and I can’t keep…
In my current WIP, Chains of the Sciell, most of my cast has had their minds altered. They spend the first part of the story reclaiming those memories. I wanted to portray this realistically, though I didn’t do any research. I use what I’ve seen in movies. My beta-reader says they believe how the characters…
If you’re a fantasy writer, you should subscribe to Mythic Scribes. They have some amazing articles. Are Magic Systems a Distraction? “Some of the greatest fantasy novels don’t have defined magic systems. Neither Harry Potter nor The Lord of the Rings have anything resembling a “system,” yet these stories are classics of the genre. In fact,…
Summer’s almost over. Where did the time go?! I’ll be starting class next week. Soon, I won’t be able to go to the park to write and take pictures. Well, I have the Fall. At least it doesn’t start getting unbearably cold until like November. Still, when it’s no longer 70/80 degrees outside, I won’t…
If MS Word was a person, we fantasy writers would drive them insane. Our stories are packed with made up names. Word goes crazy with the red underlines. For some reason, seeing those red marks drives me bananas. I can’t continue writing until I get rid of them, which is sometimes impossible. I heard years…
Have you ever gotten a character, scene or worldbuilding idea you never thought you needed? Last year, I read a post by Kelly Hashway where she talked about the playlist for her book. It got me thinking. If my characters had their own music video, what would the song be? It’s been a lot of fun….
How do you make sure your characters don’t all sound the same? If you think about it logically, it shouldn’t be possible. I mean, we are just one person. There’s a name for people with a crowd of voices in their head. How can one person pretend to be several and portray each character realistically? I’ve been struggling…
