The primary duty of literature is to tell us the truth about ourselves by telling us lies about people who never existed. ~Stephen King
Introduction When I asked those who follow this blog on Facebook to give me some topics they’d like discussed, this was one of the suggestions. This is a somewhat nuanced topic, and the question is: how do we approach genre-switching in a series, and is it going to lose readers? That’s the question I will… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Genre-Switching In a Series
Introduction One area I often hear discussed by groups organized to help authors is blogging. It is repeated over and over that authors should have blogs, but many of us have no idea what to do with a blog if we even decide to take the advice to start one. So these authors frequently start… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Blogging – To Blog or Not to Blog?
Introduction Recently, it struck me that one of the reasons I rarely find anything to challenge my mind in indie fantasy (and even in many traditional fantasy pieces) is that the authors do not often intentionally use worldview and philosophy in writing their books. They generally tell a good story, but it doesn’t challenge me… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Philosophy in Writing
Introduction Today, we’re talking about story ideas, both before and during the writing process. After all, all the things we’ve been discussing about plot do us no good if we have no ideas or concepts to play with. Often, people I meet discuss the idea of writing a book but not the idea they will… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Story Ideas
Introduction Today, we’re going to talk about upping the stakes. Last week, we talked about sub plots, and we’re going to tie together our sub plots and upping the stakes. Often, sub plots are the result of upping the stakes. Whether you end up with a sub plot or not, however, upping the stakes will… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Upping the Stakes
Introduction Today, we’re talking about sub plots. Last week, we talked about plot complexity, so this is the perfect point to discuss sub plots as the two often work together. To start, I’ll define sub plot. Sub plots are the plots taking place while the main plot is still moving forward. They’re extra layers, if… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Sub-Plots
Introduction Today we move away from our discussions on character to discussing plot. A good plot is one that is both character driven and intricate, but many new authors (and even some who have been at it for a while) struggle in this area. Often, writers are unsure how to deepen plot, make it interesting,… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Plot Complexity
Introduction The last few weeks, we’ve been discussing characterization. So far, we’ve discussed internal conflict, acting out of character, and secondary characters. Today’s focus will be motivation. We all have reasons we do the things we do. Those reasons may or may not relate to whatever internal or external conflict going on, but they will… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Motivation
Introduction Last week, we talked about character dimensions or aspects, and this week, we’re moving on to talking about secondary characters. Secondary characters are often ignored or not given the focus they should be given simply because they are secondary, but good fiction will develop these characters too. Let’s talk about what part your secondary… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Secondary Characters
Introduction First off, I apologize this wasn’t out last Thursday! I was having a bit of a hectic week, and I wasn’t able to get around to the post. Hopefully that won’t become a regular thing. Now, last time on Thursday Technicalities, we talked about the idea of internal conflict in a character. Today, we’re… Continue reading Thursday Technicalities: Acting out of Character