Writing Unforgettable Scenes
Forgettable (adj.): Easily forgotten, esp. through being uninteresting or mediocre. Ick. No one wants that for their writing. One of the best ways to avoid this is through the help of your early (beta) readers. You can't just go asking if your book was boring; few of...
Showing: How Not To Tell
Everything you ever read about writing advises you: "show, don't tell". It's great advice as far as it goes. You don't want to lecture to your reader, you want them engaged, seeing and feeling things based on the descriptions you give them to work with. What most...
Spoilers: Your Own Worst Enemy
There are few people in this world that like spoilers. When we see a movie or a TV show, or we read a book, we want to experience all the twists and turns without foreknowledge that might ruin the surprise. When discussing new things, people are usually polite enough...
Politics: Kadrin Empire
The Kadrin Empire is the most powerful land in the world of Veydrus. Though not unchallenged in their dominance, the Kadrins have been a major factor in world affairs for most of their six thousand summers of existence. We first learn of them in Firehurler but there...
Agendas and Motivations
What is the difference between a character who is little more than window dressing for a story and one who is vibrant and realistic? The idea that the character is more than just a plot device, someone who has hopes and dreams and aspirations, however humble they...
Write Like a Bulldozer
There is a direction that bulldozers go. That direction is called "forward". When you consider vehicles that can look to a point some ways off and decide to just go toward it in a straight line, it tops the list (unless you picked a tank, in which case you're...
Villains
In response to my "7 Types of Heroes" blog, someone suggested that I take a look at villains as well. That got me thinking about just what it takes to make a real villain. I came to the conclusion that if anything, villains are harder to fit into neat little boxes...
Quiz: How to Tell If You Are Twinborn
At the heart of Firehurler and the Twinborn Trilogy is the mystery of the twinborn. What are they? They are the ones who are aware of other worlds. They are the ones who live separate lives that they can see while sleeping and it works both ways - their twins see...
How to Kill (Your Characters)
The worlds we write can be dark and dangerous places. In many cases, these dangers are a key element of the plot. Sword fights, monster attacks, magical duels and harrowing escapes are all staples of the fantasy genre - and those are just the dangers that come at your...
7 Types of Heroes
You don't need a hero to have a story, but if you want to write about heroic deeds you're going to end up with one somewhere along the lines. Whether you decide on the hero first and let the story follow him from there or work out the plot and fill in with the...