Time to talk about your character’s inner dialogue. Have you ever read a book where you never know what the hero is thinking? She never plans, she only does. Nothing ever affects him. Not the death of his best friend. Or his dog. Or even his whole family. Then there’s the other side of the …
What amount of detail should an author include in a story? Everything likely to be present in the scene, including character backstory and maybe an overview of the general geo-political views of everyone present? Or only the bare minimum? Two men in a seedy bar sitting at a table? Sometimes, it’s a tough call. I’ll …
World building is a subject near and dear to authors. We can create worlds not bound by the conventions of the world we live in. Or we can take this world and tweak it here and there to make it just a bit different and thereby ours and ours alone. Some authors create continents, new …
A story always starts with an idea. It may be a simple one, uncomplicated and straightforward. It could be a story huge in scope, involving scores of characters and interweaving plotlines. Other times, it starts as one and evolves into the other. So it was with the story of Mace, the Houseman. It began its …
The definition of what high and low fantasy are seems to depend on whom you ask. Currently on Wikipedia, high fantasy is described as a sub-genre of fantasy and as being interchangeable with epic fantasy. The works of Tolkien are cited as the archetypal works of high fantasy. High fantasy stories are described as being …
High or Low Fantasy – what it is depends on who you ask Read More »
Naming characters can be nerve wracking. The following are different ways to choose a distinctive name for the character you’ve spent so long creating. One which makes them stand out from all the other characters in your story as well as characters in other books. Baby naming sites – Names on these sites are searchable …
Where does a writer find inspiration? Does it come whispering down from the heavens on the wings of a Muse? Does it strike the consciousness like a bolt of lightning? Bam! Inspired! Hardly. Inspiration comes when you least expect it. Usually when you don’t have anything to write it down with. I can’t guess the …
Sometimes characters can get away from you. Seems like an odd thing to say about a made up being. It’s not like they have free will. But they do have a mind of their own. The one the author gave them. The one they intend to use. My characters wander around in my head fully …
I think people often wonder about the writing process. Some might think no research goes into the writing of a fantasy novel. Afterall, this is a fantasy world and the author can make up anything that goes into it. To some extent, this is true. As long as a writer is consistent in the rules …