A Song of Joy by Caroline Furlong
Writing for Joy
I have been intending to share this Trope Talk video with you, readers, for a while. Finding the right words with which to introduce it to you, however, took quite a bit of time. Then I wrote last week’s article and finally – FINALLY – managed to rewatch this Trope Talk video to remember some… Continue reading Hope, Grimdark, and Perspective
Check out this piece by K.M. Weiland, readers! Prologues vs. Flashbacks (Backstory Techniques, Pt. 1 of 3) If you want to rev up a group of passionate writers, just bring up the topic of backstory. As much as we love our stories, we often love our backstories even more. If plot offers a what and a how, backstory… Continue reading Reposted: Prologues vs. Flashbacks (Backstory Techniques, Pt. 1 of 3)
A worthwhile piece from Katherine Katheryn Rusch, readers: Business Musings: Go Wide or Run Away or Amazon Fail Posted: May 3, 2023 I’m writing this on the last day of April. I’ve been planning this post for months now, as the drumbeat of bad news out of Amazon escalated from rumors to asset sales to major… Continue reading Reposted – Business Musings: Go Wide or Run Away or Amazon Fail
Sorry, readers, but I ran out of energy and did not have a post prepared for today. In lieu of the next installment in this series on conflict, I have linked to a post on LegendFiction, a very interesting site with a lot to recommend it. The post is on the site owner's "3 Laws… Continue reading Reposted: Dominic’s 3 Laws of Using Religion in your Fiction Novel (+ Bonus Law)
I have written on conflict before. The focus there was on choreographing a fight, as well as understanding hand-to-hand and other types of combat as well as how it is applied, with the aim of making the action in a scene and story flow better. This is important for a writer to know if they… Continue reading Conflict – Defining and Building It in Your Fiction
It has been a while, but some time ago, I read an older copy of Jane Austen’s Love and Friendship. For those who do not know, Love and Friendship* is not a full-blown novel. Nor was it published during the authoress’ lifetime. She probably would have been highly embarrassed to see it in print. Love… Continue reading Love and Friendship – Critiquing Modern Tropes While Practicing One’s Craft
Take a look at this excellent piece from Cedar Sanderson over at the Mad Genius' Club, readers! Cast and Character I’d asked in the spiky book club server what topics they’d like to see me touch on in posts, and the first response was to ask about fleshing out supporting characters. Which is a good… Continue reading Reposted: Cast and Character
Take a look at this interesting piece from Story Embers, readers! 2 SKILLS YOU CAN LEARN FROM WRITING IN A DIFFERENT GENRE January 9, 2023 Allison Raymond Everyone has favorite genres that they fill shelf after shelf and hour after hour with. One of mine is contemporary fantasy. Yours might be romance and historical fiction.… Continue reading Reposted: 2 Skills You Can Learn From Writing in a Different Genre
Last week we discussed love among characters. This ranged from brotherly love (philia), or the affection between friends who are or can be as close as brothers, to romantic love. I was not able to express all my thoughts on romantic pairings last week and thus this post will contain those ideas. Previously, we discussed… Continue reading Romantic Relationships – A Speculative Commentary
“Considering it, he realized that somehow he never worried about Miriam, and that was wrong. He did not worry about her because she seemed so self-sufficient, so strong. She was like their mother had been, only more so, much more so. But he felt it was wrong to think of a girl that way…It was… Continue reading Love Among Characters – A Reflection
A Song of Joy by Caroline Furlong 