Hope, Grimdark, and Perspective

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…

“Just a Story” and Malicious Storytelling

Over at Helping Writers Become Authors, K.M. Weiland offers a very good treatise on why stories aren’t “just” stories. She posits that they serve four functions: life, a “map” of human consciousness, mirrors of reality, and a force for subliminal communication. That is, the subtext of a story sticks with a reader or viewer because…

Reposted: Prologues vs. Flashbacks (Backstory Techniques, Pt. 1 of 3)

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…

Reposted – Business Musings: Go Wide or Run Away or Amazon Fail

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…

Reposted: Feeling Romantic

This piece by Cedar Sanderson is a very good reminder, future authors. Check it out! Feeling Romantic I woke up to the gurgle of the coffee pot, and sat up in bed knowing that my husband had made coffee. He’d timed it for when he knew I had to be up and about today, so…

Reposted: Should You Try to Get Your Books in Libraries and Local Stores?

This is a very good piece by Mr. Matthew Bowman, readers, and it ties in with something I posted here (if rather tangentially). Please take a look at his very helpful article, especially if you have a book of your own available for purchase. He has some very good recommendations here! Should You Try to…

The Lack of Religion in Fiction and Issues this Causes

Kit Sun Cheah had an interesting article on his site recently. Titled “Guy Gavriel Kay’s Religion Without Religion,” he tackles an issue rampant in modern fiction of every variety: modern writers largely cannot write believable religions or religious characters. Every time they try, they leave a hollow world behind that does not satisfy a reader…

Forms of Conflict, Part 4: Man vs. Nature

We have discussed the definition of conflict and how to build it as well as three of the four forms of conflict: Man vs. Society, Man vs. Self, and Man vs. Man. There was an intermission to discuss some details pertinent to the first two conflict types. These pieces were inspired by a conversation I…

Various Forms of Conflict, Part 3: Man vs. Man

Thus far we have discussed conflict’s meaning and how to use it in a tale, as well as two branches of conflict – Man vs. Society and Man vs. Self. We then took a brief intermission to discuss the importance of these two types of conflict, in part because I became tired and needed a…

Reposted – Psychology: Interrogating your characters

I'm afraid Holy Week and Easter knocked me out, readers. Check out this piece from Mad Genius' Club (or read my latest newsletter) while I try to write more posts for you. Ms. Myers' piece is more than worth the read! Psychology: Interrogating your characters [— Karen Myers —] I was raised by wolves. No, really. Nice wolves,…