Reposted: Likeable and Unlikeable Main Characters

Jaglion has some good thoughts here, readers. Check out her post through the link below! LIKEABLE AND UNLIKEABLE MAIN CHARACTERS Elsewhere on the web, there was a discussion going on about whether readers of popular fiction would tolerate an unlikeable main character, and I stuck my oar in – well, a whole galley’s worth of oars …

Killing Characters – A Quick Thought

Well, I hope it is quick at least! Quite some time ago I posted a series on killing off characters in one’s fiction. You can find those posts here, here, and here, and they all generated a fair bit of discussion. To sum them up, however, they boil down to “respect your characters if you …

Reposted: How To Depict Characters Living In Sin Without Endorsing Their Choices

Good thoughts here, readers. Check it out! HOW TO DEPICT CHARACTERS LIVING IN SIN WITHOUT ENDORSING THEIR CHOICES Has your work-in-progress ever taken a dark turn? You thought you were writing about teenagers falling in love for the first time, but instead you ended up with scenes where the characters crossed physical boundaries. Or maybe your …

A Few Religious Videos for Worldbuilding Tips

Okay, so not only do you want to write religious characters, you want to write Catholic characters. Great! All you need is a few stereotypes and you’re good to go. Right? Not so fast – and that goes for the Catholics in the back in particular. I have seen all the backlash about Cabrini and …

Reposted – Subplots: do’s and don’ts

A worthy read and reminder! Check it out! Subplots: do's and don'ts There’s nothing quite like hitting the 67,000-word mark and then having to backtrack because the story no longer works. Stepping back and taking a good look, a really hard look at why is not my favorite. First, I’m mad that this story which …

Reposted: The Author as Hunter

An excellent meditation, readers. Enjoy! The Author as Hunter Cedar Sanderson April 20, 2024 ““It isn’t like that at all; it isn’t like building—not a bit. In building, you see, you know beforehand what it’s going to be like; at least, I suppose you do. I mean, it would never do to start off building a …

Reposted – On Editing: Pen and Paper

Just a little editing advice that might come in handy, readers! On Editing: Pen and Paper One of my main editing tools is a printer. Long story short – when you’re writing, you get wrapped up in your own head. This is, of course, necessary; in order to get the story out on the page, first …

Reposted: Narrative summary: tell, don’t show, and when it’s a good idea.

A worthy reminder, readers. Check it out! Narrative summary: tell, don’t show, and when it’s a good idea. Dorothy Grant April 7, 2024 I find it a little weird to be the one writing this, as I have long harbored a hatred of infodumps. So, why am I writing in defense of tell, don’t show? Because …

Reposted: “No Nights (or Chapters) Off.” And Other Grown Up Lessons From Reading to My Kids

This is a good reminder, readers. Check it out! “No Nights (or Chapters) Off.” And Other Grown Up Lessons From Reading to My Kids There has been one single experience that taught me more about storytelling than anything else in my life: telling bedtime stories to my children. Live audiences can be merciless; ask any …

Reposted: Weekly Time Management

With thanks to Foxfier for pointing me to this link. We all need this reminder, future authors! Weekly Time Management Novel Ninja March 18, 2024 In Sandman by Neil Gaiman, Death reminds someone that “You lived what anybody else gets. You got a lifetime.” Everyone has an equal amount of time each day. How you use it …