Continuing from last week’s post on creating good characters, I will now give a look at how best to portray those characters who are often far more interesting: the baddies.
For the most part, the same rules apply to making good bad guys as making good good guys: show rather than tell, make his/her problem both relatable and believable to the audience, and be consistent. Therefore, I highly recommend reading my previous post first. However, the villain in your story is generally playing a different, sometimes entirely opposite role to your hero, and with the changes in role come subtle changes in the nuances of how the character is constructed.Continue reading “The Worst of the Worst: Making Believable Antagonists”
The Best of the Best: Making Believable Protagonists
While not all protagonists are good, it’s true, they are nevertheless an essential ingredient to any story (with a few abstract exceptions). It might seem easy to make a lead character who is generally likeable, and for some it is. But for others, creating a character out of thin air who is both interesting and believable can be a real challenge. This is easily overcome, however, if you practice following a few simple guidelines.Continue reading “The Best of the Best: Making Believable Protagonists”
Plans for March
February was not all it could have been. The last week in particular had a lot going on (hence the lack of any substantial posts). However, progress was made on one rough draft and the first two books of my series have been reviewed as hoped. Yet another poem was accepted for publication by The Pangolin Review.
March will hopefully be a month of greater fulfillment and warmer weather alike. To begin with, I have decided to take down my page on editorial service offerings. As no one has shown even a modicum of interest, there is no real reason to keep it around. At least at this time.
My rough drafting and final reviewing will continue apace, and I may even begin work on a new project. Or else I may begin doing research for one of the many nonfiction book projects I’ve been considering lately. Either way, March promises to be an interesting month. And with 31 days, there’s plenty of room to pack it with good things!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
This one’s never exactly been my holiday, but to all you hopeless romantics out there, have a blessed and blissful day!
Some Latin Literary Phrases
After a month of rather serious subjects, I thought I’d make a lighter post about some common Latin phrases used in writing today, as well as what they mean (courtesy of Latin Made Simple by Doug Julius 🙂 . So, without further fuss, here they are:Continue reading “Some Latin Literary Phrases”
Plans for February
January was a very busy month, if majorly disappointing in some ways. Nevertheless, I managed to make some progress on several fronts. There was a good deal of revising and reworking passages for my main series, as well as for the second installment of the Sauragia series that I hope to release this summer. Additionally, I had another two poems published in the journal In Parentheses.
February has the potential to be an even more fulfilling month. Continuing from last month, I shall begin the process of giving my whole series one last look in detail. I may also begin formal research for a few nonfiction projects I would like to start working on by the end of this year.
Review: ‘Castaways of the Flying Dutchman’ by Brian Jacques
As most of you know, I am a major admirer of the literary work of Brian Jacques (see my previous post on the Redwall series here). His writing has been a source of amusement as well as inspiration for me since the age of 18. I recently read through the Castaways of the Flying Dutchman trilogy, and thought I’d share my critiques as well as what I liked about this lesser publicized series by the beloved YA author.Continue reading “Review: ‘Castaways of the Flying Dutchman’ by Brian Jacques”
Copyrights and Intellectual Property Theft
It’s a problem. It happens every day. Sometimes professionals are the culprits, but sometimes they are ordinary, otherwise law-abiding citizens who use some variation of “but everybody does it” to excuse what is quite simply a crime. If you don’t like moral lectures, then I suggest you skip this post, but personally I’d be much obliged if you’d take a moment to read it, and positively delighted if you took the message to heart.Continue reading “Copyrights and Intellectual Property Theft”
The Self-Publishing Process
In my previous post, I spoke of why or why not self-publishing might be a good idea. In this one, I will attempt to outline the process of making it happen for those who would like to give it a try. More specifically, I will be talking about publishing a book here, though it can apply to some degree to publishing a short story as well.Continue reading “The Self-Publishing Process”
Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing
Are you tired of constant form-letter rejections? Do you like having greater control over your creative process? Would you prefer to keep more of your royalties?
If your answer to any of the above is yes, then self-publishing might just be the route for you. In this first of several posts on self-publishing, I will attempt to detail the reasons why taking the independent route to publication may or may not be the right route for you.Continue reading “Pros and Cons of Self-Publishing”