He is risen!
Happy Easter Sunday, all. May the promise of salvation and eternal life ever be a ray of hope in troubled times. Have a blessed day.
Plans for April
March was a fine month. Certainly better than February, and possibly more productive than January. In it, I continued my ongoing rough draft, reviewed a couple more novels from my main series, and finished some interior illustrations for my anthology coming later this spring. I also found out that I had an article published back in February I was not even aware of!
April has the potential to be even better still. I intend to finish reviewing my primary series, continue working on my rough draft, and prepare my animal anthology for release next month. I would also like to create a definitive map for one of my series, but we will see about that.
World Building
The most important aspect of any book next to character is setting, for without it there would be no context for the story to exist. I would go so far as to say anywhere from one third to half of any story has to do with establishing the surroundings in which the action can unfold, depending on how familiar the setting is to the intended audience. The process of world building is going to be different for each author, but here I’ll offer what advice I can from my own experience.Continue reading “World Building”
The Worst of the Worst: Making Believable Antagonists
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”
