Needless to say, writing nonfiction is a very different experience from writing fiction. The most obvious fact, of course, is that while with fiction your only limits are those imposed by yourself, with nonfiction your job is to posit straight facts. This can lead some to believe that nonfiction is a more restrictive or boringContinue reading “Writing Nonfiction”
Category Archives: writing
The Dark Art of Poesy
Most folks I’ve met have a definite opinion of poetry. They either love it or hate it. As a general rule, I’ve always put myself in the latter category (excluding songs, which many of us poetry-haters like, ironically). I’ve always looked on it a bunch of overly long words used in short, choppy sentences loadedContinue reading “The Dark Art of Poesy”
Writing Dialect
Picking up on my topic of world-building from last month, dialect is one of the best (and in some cases trickiest) ways to add realism to your dialogue. After all, nothing indicates that a particular person is from elsewhere like a strange way of talking. But how does one transliterate another’s way of speaking intoContinue reading “Writing Dialect”
The Process of Self-Editing
Editing and revising can be the most tedious or the most exciting part of the writing process. On the one hand, you’ve completed your rough draft (a stage many people never make it to) and are well on the way to finishing up. On the other hand, going over the same material again and againContinue reading “The Process of Self-Editing”
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,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 problemContinue 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 andContinue reading “The Best of the Best: Making Believable Protagonists”
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,Continue reading “Plans for February”
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 muchContinue reading “Copyrights and Intellectual Property Theft”
Plans for January
December was a very full and fulfilling month, all told. Though I did not quite get around to everything I’d hoped, all the main goals were met and then some. I reviewed the sequel to Sauragia earlier this month (some changes need to be made, but still planning to publish this summer), as well asContinue reading “Plans for January”