Blocking a Novel
I’ve mentioned several times that I’m a discovery writer, but that doesn’t mean I write blindly. I have a basic plan before I begin. This gives me the basic plot,…
The Birth of “Tears from Iron”
As we begin a new year and look forward, I thought I’d look back instead. How is a story born? What are the moments that see its first formation in…
Writing is an Act of Faith
It has occurred to me this past week that writing fiction is an act of faith. Not being a detailed pre-plotter, I can’t say with absolute certainty that this is…
Families & Fantasy
There is a dearth of families in fantasy. There are, of course, exceptions, but most of these are where said families and/or children are important to plot, character, or theme. …
Individuals, Society, Change, and Story
This article centers on a combination of seemingly disparate thoughts, so I ask for your patience as I bring them all together. The conclusion, I think, will be interesting.So the…
The Blessing that is Writer’s Block
In the last article, I discussed writer’s block and started looking at three major varieties I’ve identified. The first is a slog where you have a segment that just isn’t…
Wrestling with Writer’s Block
Though it may not be self-evident, this article is a continuation of the last article’s discussion on the journey versus the destination of story writing. Along that vein, I’ve been…
Grappling with the Story – Journey vs. Destination
Writing is a strange beast. It doesn’t have any certain form, deriving its shape from the author and the nature of the specific story. I’m not talking about grammar or…
Characters and Description
Last time I began a discussion of description by talking about setting. I made the observation that the approach I think works best can be summed up as ‘less is…
On Description and Story
This is the first of two articles prompted by related ideas on description: setting and character. For both, I believe the best general approach is somewhere along the lines of…