Writing fascinating, well-rounded characters comes easily to some people. Character traits, past histories, and quirky, unique personalities seem to just flow out of their fingers and onto the page, and every book is a new adventure filled with a fascinating new cast. I am not one of those people. Are you? If you are, you … Read more
I just finished reading The Bantam by RJ Theodore (review coming soon). I really enjoyed it – it’s like a crash course in writing a relatable alien. So how did the author do it? When writing truly alien characters, we have to discard everything we know: Why should they be bipedal? Why should they have … Read more
Constantin Stanislavski came uo with a theory of acting that I’m loosely going to describe as “become the character” – a method of connecting with the personality of the person you’re playing, and learning how to think and feel like they did. It’s also known as Method Acting, and taken to its extreme, it can … Read more
Every writer has an achilles heel. Mine is characterization. I’m fantastic at world building – I can create compelling settings that will wrap you up and transport you away from whatever mudane place you find yourself in. I’m also great at plot. Not bragging here. It’s something that just comes naturally to me. The one … Read more
Fiction authors have a lot of things to keep track of in their books- – character descriptions, locations, plot details, and all the other things that go into constructing a world. It’s a complicated business, building an entire world. But what about when you want to write a series? When you’re working on a single … Read more
I long ago discarded that old tried and true truism of writing – “write what you know.” While I get the sentiment behind it – you can best convey ideas, characters, and places with which you are already conversant – I also find it also intensely limiting, especially as a writer of sci fi and … Read more
I’m coming up on my five year publication anniversary in May. Interestingly, it’s not the first story I sold – “The Bear at the Bar.” That honor actually goes to “Avalon,” originally published by Mischief Corner Books in their wonderful and now defunct MCB Quarterly journal. When I was first starting out, I got two … Read more
Hey all, As I continue to write, I like to find new ways to challenge myself as a writer. Yeah, I’m a glutton for punishment. 😛 Often this means working on my writing skills themselves. I love to watch really good films and TV shows and dissect how they put their stories together, and then … Read more
Every writer has a weakness. Or two. One of mine is characterization. I came to this whole writing thing via reading lots and lots of sci fi and fantasy – really really long, epic fantasy – and so my great love has always been worldbuilding. I adore strange new worlds – Pern with its dragons … Read more