When I first started writing, I wrote the types of stories I loved to read–science fiction and fantasy–but it took a while for me to figure out the kinds of stories I wanted to tell. My early attempts were never the right stories, even though they fit with what I liked to read and watch…. Read more »
In These Happy Golden Years, the eighth Little House book, Ma Ingalls tells Laura that people make their own luck. This is illustrated in the story when Laura is kind to a girl in her class who, like Laura, wants to be a teacher. They both take the test, but only Laura passes. Because she and the girl… Read more »
“Cow goes moo. Frog goes croak, and the elephant goes toot. Ducks say quack and fish go blub, and the seal goes ow, ow, ow. But there’s one sound that no one knows – what does the fox say?” What started out as a comedic song for “Tonight with Ylvis,” the Norwegian television show hosted… Read more »
“How do you motivate your antagonist without making them seem like Dr. Evil?” – Anthony L. The problem I have with stories like Lord of the Rings (hey, I can call it out because I’m a huge fan!) is that it seems like the bad guy is complete jerk in every possible way. Yeah Sauron,… Read more »
Characters are all about self-discovery, finding meaning, and achieving goals. They’re usually seeking to improve themselves in some way—at work, in personal relationships, spiritually, or through self-growth. But time and again, their flaws sabotage them, blocking them from gaining what they want both on a conscious and subconscious level. It’s ironic, really; who they are… Read more »
We’re in the downhill stretch now folks! If you missed any of the other genres, you can find them here: Fantasy and Romance Science Fiction, Myster, Thriller, and Horror To continue in our discussion of how to create a professional book cover for your genre, let’s take a look at: Literary and Women’s Fiction Yes,… Read more »
Establishing the setting is one of the toughest elements of storytelling for me. I have always struggled with it. Painting that picture, or turning what I see in my head into words, has taken me a lot of time, study, and practice. So when I had the idea to write a story where two people… Read more »
Charged with writing an article on the topic of “inspiration on demand,” I considered the usual suspects—those tips and tricks that help spur my own creativity. I thought of all the wonderful sources for inspiration—such as this website’s Writer Igniter page or the Prompt-a-Palooza writing prompts I offer on my own blog each Monday. I… Read more »
“I LOVE plotting, but I’m drowning in binders and color-coordinated sticky notes! How can I make my characters feel authentic when I’m telling them what to do?” -Missing My Pants As I said in my last column, I’m an incurable plotter. I love spreadsheets, index cards, and workbooks. In fact, a lot of the time… Read more »
Thanks for sticking with me! We’ve already talked about creating a professional book package for fantasy and romance books, but we’re not done yet. Continuing on our genre cover journey, let’s dive right in: Science Fiction This genre includes several subsets for the purposes of cover design: “hard” and “soft” science, space opera, steampunk and dystopian. In… Read more »
