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Tag Archives: narrative
Professional Wednesday: Trust Yourself. No, Really.
Trust your reader. This is editor speak for “trust yourself.” It is something I say often to many of the writers I edit. But what does it mean? I have had my own lesson in “trust your reader” in recent … Continue reading
Posted in Business of publishing, Character, Fantasy, Novels, Setting, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, narrative, plotting, publishing, revising, Rules of Ascension, setting, Tor Books, Winds of the Forelands, world building, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: “Hidden Brain,” Perception, and Fiction
On a recent drive I began listening to the Hidden Brain podcast, with the brilliant Shankar Vedantam. I had listened to scattered episodes before, but never in a systematic way. But this was a long drive and I wound up … Continue reading
Posted in Novels, Reading, Research, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, dialogue, emotion, Hidden Brain, narrative, point of view, psychology, reading, science, Shankar Vedantam, Tessa West, writing, writing life
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Professional Wednesday: It’s All Connected
One more post about my teaching weekend at the Hampton Roads Writers Conference . . . . As I believe I mentioned last week, I taught four classes at the event. The topics were: point of view, character development, world … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Fantasy, Writing
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Hampton Roads Writers Conference, how to write, narrative, plotting, teaching, Vernor Vinge, Vernor's Rule, world building, writing, writing advice, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Dealing With the Slog, part II — The 60% Stall
Many years back, while I was working on one of the middle books in my Winds of the Forelands quintet, my second series, I came downstairs after a particularly frustrating day of writing and started whining to Nancy about my … Continue reading
Posted in Novels, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged 60 percent stall, blogging, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, narrative, novels, plotting, revisions, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing problems, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Why Fantasy, Why Magic?
My oldest brother, Bill, who we lost several years ago, was an avid reader. He loved books of all sorts. Every year, he made a list of the National Book Award nominees — finalists and books on the long list … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Family, Fantasy, Mystery, Novels, Publishing, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, family, fantasy, genre, literary bias, literary fiction, literature, magic, magic systems, mystery, narrative, romance, science fiction, setting, world building, writing, writing life
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Professional Wednesday: Punctuating Our Stories (Not the Way You Think I Mean It)
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” We all know the line. Even people who haven’t seen Casablanca know the line. (And please, don’t get me started about not seeing Casablanca. I mean, sure, it’s dated, … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Ethan Kaille, Islevale Cycle, movies, Novels, Thieftaker, Writing
Tagged blogging, Casablanca, character, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, endings, Guy Gavriel Kay, how to write, Islevale Cycle, J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, movies, narrative, plotting, Thieftaker Chronicles, Tigana, writing, writing advice, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: “Write What You Know,” part II
Put another way, I was driven . . . not merely by the fact that I “know” these things, but rather by the fascination and passion that drove me to learn about them in the first place. With last week’s … Continue reading
Posted in History, Novels, Publishing, Thieftaker, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged birds, birdwatching, blogging, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, Guy Gavriel Kay, history, hobbies, how to write, ideas, LonTobyn Chronicle, magic systems, narrative, Thieftaker Chronicles, where do ideas come from, world building, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Professional Wednesday: Placing Your Inciting Moment In the Right Spot
Generally speaking, writers — from beginners to professionals — know what it means to have an inciting moment for our stories. The inciting moment is the occurrence that sets in motion all the events that constitute our narrative — Luke … Continue reading
Posted in movies, Novels, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, editing, how to write, inciting moment, narrative, novels, plot, plotting, Radiants, short fiction, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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Writing-Tip Wednesday: Holidays As Part of World Building
I have written about the holidays a good deal in the past few weeks, but I have yet to address holidays as a topic in a Writing-Tip Wednesday post. Now, you’re first response to this might be, “Well, why would … Continue reading
Posted in Character, Fun, History, Islevale Cycle, Novels, Setting, Short Fiction, Writing, Writing Life
Tagged blogging, creativity, D.B. Jackson, David B. Coe, history, holidays, how to write, narrative, novels, religion, setting, short fiction, the Islevale Cyle, traditions, Winds of the Forelands, world building, worldbuilding, writing, writing advice, writing life, writing tips
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