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All art is political, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The way in which we believe the world to work – the way we think it should work – has a natural part to play in both our creation of fictional worlds and how we depict our own. The connection between art and politics is natural, but it runs deep, and that means that your political beliefs often influence your art in ways you don’t …
[Read more...] about How To Manage The Politics Of Your Writing
There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are. – W. Somerset Maugham Do you cringe at always/never/only advice for writers like I do? Advice like this butts up against two of life’s most important guidelines: Never say ‘never,’ and never say ‘always.’ Great things are usually great because they broke the rules and did something new. So, in true …
[Read more...] about 3 Writing Myths You Should Feel Free To Ignore
Melodrama tends to get a bad rep these days, and not without good reason. Certainly, melodrama – that is, sensational drama; exaggerated, flat characters; farcically exciting events; and extreme responses and actions – can often come at the expense of those other aspects of fiction that make your book worth reading: deep characters, subtext, complex plotlines, etc. But it doesn’t have to and, even …
[Read more...] about The Author’s Guide To Melodrama (And What It Can Do For You)
Have you ever read a book where every character – from the six-year-old in pigtails to the wizened sea captain to the stripper – sounds the same? It’s easy for authors to stumble into this mono-tone pitfall. The task of writing a story is already monumental, and adopting a narrative voice appropriate to the story and genre can require monumental effort. Further division of character voices …
[Read more...] about How To Make Sure Your Characters Don’t Speak In The Same Voice
The beginning and the end. More writers have had more aneurysms over bookending their stories and sections than just about anything else. We recently covered the Dreaded First Line; today I’d like to tackle the Dreaded Last Line(s)… of each scene. Whether it’s writing too little or too much, authors of every stripe tend to struggle with ending a scene well. It’s a part of writing that has the …
[Read more...] about The Better Way To End Your Scene (With Exercises)
Many writers, particularly if they’re writing fantasy, YA, or sci-fi, like to spice up their stories with the occasional song and poem. Maybe they’re trying to aid characterization with some soulful poetry, share exposition through a traditional ballad, or just make their world feel a little more real. Done well, such embedded works can bring a story to life, but they can also distract readers, …
[Read more...] about Including Original Poetry And Song In Your Fiction (What You Need To Know)
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