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Once upon a time, in a grand castle in the heart of medieval Europe, there was a fair maiden by the name of… Tiffany. Wait, what? Don’t you mean ‘Guinevere’ or something? Recently, I outlined the literary problems posed by anachronisms – details that don’t belong in a historical period, like an Edwardian courtier getting a call on his iPhone. We discussed how to avoid anachronisms, how to tell …
[Read more...] about How You Can Overcome The Tiffany Problem In Your Writing
There are many occasions where readers don’t care about historical accuracy. Traditional fantasy stories take place in a semi-medieval period with no clear beginning or end, romance tales tend to soften historical attitudes to create protagonists we can actually root for, and subgenres like steampunk thrive on injecting a little novelty into real history. If that’s what you’re writing, your …
[Read more...] about Anachronisms Kill Historical Fiction – Here’s How To Stop Them
Politics – for some, a fun subject capable of sparking intense, interesting debate. For others, a dry, dull, and confusing thing that your friends fight about when they’re drunk. As anyone who’s read a headline in the past few years will know, we live in politically divided times; in the US especially, politics is downright nasty, with good old intrigue usurped by insults, conspiracies, prejudice, …
[Read more...] about The 4 Golden Rules of Writing Political Fiction
The term ‘synecdoche’ is unwieldy, even unfriendly, but it describes a useful literary device that you’re probably already using at various levels of your writing, from the concepts behind your story to the way you phrase certain sentences. Good synecdoche has a lot of uses, but when it turns bad, it has a uniquely goofy way of screwing up your writing. That’s why, in today’s article, we’ll be …
[Read more...] about What Authors Like You Need To Know About The Use (And Misuse) Of Synecdoche
As a rule, writers have a pretty solid grasp of how to use words. Of course, when we slip up, that just makes it all the more embarrassing, and a certain type of critic loves nothing more than pointing out even the smallest error. Someone who’s supposed to know all about words getting them wrong? How ironic! Actually… is that ironic? If you’re capable of giving a definitive answer, …
[Read more...] about What Writers Like You Need To Know About Irony And Sarcasm
Naming characters is a mercurial task. Sometimes, characters arrive in your mind wearing a name badge. Sometimes, their name is so hidden that you get the impression they’re only joining your story to lay low. Generally, experimentation is the answer, but I’m not here today to give you tips on where to find names. That’s something we covered in The Definitive Guide To Naming Your Characters, …
[Read more...] about 6 Things Authors Forget When Naming Their Characters
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