Writing Elements

  1. A few really good articles on Deep/Close POV

    I ran across these while searching for some information just now. They explain deep or close POV in much greater depth than I've seen before. The Nuances of Deep POV This is a multi-part series, be sure to click through to the other parts. 17 Things To Know About Deep POV Before You Start Writing Apparently all their posts that mention deep POV? There are a LOT! It looks like a massive blog, and they have online courses. Deep POV—What’s So Deep About It
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  2. Alone...

    I find it so funny that in a world with what 8 billion people give or take the ones we don't know about.. That people are getting to the point where we feel we are better off alone. Because it's peaceful.. Now I will just say I like my alone time just as much as the next person. I like to feel at peace and not having to worry about walking on eggshells or being afraid of what might come out of my mouth that might possibly offend someone. For the whole 26 years I have been on this planet...
  3. Angela Carter on the Tale vs the Story

    Getting back to my posts concerning different kinds of stories, here's something I've posted on the board that I'd like to be able to find, so I'm putting it here in my online notebook (the first part is by yours truly): Fairy tales are not like regular stories because they're archetypal. They're about types rather than individuals. Even if an individual has a name in a fairy tale, they represent a type. The names are often strange, like 'Horsehair went to wash himself in the creek as he...
  4. Character Web

    I didn't post this video because it's about The Walking Dead. I never really cared much for that show. Watched a few episodes, then lost interest pretty fast. Maybe because there's no identifiable theme? I don't know. I posted the video because it's about Character Web and how to go about creating one. Each character should have a particular stance on the main theme, or possibly a secondary theme for some of them. Otherwise they don't belong and are just along for the ride and weighing...
  5. Current status

    Currently working on a fantasy trilogy, I think it will be a trilogy, but you never know an idea may hit that extends it beyond that. Book 1 has the MC and companions sucked into a prophecy, the MC doesn't believe in, and is basically forced into helping with. For the gamers out there it is a basic escort quest. The story uses an onion villain, though at this point we only really see the outer layer villains. This work has been through a few edits, and is currently out to beta readers....
  6. Dialogue should be action

    What does this mean? I have a few ideas I'll write about, but I also want to expand my understanding of how dialogue pushes narrative and character interaction, and how it reveals the personalities of the characters involved. It can do all these things and more. As for the more—dialogue, like just about any part of story, can provide exposition, it can be inert, static, or it can even work against the progression of the story. But I'll start with a few things I think I know about it. As...
  7. Different types of novels and novellas, according to John Gardner

    Last night in John Gardner's Art of Fiction, I ran across several different forms for novels and novellas, and I want to get the info down here. I'll start by linking to several articles I'll be looking up on these types: 'Energeic' novels Aristotle's approach, three-act structure etc Juxtapositional novels Lyrical novels With an element of musical rhythm and repetition in the structure and/or the prose Ellen Vrana wrote about lyrical writing in her Quora article. Scroll down to What is...
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  8. Dreams/nightmares

    I really don't know what to call them any more, they start as dreams and develop into nightmares or something else in between? At first you could be in control and little by little you lose that control. You notice it, all you have to do now is see what happens and pray you wont feel anything that's coming. You feel the fear, the pain, all the feelings. I cannot run away from it anymore, or hide. I can only take a glimpse of what is to come. Just a glimpse. Since is not the first time any...
  9. Examining the writing in Sail and The Man Who Liked Dogs

    These are my two favorite hardboiled stories I've run across so far, both of them in the same book—The Hard Boiled Omnibus, published in 1952 and edited by Joseph T Shaw. It's a collection of some of the best stories from Black Mask magazine. I've already linked to Sail twice, but I feel I should include links here for both stories: Sail by Lester Dent The Man Who Liked Dogs by Raymond Chandler I find the beginnings of both stories to be the strongest parts. With Sail the main body almost...
  10. Fantasy 101; Characters

    Characters are the bane of my existence. Are they too dry? Too monotonous? I can never tell. So, of course, I chose fantasy as my genre of choice. The genre that requires the most complex characters. After all, I am the dumbest person you will ever meet. Take my newest novel, for instance. The two main characters are supposed to be insanely different, with similarities that aren't really notable. And yet, I can't tell if that point is actually getting made, or if I make the similarities too...
  11. Free Indirect Discourse

    Not only does the name sound cool, but it's an important tool that ties in with my earlier posts about direct and indirect writing. What is it? I'll quote: "Free indirect discourse is a method of conveying a character’s internal thoughts by embedding them within the narration, rather than expressing them directly." It's actually a technique taken from first person writing and transferred to third person. It's only when it's done in third that it's called free indirect discourse. I don't...
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