Designing characters isn’t the most important aspect of writing – first you have to develop a character’s personality, her hobbies and career, her extracurricular activity, the way she talks, her relationships, and so on. That said, appearance is important. Not everyone should have purple hair and yellow eyes, but how Read more…
Writers are a wordy bunch. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that writers have their own vernacular, or collection of vocab which they regularly use. If you are new to the writing community, or the publishing industry generally, you may be unfamiliar with the acronyms or titles used. Most Read more…
It’s not unusual for writers to gravitate towards certain ideas. While others might consider the reusing of such ideas to be lazy, a great writer can take similar concepts and make them different each time. Provided a writer is willing to flesh out his characters, and be inventive in his Read more…
There are countless blogs online describing how to write compelling characters, how to flesh said characters out, and even how to use shortcuts—such as character design—to bring a character to life. What often ends up overlooked by writers and bloggers alike, though, are the methods needed to craft an engaging Read more…
When Rowling announced that Dumbledore was gay, it created no short amount of controversy. It remains a debated topic to this day, with people arguing for and against Dumbledore being gay. Some pointed out that Dumbledore showed signs of being straight, such as him blushing when speaking with Madam Pomfrey Read more…
There’s a certain badge of honour attributed to authors who land a traditional deal, while writers who are self published have to work through a stigma. The stigma is understandable. After all, anyone can self publish; this means there is no quality control, which in turn has allowed the proliferation Read more…
The name M. Night Shyamalan is one many of us may be somewhat familiar with. Though he hasn’t reached the same level of fame as Stephen Spielberg, his name nevertheless carries some weight in the film industry—both good and bad. If you’re older, you’ll know him as the creator of Read more…
There are plenty of book series which had a promising first entry, only to fizzle out as the sequels were published. Characters become dry, places remain unchanged, and, ultimately, the story’s plot lines become contrived, because there’s nothing fresh for the author to work with. Plots stop revolving around the Read more…
Much as we might dream of making a living writing books, the sobering reality is that few of us ever will—even if accepted by a traditional publisher. When you pick up a book at the store, the majority of the authors you come across within are working a day job. Read more…
Writers are expected to do a great deal, and likely for no pay. It’s a fate we’ve accepted, because we’re dedicated to our craft and honestly obsessed with it. However, obsessed or not, it’s not always the easiest job in the world. Half of what makes writing complicated isn’t the Read more…