Last time we saw our intrepid hero, she was all swagger and ready to try out a new toy (which is still the best writing tool I’ve ever used, by the way) to write NaNoWriMo. Then, she disappeared. Again. What happened to the girl who wrote 13 novels in a year? Honestly, I wonder that … More On Not Writing and Beyond
So far, I’ve talked about antagonists and monsters and the differences between them, but merely mentioning these two aspects of the villain spectrum leaves a hole in the middle – one that begs to be filled by some of the best villains in fiction. Disney’s old Maleficent, The Joker, Patrick Bateman, Lestat, pretty much any … More Writing Villains: The Hybrid
In a previous post, I discussed how monsters are different than other kinds of antagonists or villains. Today, I want to talk about the most common of villains: the antagonist. Simply put, the antagonist it the character or characters who’s motives act in opposition to the main character (protagonist). To create actual plot and tension, these … More Writing Villains: Antagonists
There are a lot of different kinds of villains or antagonists in fiction – just as many as there are protagonists. While plot and a main character are very important, finding what the main character is working against is equally, if not more, essential to driving a plot forward. Antagonists keep the story going; they … More Writing Villains: Monsters
“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader, not the fact that it’s raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” ~ E. L. Doctorow Share and enjoy!
There's nothing better than a good character; the kind of person you wish you could dive into the pages and buy them a drink, just to spend more time with them. A good character can save the times a plot needs to become tedious, and it can save the writer a lot of work when … More Developing Characters Part One: Getting to know you
Every now and then, I choose a passage of wisdom from someone who knows better and much more than I do about writing, life, the universe and/or everything. Share and enjoy! “Among the writers I have known, one habitually worked lying down in the dark, in a trailer with its windows painted black, dictating into … More Inspiration #26
Over time, I've often been asked a lot to talk about my writing process – the nuts and bolts of what I do when I sit down to write. And so far, I've resisted doing so, partly because I don't really know if I have a writing process, and partly because its a very self-conscious … More My Writing Process (with pictures)
Forgive me for rambling, I'm rusty at this. I've been away. Away from the blog, away from home, from myself, even from writing. I needed a vacation. Irowboat's birthday is in April, and we decided to celebrate with a road trip in my new car to California – traveling to San Francisco and down the … More Distance, where I’ve been, and getting personal
Happy spring! Before I get too deep in my own thoughts, go sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo. I'll wait. Yes, you do have time. Camp lets you set your own word count goal, so no excuses. Go sign up. Because, writers, it's time to bloom again. It's been a long winter, and now the world … More Camp NaNoWriMo. Are you in?
Concerning History in the Atlantic World, 1680-1740
The long haul of the spectrum
one woman's thoughts about life on the spectrum
Japanese pop culture through a feminist lens
The official blog of Michelle Tuckett, word ninja. 