Size Matters, Length Not So Much

Size Matters

I’m talking about novels, of course. Be naughty in your own time. Each genre has an average expected novel length, and usually for first-time-authors that length is almost a condition. For science-fiction novels, the average length is usually between 90 and 120K, and if the author hasn’t been published before, agents and publishers will rarely [...]

The 3 Types of Character Arc – Change, Growth and Fall

character arcs

The main reason I disagree with people who claim every story fits the hero’s journey, is that it’s not the only character arc out there, and it really doesn’t fit every story. While I wasn’t sure why exactly my story doesn’t fit the description when I wrote the post on The Hero’s Journey – My Pros and Cons, my late yet intense [...]

Confessions of a converted structuralist, or How I realized the error of my ways

Structure

I always thought I was a plotter, an outliner, a planner. Not a pantser. Not someone who discovers her story while she writes it, but someone who plans ahead and always knows which way the story goes. The premeditated kind. I thought this because I had a scene-by-scene outline of the entire novel as I wrote the [...]

Ideal Readers and Why They Are Necessary

Books black and white

First, I’d like to cheer on my fellow writers participating in this year’s A to Z Challenge — wish you guys a LOT OF FUN! I’ll be regularly checking out your blogs. And now to the matter at hand. On the wide planes of the internet, an ideal reader is defined all across the spectrum, [...]

My Ultimate POV Guide – With Graphics And Examples

First person past tense

Choosing the right point of view for a work of fiction is, in my opinion, the most important decision a writer makes beside choosing the protagonist. It not only dictates what pronouns to use, and how much of the protagonist’s thoughts the reader gets to see, but also determines the distance between reader & protagonist. [...]

Guest Post: Author RENÉE MILLER on marketing for indies

Smoldering fire

Here be a guest post by my dear friend and now freshly baked indie author of asskicking, villainlicious thrillers — Renée Miller. She’s known for her bluntness, her intimidating work ethic and her knack for psychopaths. Give her a warm welcome!   Renée Miller is a freelance writer living in Tweed, Ontario. Small town life [...]

The Hero’s Journey – My Pros and Cons

Little hero on her journey

It’s one of the classics of literature, isn’t it? The hero’s journey is part of almost every genre, it’s part of fictional DNA, it’s a must, right? Well, not in my notsohumble opinion. The hero’s journey is too formulaic for my taste. Not because I’m better, or some equally inane bullshit, but because I don’t [...]

Villains – Do you keep or kill them?

Darth Vader

First, a sad little announcement—I might not be able to keep up with my twice-a-week blogging schedule in the coming few months, due to some unforeseen events, such as the brain surgery my pet cockroach performed on himself, and which turned him into an evil mastermind out for world domination. Thus I’m regretfully announcing I [...]

How Conspiracy Theories Work

Conspiracy Theory

I must admit I find conspiracy theories fascinating. They are usually good examples of a lot of psychological aspects that I’m interested in, like obsession, selective reasoning, paranoia, determination to reveal the “truth” which always carries either a savior component, or megalomania. Not to mention they cover the entire cognitive dissonance spectrum. *oh goodie* While [...]

13 Geeky Ways To Beat Writer’s Block

Star Wars Prank

Everyone gets stuck now and then, it’s normal. There are countless ways to get unstuck again, but I believe the best cure for it is the geeky child within us. Not some illusive secret, not some magic trick, not some philosophical thinky-thoughts, and certainly not resignation to the idea and trudging along anyway as if [...]