If you’re writing a mystery, it’s generally the case that you’ll hide details from the reader. And it’s inevitable that some details will be omitted (a novel that omits no details will never be finished). But sometimes you want to hide things from readers for other reasons. In my own writing, every character has...
I considered writing this post in invisible ink to work by demonstration, but realized it would not be searchable if I do so. You’ll have to settle for regular “ink” (pixels, for most readers). Most people will have an image of magic spring to mind when it’s mentioned. This might be stage magic or...
I struggle to write dialogue. I’m not a particularly talkative person in real life, at least with most people. And dialogue should, in theory, serve to either move the story forward or reveal it. Because I struggle, I’ve read a number of guides that promised to teach me how to write dialogue. Some of...
Most cultures have specific symbols that are used throughout that culture and understood by its members, such as a dove for peace and fire for destruction. These symbols are not universal, though: symbols depend on context for their meaning. In writing, we have the privilege of creating our own symbols. These need not be...
In narrative writing, there are always at least two perspective’s: the writer’s and the reader’s. Works with one first-person narrator may add only this third perspective, but writers can add more perspectives without adding more points of view. Let’s suppose we’re writing a single first-person scene involving more than one character. The main character...
I’m not writing epic fantasy, so I couldn’t populate towns and countries the the number of dead (no, I still haven’t read or watched Game of Thrones, but it’s got a reputation). That doesn’t mean I don’t have characters that either die during the book or have died before the book began. Some of...
Some storytellers are so captivating that we don’t see the flaws in the story until we have a “refrigerator realization”, where you’re standing in front of the refrigerator and realize that there was a gaping plot hole. Usually, you don’t care, because you were entertained. For most of us writers, though, it’s important that...
Most novels and narrative non-fiction will have characters/people who aren’t main characters. If you’re creating a video game, then you might need to know a lot about these characters to let players interact with them, but for narration the needs are much simpler. Here’s how I create them. First, I need to know what...
Characters begin in real observation, no matter how far they may stray from that initial spark. For example, in one of my books, an important character is a talking paper giraffe. That giraffe began in two places: in a painting I saw and in some timid people I know who have performed acts of...
It’s not Garamond. Let’s be clear about that. But where do book ideas come from? Some writers seem to have endless amounts and others struggle to come up with a single one, but all book ideas–I believe–come from answering one of a few questions. (1) What if? “What if” books are often fantasy (“What...