Thursday, December 22, 2011
I’ve told the story before, but back when I was 22, just as I was graduating with a writing degree and heading out into the real world, I had a bad experience that left me with a startling insight: Fantasy is dumb. That concept rocked my world. I’d spent my whole life devouring fantasy literature [...]
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Also tagged Auric Truefaith, Collaborative Writing, Daniel Wood, Lady jane, Notes from a Thief, Platform and Promotion, Publication, Short Stories, Storytelling, Taming Fire, The Human Condition, World of Auric
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As you’re well aware, I’m halfway through my pursuit of a Master of Professional Writing degree at the University of Oklahoma. My classes start tomorrow. But I was on campus yesterday running hither and yon, signing up for tutorial time with the chair of my graduate committee, applying for a two-hundred-dollar parking pass, and picking [...]
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Also tagged Blogging, Creative Writing, Federal Express, Johnny Cass and the Castle in Catoosa, Master of Professional Writing, NaNoWriMo, Short Stories, Storytelling, Taming Fire, The Consortium, The Dragonprince, The Dragonswarm, Unstressed Syllables
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Yesterday’s post on the narrative difference between conflict and adversity ended with some specific advice: Avoid adversity by putting malicious cause behind your protagonist’s setbacks. The best way to do that is to make your antagonist responsible, but sometimes it can be a challenge to follow through on that. The trick is to manage your [...]
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Also tagged Creative Writing, Deborah Chester, Document Structure, Hidden Story, Joshua Unruh, Master of Professional Writing, Plot, Storytelling, Teaching, Tips and Tricks, Writing Exercise
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It was a couple weeks ago when I talked about the importance of designing good story questions. Since then I’ve talked about the diverse properties of bones, and some rules for using story questions to build a structurally sound novel. Leaving out the cute story about my kid, most of the discussion has been about [...]
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Also tagged Creative Writing, Deborah Chester, Document Structure, Plot, Revising, Rewriting, Storytelling, Teaching, Tips and Tricks, Writing Exercise, Writing Rules
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I’ve spent a couple weeks trying desperately to finish up Taming Fire for publication this month. But last time we talked, it was about the questions that keep people reading your stories, and the big story question that drives your story forward. I said offhand that well-designed story questions and scene questions make it much [...]
