Last time, I used ‘The Walking Dead’ as an example of consistency in world building, but ended with an implication that this may be changing. The main reason is the way they’ve skirted their “rule” that any character can die. The most egregious case is the character of Glenn. Now he’s a good character and…
If you write Science Fiction or Fantasy, a major part of your work will be the process of world building. You need to carefully set the stage on which your characters will live out their lives. The easy way to do this is to take the shortcut of not being very original (see my blog…
So here you are, staring at the complete first draft of your novel. What do you do with it? I’ve already told you not to send it to a publisher or post it on-line, so what’s left? Put it aside for a while. Work on something else. I know, this is really difficult to do.…
The First Draft Thing The End As you stare at your computer screen you get this sudden, exhilarating rush of emotion. You’ve done it! You’ve written a novel! Hardly able to contain yourself you want to high-five the world, but instead you just lean back with this stupid grin on your face and read…
One very nice review for my book contained the following comment: “It’s tough to invent a science-fiction universe from scratch, and tougher still to make readers care about the characters in that world. Usually writers pick one, intentionally or not. But the emotional guts of “Agony of the Gods” succeeds in both.” [You can see…
When you’re writing there’s always the choice between the easy description and the difficult one. Media is so pervasive today that almost any idea brings forth an image. If I start describing action on the bridge of a starship, many people will accept very limited description because the mind often jumps to the bridge of…
So your manuscript has been through a number of drafts, been read by a few people in your writers club and fairly heavily critiqued. You’re sure it’s ready. What now? Well, you actually have a number of choices. Send to a copy to a publishing house that’s accepting unsolicited manuscripts. It’s important to check their…
A friend of mine once posed the question: “Do you think writers start out intending to write a great book?” Now, obviously, he meant “great” as in critically acclaimed, and having the potential to still be read long after the author has gone to that great remainder pile in the sky. I thought about it…
So you’ve thumbed through (or scrolled through) your manuscript and you still think it’s great – fine. But what draft is it? If it’s your first, second, or even third draft, try to get as much feedback as possible. This is where a site like Book Country is really important. BookCounty.com got started back in…
[Note: I just want to disclose I’ve had my book published by Bookkus, it can also be found on Goodreads, and I’m a member of Book Country. I’m much less familiar with Wattpad (I do have a short story posted there) and Smashwords.] You’ve finished writing your novel – congratulations! But now what do you…