The Aspiring Pen

Kinds of Government

2011-12-28T23:51:00.002-05:00

In most fantasy stories today, the most common form of government is either a monarchy or an emperor. To me, it has been very much overdone, as there are so many other forms of government that exist that could be used. Though I admit I broke my own rule for my story "War of Magic," where the setting is in an empire with an emperor, though there are other political or non-political parties involved too.

Nonetheless, here is a short list of some other governments that writers should use for their writing (this list came from The History Guy website):

Anarchy- I don't recall seeing this one very often, but you could have no form of government. It could be a dog-eat-dog world of chaos and lawlessness, which could lead to an interesting setting and/or plot.

Communism- I think American writers generally avoid this one because we associate it with countries like Russia and China and because it's non-democratic. Nonetheless, it could lead to some interesting stories (I think of Orwell's "1984" and Martin Cruz Smith's "Gorky Park when I think of settings with totalitarian communist governments).

Confederacy- This one is not very common, as it's not a common form of government. Because of my Southern heritage and because I sympathize more with the South than with the North (but let's not get into that discussion), I've tried using this form of government before, though none of the stories have succeeded plot-wise. This would be an interesting government because there would be no king or federal government, just local rulers in alliance with each other.

Constitutional- this could be democracy or monarchy, where either the democratic government is limited by a constitution or the monarchy is. I don't see this one much either, but it would certainly put an interesting twist on the traditional view of an absolute monarch.

Oligarchy- basically the government is made up of high-ranking people or those with lots of wealth. Interesting alternative to a monarchy.

Theocracy- this one is not looked upon favorably because of most people's stance on religion today, in how they believe religion and government should be separate. So I don't this one very often. But in a story, it could be done well and in an interesting way, provided it doesn't become preachy.

Dictator- most stories seem to have some form of a tyrant who is a ruler, but it is generally a king or an emperor. Several countries in the world today have dictators in power but aren't kings or emperors, so why not create a fantasy world with such men or women?

This is only a short list of the types of government that exist out there. But don't feel compelled to use the typical monarchy or emperor-rule that most writers do. Perhaps you could try a different form of government, combine a few existing ones together, or even make up your own. There are plenty of options, so take advantage of them.

The Medieval World

2011-12-12T18:06:00.002-05:00

Most modern writers and authors, when writing their stories, love to create a world that is very Medieval-esque. I could rant on how much this is overdone, but I will restrain from that and focus on something else. Ever since September, I have been taking a Western Civilization history class, and for the past few weeks the teacher has been talking about the Medieval time period, which has gotten me thinking about Medieval fantasy worlds. My problem with Medieval worlds is that they tend to be more or less stereotypical glances of the real Medieval time period and this makes them vastly unrealistic.

Here are some examples of how writers need to do more research if they want to do a Medieval-esque world.

Monarchies:

Most Medieval fantasy stories focus on a king who is running the political show. The king is usually very powerful and is from a long dynasty, and he generally has few to no rivals. However, looking at the Medieval period, this is not the case. Kings were actually fairly weak in power, and dynasties were quick to rise and fall. Most kingdoms were actually more under the control of powerful noble families, and sometimes these families could completely take over and start a new royal dynasty. Kings also did not have very much power, as the whole "Divine Right of Kings" and absolutism would not show up for a few more centuries. Kingdoms were also not very stable. Nobles were constantly feuding for the throne, especially if a king was deposed or died without an heir; The War of Roses is a good example of this.

But also, people in the Medieval times were semi-independent, relying on the Feudal System's structure. Nobles managed their estates and those of their vassels, taking taxes from them, and kings interfered very little with this. And, as I said earlier, nobles were really the ones in control, not the kings.

In conclusion, Medieval kings were sometimes powerful, but they were also weak. They were constantly battling the powerful noble families, and kingdoms were thus very unstable because of those political structures.

Social structures:

Another common misconception of the Middle Ages is the entire social structure. People imagine the whole system of peasants/ serfs, knights, the church, and noble families, but they don't look more closely or apply it to their fantasy worlds. My history teacher went on a detailed explanation of how men became knights, how the whole gentry system works, and so much more. I could possibly post the entire chart he wrote on the board, but I'll refrain from it. In short, the system was actually more complicated than most writers allow. When they think of Medieval kingdoms, they think of the king, a few noble families, and some peasants, but this is actually different. You have the upper gentry of the knights, those given titles by kings or nobles, the lower gentry of men like yeomens and husbandmen, peasants, the clergy and those associated with the church, paupers, common soldiers, etc... And, not to mention that it was possible for someone to rise up gradually through society, from lower ranks to upper ranks. Society was more complicated and more diverse actually than most Medieval-esque writers admit.

Castles:

Castles are also associated with the Medieval Period. Most of the time, these places are viewed as very grand places to live, but this is far from the truth. Castles were dark, cold (no huge fireplaces or heating systems), dirty, and dreary places. Tapestries didn't show up until later in the Medieval period, and the Crusades later added decorations from the Middle East that made them cheerier and better decorated.

Knights and Chivalry:

Knights and the Code of Chivalry were also big during the Medieval Period. However, knights were not the most honorable or admirable characters. They were required to serve their masters and to go off to war when summoned, but knights were very belligerent and aggressive. They were always looking for fights, and they often helped raid the lands of other nobles. Tournaments were used to let the knights take out their aggression, and the Crusades, no doubt, also helped keep them from going crazy when no wars or battles were going on. Even though knights had a Code of Chivalry, I'm pretty sure they viewed it "more as guidelines than actual rules." So knights were certainly not angelic in the Medieval Period.

There are other areas I'm sure I could touch on, but this is a general look at what the real Medieval world looked like. It was not a clean, proper time period; it was messy, aggressive, and rather unstable. It had a lot of societal complexities which most writers largely ignore in favor of a simpler world. There is only one Medieval-esque writer that I know of who comes even close to capturing the gritty Medieval world, and that would be George R. R. Martin. Martin did a good job of sticking to actual Medieval facts and not stereotypes (though I believe he severely overdid the whole sex aspect that pervades "A Song of Fire and Ice"). Nonetheless, Martin actually did his homework about the Medieval world, and it makes his world of Westeros much more realistic and not a cardboard stereotype.

Clothing Faux Pas

2011-11-28T12:39:00.001-05:00

In stories nowadays, writers do not think about what their characters are wearing nearly often enough. This is particularly laughable in movies or other visual story-telling forms today.

Here are some common costumes that need to be reconsidered seriously.

High heels- in movies nowadays, it isn’t uncommon for the female protagonist to wear heels. This is normally not a problem until a lot of action shows up. In the “Underworld” movie, Selene wear heels as she hunts down werewolves. This is hilarious because clearly the costume designer doesn’t know much about heels. Heels, to me, are uncomfortable and difficult to walk in. They would be impossible to run in or jump around in. So enough about the delusions of women strutting around and kicking butt while they’re wearing heels because it can’t happen.

Capes- people think capes are so cool, and they can be. However, capes are also not realistic. Whenever I think of a villain swishing a cape, I think of “The Incredibles” and Edna’s little thing on capes. It is a hilarious little monologue, but I think it is a pretty accurate look at capes. Long capes, especially if they are swishing around, could get caught in something and slow the character down.

Leather- lately, particularly in more urban or fantasy-esque stories, leather is used to dress the female protagonists so that they look sexy. However, given my knowledge of leather, I would think wearing all-leather clothing would not be very comfortable, especially if your character moves around a lot.

So, when you are thinking up how to dress your protagonist, do give it some consideration. If your character is a hunter or someone who sees a lot of action, then they need to wear clothing that is comfortable and that allows them to move around with getting caught in stuff or having difficulty moving. If your character is going around on a trip in the woods or somewhere in the outdoors, then they need to wear clothing that will be conducive to that trip… unless they are abruptly thrown into the situation without any warning, but even then they should have some ability to alter clothing to fit the situation. So, keep those things in mind as you write.

Act Your Age

2011-10-03T18:25:00.002-04:00

Recently, when I was showing off my recent novel attempt (mentioned in the post below), I got a comment that my eight-year old character sounded too mature for his age. This made me think about some of my own characters and how they have the tendency to act older than they really are. It was a reminder to myself that writers need to be careful when they create characters of a certain age and that they need to keep them realistic.

This character Greg is eight years old. He comes from an impoverished family (think Charles Dickins- era poor) and does have some education, though it would not be a lot because of the area of the city he lives in. He is a good artist for his age, though he still uses crayons and is no Da Vinci by any stretch of the imagination. Thinking about his situation made me think of how he would actually talk. Because of his situation and lack of good education, he would likely not have a wide vocabulary, which eight-year olds generally don't anyway. He wouldn't use big words, and he would probably have bad grammar. He wouldn't be very aware of the grave danger that he's in, but he does have some knowledge of what is right and wrong. This is shown in him drawing a disturbing picture and him freaking out because he doesn't know why he drew it. It will be tricky to make sure Greg is accurate for his age, and I'm thinking of using my seven-year old cousin as a model for age-appropriate behavior.

While I was thinking of how to write Greg more accurately, it made me think of how many other written characters today don't act their ages. I know of one fantasy where a seventeen-year old pair of twins act more like thirteen-year olds (i.e. the whole love-triangle and relationship jealousy, their recklessness, and their general naive behavior), and their peers act the same way too, despite the fact that these young characters are in situations that would require them to be more mature for their age. In Paolini's "Eldest," the elf queen Islanzadi is over a hundred years old, but she acts very foolishly and immaturely, which she herself admits at one point. I've never read the "Twilight" series, but from the movies I've gleaned some information that the Cullen vampires don't act their age; Edward acts like a love-sick teenager even though he's well over a hundred years old, and the other coven members don't give any indication that they have lived for a long time.

Now, there are exceptions to the general rule. Most three-year olds don't have a large vocabulary, but I know of two sisters (not twins) who started talking at a very young age and both of them talk in largely complete sentences that are more advanced for the norm, even though they're both under the age of five. But then I know of a five-year old who doesn't talk very well because her growth has been stunted due to a genetic disorder. There can be exceptions to where a five-year old may talk much better than others his or her own age or act more mature, but you have to offer an explanation for it, whether it be that this child grew up without TV or was well-disciplined from a young age. Another exception, sadly, is college students; most of them whom I've met still act like highschoolers and aren't very mature, though there are a few exceptions.

So, when you start writing down how your character's behavior, keep his or her age in mind. Make sure that they act their age, unless there are very special circumstances like some of the examples given above. This will keep your story realistic and will help define your characters better.

Looking for Critics

2011-09-21T16:33:00.003-04:00

About a month ago, I finished the first draft of a new novel. Wanting to improve, I've been trying to find some people who can give me honest, constructive criticism. If you are interested, check out the story on figment. I'm only on chapter 16, and I'm adding new chapters as I finish them in the second draft. Constructive criticism is more than welcomed.

http://figment.com/books/130295-War-of-Magic

World Building Fun

2011-09-15T17:13:00.003-04:00

I'm a history geek, though I occasionally dabble in other subjects like anthropology or geology, depending on my mood. When I create fantasy-esque stories or those not set in the real world, I really enjoy using those real-life topics to help build new worlds. Right now, I'm in the process of creating a new world that I used in a recently-finished novel of mine.

My story, unlike most others than I write, has a modern-esque, urban setting. I admit that I have little experience with cities, as I rarely visit Atlanta and I try to avoid it when I can. When I visited the northern part of the city last weekend, I took the opportunity to study what I could, looking at the streets, the apartments, and how entire areas were structured. Afterwards, I used google maps to look over the city and then wikipedia to discover the names of the city's different neighborhoods and regions. These things helped me get a better picture of how to structure my urban fantasy city. At some point, I will probably draw a rough map of the city's neighborhoods so that I will be able to track my characters' movements and figure out where certain events take place. Another thing that helped me with my city-building was a book called "Five Points" by Tyler Anbinder, which I read for a history class earlier this year. This book was very informative about that New York City neighborhood during the nineteenth century, and it gave me a detailed look of the poverty and developing culture within that small region; it helped me create the slummy areas of my city where my protagonist and her family live.

But my world-building can't just stop at the city, though it will become less detailed. Because my city is set on an island, I do a bit of wikipedia research on islands to see which one(s) may be the most like the island in my story. I may add a bit more details on the island because the story ends outside of the city (where 99% of the story takes place), and so I'll need to know more about what lies outside that area. I'm also doing a bit of history about the island at the moment so that I know a little more about it and perhaps find some more relevant facts needed in the story.

Because my island is run by an empire, next I will do some sparse world-building on the empire. It will not be in much detail, as I will focus more on the political, historical, economical, and social factors that could contribute to the specific city and to the story's plot. If I choose to go into more detail, then that information is more for my own geekiness and is unlikely to be divulged in the course of the story or anywhere else.

Not everyone has the same interests as myself, but I do believe that writers who do world-building for new worlds should try to get as in-depth in it as they can. This detail will help you keep your world's background details consistent, and it will make it seem more realistic. I'm reminded of George R.R. Martin's world in "Song of Fire and Ice," where he goes into great details about the cultures, origins of certain peoples, etc... and he does it well, even if some of the details aren't directly related to the plot.

Family Woes

2011-08-29T17:53:00.002-04:00

Every story has some aspect or focus on one's family. Even if it's a background issue that is merely there to define a character or give them a back story, every story is about a family. However, recently in writing there have been various issues with families that have become overdone or are just plain unrealistic.

Brother- sister love

People often talk about the special bond between twin siblings that is different from that between normal siblings. However, this has become very twisted in recent literature in the form of incest or at least borderline incestuous relationships between a male and a female twin. George R.R. Martin has used this in "A Song of Fire and Ice" with Jamie Lannister fathering his twin sister Cersei's children; it's also shown up in the various ruling houses having marriage between a brother and a sister and then again in an implied abusive relationship between Viserys and Daenerys. But this is also showing up in other forms of literature. In one fantasy story I know, a seventeen year-old twin brother and sister share a bedroom (which I later discovered is actually illegal) and have a borderline incestuous relationship with each other. In the movie adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Children of Dune," the screenwriters created an implied incestuous relationship between the twins Leto and Ghanima which I do not recall being in the original novel (though admittedly it has been a while since I read the book). In one of the Dirk Pitt novels (the exact name escapes me at the moment), Dirk's twin kids Dirk Jr. and Summer have a few awkward moments that could imply some form of incest between the two.

Now, granted, twins do have a special bond, but I seriously doubt that it is incestuous. To avoid unintentional incest between the twins, do some actual research on fraternal twins and their bonds. Or, watch how other siblings interact and use that in your writing. Whatever the case, be careful when writing about siblings, especially those who are twins.

"Luke, I am your father"

A common thing that has happened in all forms of literature and has become popular to the point of being overused is someone discovering that their parentage is not what they originally thought. This is in more literary pieces than I could count, but TV Tropes.com has an extensive list of them. This has been overdone, but what really bothers me is generally how the character reacts to this realization. Like what happened in "Star Wars," these children are shocked by the revelation but then suddenly form a bond to this parent who has not been there for them. While I imagine that there might be some desire for the two to reconcile (depending on the situation), this is not entirely realistic. I know of a guy who was adopted when he was too young to remember but when he figured it out, he had no desire to know about his real father, as he considers his adopted father to be his only real one.

I am against using this story trope in writing because it has been overused to the point of being cliche.

Just One Night

Another story trope that has been overused and is also unrealistic is when a woman gets pregnant after a one-night stand. This is seen in the "Phantom of the Opera" sequel where Christine and the Phantom have a romantic encounter shortly before her wedding, and she gets pregnant as a result of it; the sequel to "Gone with the Wind" also has a similar situation. The "Count of Monte Christo" movie has Mercedes getting pregnant by Dantes after they have sex, and the movie "August Rush" has the protagonist being conceived during a one-night stand. Granted it does happen in real life, but this has been used way too many times in stories. It would seem more believable if the relationship has gone on for longer and if there has been more than one sexual encounter between the couple.

Torn families

Given high divorce rates in our modern society and the number of single parents raising their children, it is no surprise that in modern literature it is extremely hard to find stories where children have both parents and where there is no divorce in the family. In stories where the parents are divorced, I've noticed that generally the children tend to dislike their step-parent (including any step-siblings) or that the step-parent is not a likable character (or is evil). In a few cases, the divorce is amicable and the torn family still tends to get along, but this is not common. Even in stories where there is no divorce, I have seen tension-filled families where one of the parents is a jerk but the other one won't divorce him (or her), or where the kids may be abused or generally ignored.

All of the following have become very overused in story-writing, and some of them are plain unrealistic but occur commonly anyway. I would suggest staying away from these story tropes or at least reworking them in such a way that it becomes original; this will keep your story realistic and unique without you becoming cliched.

Uneven Partnerships

2011-08-13T12:31:00.003-04:00

Some stories focus on two people who function as a duo and are important because of it. However, writers sadly often make these partnerships very uneven so that it's most of the focus placed on one person.

In some stories, the duo is meant to be important together but one of the members is held up as the most important while the other is more of a background character. In one fantasy story I've read, a twin brother and sister are supposed to save the world, but the boy ends up becoming the most important character while his sister is forgotten and left in the background as a minor character. This uneven partnership can also be shown in personalities. In most adaptations of "Sherlock Holmes," Watson is generally portrayed as the bumbling oaf who more or less tags along while Holmes is the real star of the show. Lately, in stories dealing with partners, there is the unfortunate tendency to make one partner really smart and the other really stupid.

While uneven partnership is not necessarily a bad thing, here are some suggestions on how to improve on it. Firstly, if you're going to elevate one of the two above the other, then at least give the lower one some dignity; make him more of a helper, whose talents compliment the more important one. This would make the lower one also important, even if he or she is not destined to do all the great things. Secondly, give the partners personalities and talents so that they compliment each other. For example, one partner is the physically stronger of the two but the other has more brains.

Here are a few examples of my favorite partners seen in stories (not just literature) today:

-Guy Ritchie's movie "Sherlock Holmes." I really enjoyed how the partnership between Holmes and Watson worked. Holmes was definitely the genius of the two, but he was also eccentric and had his head way out in space a good portion of the time. Watson was the more rational person who tried to keep his friend down on earth, but he was not a glorified babysitter.

-Clive Cussler's "Dirk Pitt" novels. I've only read two of the novels, but I enjoy the interactions between Dirk and Al. The two have been best friends, and this clearly shows in their humor and how they bounce off of each other. Dirk is definitely the head of the duo, but Al is important too; without his friend, Dirk would be nothing.

-The TV show "Law and Order: SVU." One reason (among others) why I really enjoy watching SVU is the partnership between Stabler and Benson. Even though they are a male-female partnership, the two share a very close platonic relationship that has no romance at all. Stabler and Benson both get emotional and angry over different cases, and sometimes they even clash on their viewpoints. However, their differences in beliefs and personalities only strengthen their relationship and make their partnership work.

-Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings." One thing that the movie adaptations really messed up with was Frodo and Sam's relationship. In the book, Frodo is treated as the more important of the duo because of his aristocratic rank (in hobbit sense) and because he carries the One Ring, and Sam is merely his servant who accompanies him. Sam is very devoted to Frodo and looks after him, but he proves his own worth elsewhere, like when he fights off Shelob, rescues Frodo from Cirith Ungol, and carries him up Mount Doom. Despite their differences in social rankings, the two share a strong platonic relationship that makes it possible for them to complete the dangerous quest to destroy the Ring.

Partnerships can be even or uneven, like they are in real life, but they function the best when the two compliment each other in more ways than one, whether it be their different perspectives, personalities, or talents, and even if one of the two is meant to more important than the other.

Grow Up...

2011-07-28T17:37:00.002-04:00

Another thing that bothers me in reading a lot of historical, epic, or fantasy stories nowadays is that the protagonists are teenagers. Now, there is nothing wrong with that, but it has become a very serious problem in literature. I've seen stories where kids ranging between the ages of fifteen and seventeen are completely immature and then are forced to grow up when they find themselves thrown into a particular situation. This is another history-inspired post, so just bear with me here.

The reason I have a problem with most teenagers in stories today is that, if they're in a historically-based or fantasy story, then they tend to be very immature and unlikable. This would not be true in history. Think about it. In historical times, girls were often married off as young as the age of twelve or thirteen. But, when they got married, they were not unsure what they were doing. These girls were mature, generally well-educated, and were trained to run a household at a young age. They were constantly busy and had absolutely no time to angst or complain about growing up too fast or too slow. This is especially true if your protagonist is a male and is an orphan or only one parent; he would have to grow up faster to take on a man's responsibilities to take care of the family. Teenagers would also have to grow up rapidly if they were poorer because they had to work hard to help support the family, like if they live on a farm. In other words, back then children had a very short transition period from child to adult, and that was the accepted norm.

Case in point: John Quincy Adams. The sixth president of the US and son of John Adams was only eleven when he accompanied his father overseas. He spent most of his teen years traveling all over Europe, including serving as a secretary to an American envoy to Russia when he was no more than thirteen or fourteen. By the time he was twenty years old, Adams had quite a career already under his belt, and so he had little difficulty in becoming a lawyer and later a foreign minister, all before the age of thirty. Not all children had the same opportunities as Adams, but they nonetheless became adults very early in life. This made them far more mature than most teenagers today, and this means that some literature focused on teenagers and young adults is inaccurate.

If you're writing a story set in modern times or after the 1950's, then you can largely ignore this post. But, if your story is a fantasy or historical, I think you should consider that not every teenager back then acted like teens do today. Instead, young people in the past were far more mature and capable than they are portrayed in literature today.

Arranged Marriages

2011-07-11T18:38:00.003-04:00

I've always been something of a history geek, and this hasn't changed over the years. When I was younger, I had a great fascination with English royalty, evidenced by a book that detailed the lives and reigns of every king and queen from Alfred the Great to Elizabeth II.

A particular theme that I've noticed in literature, whether it be published or not, is that there is frequently an arranged marriage involved somehow. Generally, it happens to the girls of the story who also happen to be princesses or from a high-rank family. The parents try to encourage the girl to marry a certain man of great wealth or rank, and then she screams and refuses to do it, which leads her to run away, become the heroine, and then find true love with a man of a lower rank.

While this is all well and good, my historical research over the years, especially in regards to European royalty has led me to question whether or not this is an entirely accurate picture. I'm certain there were people who did not want to marry a complete stranger all for the sake of the family's honor and rank, and I'm sure that some arranged marriages were truly miserable. However, that being said, some arranged marriages actually produced true love, even if it wasn't under ideal circumstances. I'll give you a few historical examples.

- Edward I of England (if you've seen the movie "Braveheart," he was the wicked English king). In real life, Edward arranged to be married to a Spanish princess called Eleanor. The two had never met before, but the two deeply fell in love and were very attached to each other for many years (as evidenced by a legend that Eleanor sucked the poison out of one of her husband's wounds during the Crusades). After Eleanor died, Edward erected crosses all over England in her honor.

- Henry VII of England (the father of the infamous Henry VIII). He married Elizabeth of York solely for political reasons so that he could hold the throne, as the entire country had been undergoing the War of Roses for years. Even if they weren't in love, they were still very attached to one another throughout their lives.

-Charles I of England (the one beheaded by the Puritans in 1649). Charles arranged to marry the Catholic French princess Henrietta Maria, and the two had a very difficult first few years. However, they eventually warmed up to each other and fell in love, becoming very attached to one another.

- William and Mary of Orange. When the British Mary learned that she was arranged to marry her Dutch cousin William, she cried for several hours. However, the two became very close to one another over the course of their marriage.

- George III (the king during the American Revolution). He met his wife Charlotte for the first time on their wedding day, and they likely married only because George was desperate to find a wife. However, they were a truly happy couple, as evidenced by the fact they had fifteen children and that George never took a mistress like many men of his rank did at the time.

There are more historical examples, but generally in history arranged marriages were not completely miserable affairs. Some people, like Mary, did not want to go into them, but they ended up being happy with their new spouse. But, then again, men and women back then didn't have issues of angst like many people today do; they may not have liked what they were doing, but they did their required duty for the sake of something greater than their own feelings.

So, next time you think of writing how someone runs away from home to avoid an arranged marriage, think about this post.

Another Writing Blogger

2011-06-27T13:33:00.003-04:00

An on-line friend of mine has started up his own wordpress, where he has been posting about writing. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading it. He's a good writer and brings up some excellent points that have gotten me thinking more about writing. Enjoy!

http://4lackofbetterwords.wordpress.com/

Meeting Your Characters

2011-06-04T19:20:00.002-04:00

When I sit down to write a story, admittedly one of the hardest things I have to deal with is my characters. I personally find it difficult to give each character a voice or, in other words, to make them sound different from the others. Some are easier than others, like if I have a belligerent character or if I have one who is very sarcastic. Not only that, but it's difficult to make characters consistent, to make sure that they say and do things that aren't out of character for them; an example would be like making sure that a character who has a tendency to panic doesn't suddenly act calm when a situation goes bad or before a big event takes place.

This week, I went camping with my large, crazy family. When we weren't hiking, sitting around the campfire talking, or swimming in the lake, I began working on developing some important characters in my urban fantasy novel. I used the form on the following website:

http://www.elfwood.com/farp/thewriting/crissychar/crissychar.html

Even though the form seems more geared towards fantasy, it actually works for any genre. It asks pretty detailed questions about your characters, stuff like their relationship with their family, what their soft spots are, and how they perceive themselves.

I've found the form to be very helpful, as it as aided me in finding my characters' motives and what separates them from the others. In short, it helps me understand them better and give me a better picture of what they act and look like. If you're having trouble developing your characters, I suggest you give this form a shot.

Starting a Work

2011-05-25T14:47:00.003-04:00

About four years ago this week (or next week, I don't have a precise date) I was goofing off with my new laptop and thinking of a new fantasy story to write. I didn't have anything particular in mind when I opened the chapter with a description of a forest at night, but the story drew me in and I went on, not knowing exactly what I was doing. About a month or two later, I had completed a first draft of a fantasy story, a story that has stuck with me for four whirlwind years.

Each writer varies, but at least each one has some form of a plan when they sit down to write the next literary masterpiece. Some people like to plan down to the tiny details of the plot, the characters, and whatnot, and some people just like to dive in. There's no one right way to plan a work in preparation for writing, as each writer is different, but I'll share what I often do.

For me personally, I discover that if I do minimum planning, then my story has a greater chance of surviving until the very end. It's what happened with my fantasy work-in-progress, and it's also what happened with my 2010 Nanowrimo story and with the urban fantasy/ superhero story that I started a few weeks ago. In the case of my 4 year WIP, I was trying to rewrite a previous fantasy story (which had taken over twenty forms in the period of five years); I started off thinking of one of the forms, but I unexpectedly deviated into a different form that became unique from the original failed idea. In that case, I knew who and what the protagonist knew, but I had absolutely no idea of what was going on in his world or what the plot would be. Without really thinking, I just wrote, and the details came to me. I discovered that he was a military captain, the son of a deposed king, and that his homeland was being conquered by a foreign people. The same thing happened when I did my most recent nanowrimo. I knew it would be a murder-mystery, and I had a few ideas for scenes in my head, but I did minimal planning for it, outside of drastically altering the beginning of the story, which I had previously written. Much to my surprise, the story just developed itself, and I reached my 50 K goal early.

I can't explain why my creative part functions better without details, but when I start, I try to keep such things to a minimum. I may have a few scenes and probably the ending in mind, and I occasionally may define one aspect of a character's personality (for example, for nanowrimo 2010, I knew that my protagonist would be a sarcastic skeptic, but I knew nothing else about what she was like). Otherwise, I largely dive into a story blind and let it develop on its own. I personally find that characters, their back stories, and sometimes even the plot just appear on their own without me doing any extensive planning. Besides, I think it also helps me to have a bare skeleton, which allows me to add and alter details much later, filling up the story over time.

But, as I said, not everyone can function that way. We all plan and begin our stories in different ways. But, ultimately it's not how we begin writing a story; what matters is how we complete it, what our finished product looks like.

Basic Work

2011-04-18T14:03:00.002-04:00

Today, I was sitting in my Advanced Composition class when the teacher returned graded essays to the students. This sparked an interesting discussion about grammatical and spelling errors. Despite this class being a 3000-level for a few sophomores, juniors, and seniors, the teacher was a bit irritated that people still make mistakes with comma splices, spelling, fragment sentences, and other errors more common in middle schoolers than college students.

It got me thinking about grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Even though writing stories is largely about creating a story, the writing style is just as important as maintaining a plot and characters. You could have an amazing and unique story concept that could be the next greatest piece of literature, but if you have horrible spelling or grammar problems, they will spell problems for you. I once looked over a story for an acquaintance, and the grammar and spelling errors were so glaring that I was more focused on them then on what was going on in the story. Granted, we all have problems in certain areas (I admit that mine is spelling sometimes), and that means we just need to work more on those issues.

Here are a few tips I would recommend for working to improve problem areas in basic writing.

1) If you have spelling problems, do not be afraid to use a dictionary. I myself like using Microsoft Word to correct spelling issues, but use what suits you best and what is the most reliable.

2) For grammar and punctuation, I've found Williams' "Style" to be helpful, even though I personally think some of the rules are a bit odd and should not be used.

3) For further grammatical issues, either take a closer glance at your English textbook. Or, don't be afraid to look up the rules on the internet from an official source if you are still confused.

4) Don't be afraid to ask for help from someone you know has a better grasp of grammar, punctuation, or spelling. Whether it be a parent, a friend with mad spelling skills, or someone much wiser than you, ask for help. There's absolutely nothing wrong with asking for help, and in the end it'll be much more beneficial to you than just ignoring the rules or making them up as you go along. Besides, it is also helpful to have someone look over your writing, as they may catch grammatical or spelling mistakes that you've missed.

Those are just some tips, but everyone functions differently. Nonetheless, it is important that all writers have a grasp of proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation because, in the end, those things make you look more professional and more like you know what you are doing. It is a sign that you take your writing seriously, which is always a plus if you want to publish your work or to take your mad writing skills to the next level.

A Bit of Research

2011-03-27T23:14:00.006-04:00

At the moment and on a very sporadic basis, I'm trying to help a young teenager with story set sometime during the Middle Ages. Even though we've barely gotten past the first chapter and we have very little communication for various reasons, it got me thinking about historical fiction or fiction set in the real world.

Because of the communication issue, I've yet to bring this up with the girl I'm helping, but there is one thing that I'd like to tell her. She started her historical fiction with a basic story with a basic enemy but no clear indication of the story's setting or anything of the sort. The problem is that she should have done some research on the issue first because, depending on the year and location, it may have a huge impact on the story.

The Middle Ages are commonly used in fantasy and in other genras, and it has, to me, been overdone. However, part of the problem is that the Medieval worlds people create for their stories are not well-researched and come across as very flat. Most commonly think of that time in history as having kinds, knights, lords, the prominent church, and chivalrous acts, but they do not stop to look into that period of time more deeply. They often neglect looking into things like the following: what was housing like back in those days, how was society organized, what were towns and cities like, and other detailed glances. This will help your story seem more realistic, which is a good thing in regards to historical fiction.

Another thing for any form of a historical story is to get a detailed look at the history for the time period. The Middle Ages, depending on what year the story's based in, was a very tempestuous period with frequent wars and tensions between countries. In the early years, you have the Vikings running around all over Europe and wrecking havoc there; then you have wars between England and France; and then you have different invasions such as the Normans invading the British isles and taking over. Things like those need to be taken into consideration because it will help define the world that your story is set in and may also help you create a plot for the story.

So, in conclusion, if you are setting your story in the real world in any time period, do some fairly extensive research for that time. It will help your story seem more accurate, and it should help prevent you from creating a story that seems too modern.

More on Mary Sues

2011-03-11T12:31:00.003-05:00

I follow the livejournal anti-shur'tugal, which I enjoy because it often makes me think of writing topics and of ways to improve my own writing. Someone on a forum I frequent posted the following article about Mary Sues and what they really look like; the author verbalizes the issue better than I did, so I suggest you take a look at it.

http://anti-shurtugal.andontie.net/2010/08/14/ironwings-mary-sue-discourse/

The Story's Hero

2011-03-10T15:28:00.002-05:00

In fantasy or epic stories, one thing that bugs me is how the hero is practically the same in every single one. I've noticed that the following have become very popular but also very overdone:

1) The hero starts off on a farm. There's nothing wrong with someone having farming origins, but there are plenty of other occupations that could be used instead. Your hero could come from a background in fishing, in hunting (though this one would depend on what kind of society you use, and it wouldn't really work in a Medieval-esque world... unless the family is poaching illegally), in mining, in forestry, or a number of other occupations.

2) The hero has obscure origins. In "The Inheritance Cycle", you have Eragon having an unknown father and a mother who was absent completely from his life. In "The Wheel of Time", the protagonist supposedly has parents but is revealed to have been adopted. It's rare to find a hero who has both parents still alive and who is living with them when the story begins.

3) The hero comes from a more remote region of the kingdom/empire/ civilization. I can't think of a recent hero that comes from a city or a more populated region. Granted, it does make for interesting interactions between a country boy and the big city, but it has been overused, in my opinion.

4) The hero falls for a princess or someone high up on the food chain. Eragon falls for Arya, Joraeim from "Beyond the Summerland" falls for Princess Wylla, and others do the same. I can't recall a hero who loves a girl from his hometown and returns to her at the end of everything; that, to me, is more romantic.

5) Another one is that the hero is somehow a descendant of a king or royalty or to whoever's ruling the place, which harkens back to his often-obscure origins. This too has been overdone, and I'd like to see a hero who is just an ordinary person with no connections to a ruling person.

These are just a few examples, but I find it sad that these five have been used so much in stories when there is greater potential for heroes and their background.

Book for Writers

2011-01-27T12:51:00.003-05:00

This semester, I am taking my first college writing class called "advanced composition". One of our books is "Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace" by Joseph Williams, and my class has begun to read it. Even though we have not gotten very far, I recommend this book for writers, both fiction and non-fiction. The book tells you how to avoid dense sentences that leave your readers scratching their heads and basically how to write clearly yet to have style. It also has some helpful tips on grammatical rules (like which ones are real and when you can bend or break them at times). The book is clearly written and presents the concepts in a simple way, and the rules and such in them are true for all writers. I recommend that aspiring writers look into it for tips on improving their prose and their writing style.

For Appearance's Sake

2011-01-13T16:26:00.002-05:00

One thing that I have noticed in fantasy stories regarding the appearances of the characters is often how perfect they are. They may have perfectly straight teeth that look like they were made of pearls, the women often have long silky hair that gleams in the sunlight, or the females may often have a scent about them (like in "Inheritance Cycle" where Arya constantly smells of pine- at least, I believe it is pine needles. I haven't read the series in a while, so you'll have to forgive me). Normally this is not an issue considering our modern day and age where hygiene is very important, but this becomes a problem if your setting is in a Medieval-esque world or in an earlier time period.

Let me put it this way: hygiene did not become a major issue until about a hundred years ago. Unless you were Japanese, who were a very clean people, you did not take a bath that often, and, if you did, it only happened every month or so. For this reason, people wore lots of perfume and makeup to cover up their dirtiness. It was particularly worse in more rural regions where farmers and such were constantly working, and so they would come home covered in mud and who knows what. In these more rural areas, you not bathe very frequently and then, it was most likely only before attending important events. This form of hygiene would probably make us retch if we lived during those times, but keep in mind that no one else noticed the smell or your dirtiness that much unless you move from one area to another or between different cultures.

Not only were people dirty, but they were not concerned with their hair very much either. Soap was not common, and conditioner and hair dryers had not yet been invented yet. Not to mention the lice and other living things that could live in one's hair, especially a woman's. And women, unless they were more of the barbaric stock, probably ran a comb through their hair in the morning and put it up for the rest of the day. So, one would imagine that their hair was very unkempt and greasy from lack of washing.

And now, on to teeth. Dentists and orthodontists did not exist back then, and people did not brush their teeth. So finding someone with perfectly straight white teeth was probably a diamond in the rough and very rare.

My point in saying this is that most stories today, ones that are set in pre-modern eras, tend to have some character that has excellent hygiene along the lines of what we would see today. Your story may be a Medieval fantasy, but keep in mind that appearances back then were very different. You're not going to see perfect people in their appearances or in regards to hygiene. Particularly if your story has a lot of traveling in it, I doubt people in the traveling party are going to look well-groomed for very long. This may seem something odd to talk about writing, but I believe it is the details which can often make your world seem more real and down-to earth, no matter what genre or time period it is set in.

Book Series

2010-12-25T15:45:00.002-05:00

It is quite common nowadays particularly for fantasy writers to plan more than one book to tell their story. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this (I may have another post to talk about this later), problems can arise if you plan the whole series, write and publish the first book, and then finish the series one book at a time.

One problem is consistency. In the early life of your story, you are not going to think up entire situations, back stories, or whatnot until some time later. If you write and publish only one book at a time, while continuing the story, you may discover some secret history between two of the characters or some new side plot that would make the story... except the problem is that the previous book as been published and cannot be altered. So thus you are forced to introduce something new rather suddenly and which could require character personalities or histories to be changed, but which cannot be altered drastically without coming across as inconsistent. I have seen this myself as my own work in progress has changed over the three and one-half years of its existence where the story largely remains the same but where characters and back stories evolve into something originally different.

A related issue is a greater amount of world-building that will inevitably take place the further you go into a story. It depends on the author, but you may develop more of the history, the languages, or an endless list of side aspects to the story; if you use magic in the story, you may deepen it and expand the rules. However, if you write-publish one book at a time, you will run into further problems of consistency. An example would be Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance Cycle". Because the books were all written at different times (in other words, he planned out the series but wrote each book one at a time), his explanation for magic and related magical events are different for each book, and thus his magic does not make sense at all.

Another problem of writing one book at a time is you may lose steam. I myself have gone through the stage of fantasy writing where I write one book and plan for others but by the time I finish at least the first part of the story, I have to put an end to the series for whatever reason there is, whether it be because of a bizarre plot or because I got bored with it. If you have already published one book, your readers will be expecting more of the story and so you will have to force yourself to finish it, which will result in bad writing. Or, in the cases of authors like George R. R. Martin, you take forever to finish it for whatever reason and so incur the wrath of your impatient readers, which may also cause you to lose your audience.

In the end, if you want to write a book series, it is best if you write it all out at once over a period of time and develop the story. This will help you develop the story itself but will also tell you if you really want to stick with it for a while. Sure, it may take years for you to finish the story completely to the point where you are happy with it, but remember my earlier post: the longer you sit on your story and develop it, the better it will turn out.

Villains

2010-12-15T17:24:00.005-05:00

Most villains in stories today are not well-written. Despite being supposedly evil and intelligent, they often come across as complete idiots who are more likely to make the reader laugh instead of quake in his boots. I will give a few examples of bad villains.

1) They often become evil because of either an abusive past or because of some traumatic event in their lives; an example would be Galbatorix from "The Inheritance Cycle" who turned to evil because his dragon got killed. While this can offer one reason for a villain's motives, this has been overused. And, also, not every person who was abused as a child or had something bad happen to them turns to "the dark side". For a point in case, look at some of the following characters from "Lord of the Rings": Frodo's parents drowned when he was a child, Faramir was passed over by his father in favor of his brother, Aragorn's father was killed by orcs when he was a child, and Galadriel has been exiled from Valinor for centuries and forbidden to return; these are examples from only one book, but all of these have had traumatic experiences in some form or another in their lifetime and none of them became evil.

2) They are often considered insane or not in their right mind. Galbatorix is another example of this, but I am sure there are others as well. An issue with this is that who would follow a mad leader? Let me play devil's advocate here; say that a former warrior who had a nervous breakdown during a war escapes from the asylum where he has been living and starts proclaiming himself to be king. Even if he kills a few people, do you honestly think that people would believe him? Even if the man somehow managed to get into power, how would he be able to maintain it? How would he get the military to his side to support him in his position? When considering an insane ruler, keep these questions in mind. You could, however, use this if either the ruler goes crazy while he is already in power or if someone else is in the true power seat and is merely using the king as a puppet.

3) They wear black. In most stories, the villains always wear black and walk around with a swish of their cloaks or their robes. Unless your villain has OCD or some other mental problem (which, see above), they will not stick to one color. So add a little more color to their clothing.

4) The villains more often then not send their worst servants and underlings to do the dirty work; but the hero (or heroine) always manages to escape, and then the villain send out someone only a little better than the last guy, and he too will fail. If your villain is rational and truly as intelligent as he seems to be (because if he is not, then how will he maintain support or even get into power in the first place?), then he will send his best servants, assassins, trackers, or whatnot to do the job right the first time.

5) The villains almost somehow always reveal their "grand, evil scheme" or something of that nature to the hero, which usually will aid him in defeating the evil. This is not rational thinking: to reveal everything just because you've captured the hero and are going to kill him (though you'll fail in that too) is stupid. If your villain is intelligent, he will keep his plans to himself. Having the hero or one of the "good guys" to figure out the villain's motives or his ultimate plan without him actually telling it out loud would be much more interesting, in my opinion.

6) They often sit inside their grand palaces and on their thrones, waiting for whatever news they want or need. In reality, villains, whether kings or not, do not sit around and let everyone else do the work. If they truly want their plans to succeed, they will be far more active in making sure their purposes are fulfilled. Sure, they may not leave their place of residence, but keep them truly busy.

7) They are not evil for the right reasons. If you want your villain to be truly evil, then he has to act that way. And it has to be more than "he killed the last king", "he has high taxes", or "he forces people into his army". In this case, you have to show it rather then tell it.

I am sure I could think of other examples, but sadly my brain needs time to recuperate from this difficult college semester. In the end, however, I hope these tips will help you think more about your villains and how to make them truly evil instead of relying on stereotypes.

Stealing vs. Plagiarism

2010-10-25T18:52:00.002-04:00

Plagiarism. Another fad that has taken the modern literary world by a storm and has seemingly become the next best thing among a lot of writers, young and old alike, especially in regards to fantasy. Basically, this is when a writer takes something that someone else has already used and puts it in their own writing; they may say they were inspired by the original author, but their often poor manuscript reeks of unoriginality. Sadly this is seen in both Christian and secular stories, and I'll list a few of them here: Christopher Paolini (his "Inheritance Cycle" is pretty much "Star Wars" set in Middle Earth) LB Graham (his writing is heavily inspired by Tolkien) are two big ones that I can think of at the moment.

Now, a common rebuttal is that "oh, no idea is truly original". Well, yes, that is true. Tolkien himself was inspired by Nordic mythology in his language and some of the names, but the difference between him and Paolini is that he took basic mythology and created an entire universe distinct from it, looking very different from the original source material. The difference ultimately between plagiarism and being semi-original is what you do with the original.

Let me give an example. Say you just finished reading Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night", and you think to yourself "you know, I want to write something about twins, mistaken identity, and romance." Plagiarizing would mean using similar names, a very similar plot scheme, etc... But, "stealing", on the other hand would be more like "say you have a twin brother and sister who come from an abusive home. The sister can't take it anymore, so she pretends to be a boy and runs away, hoping for a new life. Then she gets caught up in another adventure, and she and her brother get confused for each other in the midst of it" or something like that. Basically, stealing literary ideas in the right way is to take a basic concept and then to add your own twist and/or spin to it. And, no, setting a story in a different time, location, or another world does not count, as Paolini should have taught us.

Names are another big thing that has been stolen lately, and Tolkien especially has become the victim. In practically all fantasy written by young writers, whether they be published or not, they use a name extremely similar to one of Tolkien's. I myself was a perpetrator of this very crime, and it took me a few years to get out of its grasp. I may write a post about this later, but there is a way to be inspired by Tolkien's names but to create something unique about it.

Another argument against plagiarism is that "oh, it's a fantasy. All fantasy has dragons, trolls, elves, dwarfs, etc..." or "well, it's the archetypal hero journey." First off, fantasy may have such creatures, but there is a way to take them and to add your own unique twist; for myself, when wanting something different, I often go on wikipedia or do a little searching to see what normal legends are then either pick something that is not commonly used or come up with something different yet feasible. Secondly, the archetypal hero's quest is a popular plot device, but you have to make it your own version, not base it off of someone else's work.

So, remember. Being inspired by a writer or storyteller is one thing; taking what they wrote down and claiming it as your own is something different.

Nanowrimo

2010-10-02T14:34:00.002-04:00

Well, it's October, only one month away from the infamous nanowrimo.

For those who do not know what nanowrimo is, let me explain. It is basically an abbreviation for National November Writing Month, a novel-writing contest that takes place over the period of the entire month of November between 12 AM November 1 and 11:59 PM November 30. Your goal is to write at least 50,000 words in that time period; if you reach that goal, then you are a winner. You don't get big prizes or anything, but you do get smaller ones like avatars announcing you have reached 50,000 words and the ability to boast of reaching that many words; there is also the option, if you finish your story with 50,000+ words, then you can get the story printed out in something like a book style but only for yourself (I cannot vouch for it, as I have never done this). Between November 25 and 30, you can verify that you have the required word count, and they do this by you copying and pasting your entire document into a counter to make sure you aren't cheating.

But, there are rules to this contest. You can't type one word 50,000 times (of course), and you cannot basically do a rewrite of something else you have done (basically, you cannot work directly from a draft of something you have already done; but, like I did last year, I did a basic rehash of an older story but relied mostly on my own memory to write down scenes, and I did not work directly from a previous draft). So, this means you have to come up with something new in rough draft form. The good thing about the contest is that you do not have to be perfect. No need to worry about plot holes or character development because it is just a first draft. Granted, you will hate what you've written afterwards (I did, and I still do), but perhaps in the future you will go back to it and rework it into a polished jewel.

I did the contest for the first time last year, and I am contemplating doing it again (though it will depend on if I can get a workable idea and if my college class load does not kill me first). I encourage any other aspiring novelists to give this contest a try if you have not already. It is fast-paced and will be hard, and it definitely helps to have a support group of other writing friends to push you along. You will be tempted to pull out your hair, but how many other writers can boast of reaching 50,000 words in 30 days?

Strong Females

2010-08-21T15:34:00.003-04:00

One thing that really drives me up a wall when reading most modern crap today is the portrayal of female characters, whether they be the lead or just in the background. The two most common views are the following: the rebellious hot babe or the quiet homemaker who has little part to play in the story.

Now to explain. The rebellious hot babe, who usually has a major or semi-major role, is the beautiful girl who goes out to war and kicks butt there, and usually doing such things out of rebellion, typically with a parent or guardian-figure. These girls often sometimes can be bad-tempered or feminist, saying that they can handle things as well as the men and don't like being held back because of it. Not only are they determined to make their mark on the world, but they also are often the love interest of a main male character, usually a romance based solely on physical appearances. An example of this character is Arya from Christopher Paolini's "Inheritance Cycle". However, these girls are not always pushy and let you know that they're as good as men; sometimes, it is more subtle, usually quietly spoken by when they pick up a sword and start helping during a battle.

The quiet homemaker has a few varying forms, but they are generally the submissive, motherly types who are often the love interests for minor male characters and serve no other purpose then their relationship to the men. An example of this, also from Paolini's series, is Elaine, a minor character who has a pregnancy that lasts for pretty much the entirety of two books (how that is biologically possible escapes me, but that is not relevant), and she does nothing else for the story besides being a mother to a few other minor characters. Another example would be Bella Swann from "Twilight".

Related to the homemaker is the damsel in distress. This is a female character who may not be the quiet girl, but she is often either related to the protagonist or romantically involved in some way. She may be told that she has an importance in saving the world, but in the end she is only used for advancing the plot by being kidnapped, rescued, and then re-kidnapped again; the only example I can think of for this one is in a non-published work that I have read. Or, on a related note, a similar damsel is told she has a big part to play but in the end is nothing more than a minor character, overshadowed by the protagonist, who is often a male; an example of this one is Taryn from Nikk Fensterman's "Twins".

Now, having these characters is not necessarily a bad thing, but it gives the appearance of very weak and stereotyped female characters. You can have strong females without resorting to these stereotypes, and I will give two examples, both from George R. R. Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" (granted, I have only read the first book "Game of Thrones", so you'll have to forgive me for relying on one book). The first one is Catelyn Stark, married to Lord Eddard Stark, one of the main characters of the story. Even though she married him more out of arrangement and not for love, the two have a good non-angsty relationship, and she loves her husband and her children very dearly. As the plot picks up and conspiracy rises, Catelyn, wanting to find out who tried to kill one of her children, quietly travels all over the kingdom to seek this information and to bring the assassin to justice. Despite her motherly nature, she comes across as strong because she does not go into battles but neither does she sit at home and do nothing. The second female in the book that comes across as strong is Cersei Lannister. Cersei may be the king's wife and daughter of a prominent family, but she is not to be trifled with. She may seemingly not to much, but the reader can tell that there is more to her that meets the eye and that she is certainly manipulating events. Other strong female characters in literature would be Jane Austen's female protagonists like Elinor Dashwood, who is quiet but has great emotional and mental strength, and Elizabeth Bennett, who has her faults but only seeks to uphold her family's honor and reputation. There are many more examples of strong women in literature, but these are a few examples.

So, please, do not fall into this modern literature trap. Your females do not have to be aggressive bulls, but neither do they have to be doormats. There is a happy balance here, so seek it and write it.

Avoiding Marys and Garys: Part 2

2010-08-18T13:03:00.002-04:00

And, now that I have a bit of a breather for, hopefully, the next hour, I will continue my discussion on Mary Sues.

If you remember, I gave a short list of normal Mary Sue traits on my last post. As I said, some of these traits are not bad. In fact, many of these descriptions could describe any of our characters. But, the difference between a good character and a Mary Sue is execution, how the author carries it out.

If you decide to make your character extremely talented and beautiful, you still have to keep them realistic. To keep them from looking like demigods that should be loved and admired by all, you have to remember that they are only human; no one is that perfect, even in a fictional story. Say, for example, you decide to make a character an expert linguist or magician. At the same time, make them absolutely horrible in another area like mathematics, athletics, or even just having no everyday sense at all. Another example would be a character who is stunningly beautiful physically; you could give it a real nasty temper or bad attitude that makes people back off.

On a related note, no character can be perfectly loved by all the good guys. We all have our own serious personality/ attitude flaws as well as our own perspectives on life and various events that we watch unfold before our eyes. Just because your character may think that the military needs to be more aggressive against the enemy or that the school needs a new pop machine doesn't mean that's the right view and that everyone else who thinks otherwise is an enemy. I am currently trying to put this into practice with my own fantasy novel; it is set during a war, and you have various captains, lieutenants, and then the king all trying to protect the land, but they all have different views from each other; just because a lieutenant thinks that the king and his nephew (the protagonist) have idiotic ideas doesn't automatically make him a villain nor a rival.

This leads into another point. A common flaw with Mary Sues is that they don't make mistakes or, if they do, they end up fixing it and solving the problem entirely; they don't really learn anything or retain the lesson permanently. Don't be afraid to let your characters make major mistakes with no easy solution or with one that doesn't completely solve the problem. In real life, the older we grow, we look back over mistakes we make and regret being foolish, but it is ultimately those mistakes that teach us and mold us. It is how your characters react to their mistakes and learn from them that will give them greater maturity and cause them to change.

I may continue this discussion later when I have more time.

Avoiding Marys and Garys

2010-08-05T21:14:00.002-04:00

A major problem in stories nowadays is the huge amount of what are called "Mary Sues", basically a shallow character that is a self-insert for the author (male versions of these are often called "Gary Stus"). There is nothing good about these characters, as they are annoying and distract from the story, making it hard to read.

Here are some signs of a Mary Sue (took me a little research to make sure these were correct):

- Unusual, special character. This Mary Sue is unique in the world and has very special powers or gifts that no one else has. They may have a unique name and unique features, often including great beauty or being very attractive. The character has special magical powers or great talents like being an expert at oil painting in their early teenage years. They may also take an extremely short time to learn certain skills that would normally take years.

- Everybody loves him/her. This character may have a stubborn, unintelligent, and mean personality, but all the other characters fawn over him/her, not caring about their faults. The good guys often love this character and bad guys hate this character, and there's no in-between. Basically, the character can do no wrong in the author's eyes, and so everyone must agree with them with no criticism or anything bad said toward them.

- They usually have a very shallow romance. The kind of romance where he/she falls in love with the hottie, usually the popular person that everyone else has fallen head over heels for.

- In relation to the first point, Mary Sues are given preferential treatment in regards to their appearance. They are physically perfect in every way and may even have oddly colored eyes or hair. Some Sues often have a special mark on them that speaks of their unique position, though this is not always the case.

- This is not always the mark of a Sue, but they have some very special role to play in killing the villain and saving the world.

- This is also not always the mark of a Sue, but they often have very troubled pasts like abuse, dead family members, etc... and this turns simply into a way for them to angst and for the readers to feel sorry for them.

- A Sue may be a wish fulfillment of the author, having the same physical appearance as him/her, similar interests and hobbies, etc... Or, they may be what the author wishes they could be, like being more attractive or more talented.

This is not a comprehensive list, and it was largely taken from the following website: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CommonMarySueTraits

To test out your characters for any signs of Suedom, try out the following link: http://www.ponylandpress.com/ms-test.html However, I would say, use caution, as sometimes it may call a character a Sue when it is not. Still, try to beware of this severe flaw that is floating around nowadays.

Alien Culture

2010-07-31T15:45:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts, but I'm in the middle of a creative drought at the moment, where I want to write something but have absolutely no clue what and nothing new is coming to mind. Anyway...

Ok, now the title of my post has nothing to do with little green men hovering in space ships above our planet. I was camping this week at a lovely little place on the lake in the middle of the mountains (not as pretty as Lake Nantahala, but better than Lake Lanier) when I was brainstorming about a possible culture for a story when I thought about creating different cultures.

One thing that really bugs me in a story is how someone can "create" a unique culture for a fantasy or sci-fi story, but it does not come across as alien; in other words, you could plop this culture in our world and essentially it would not be very different to us. There are still familiar elements in it, like the typical wedding/ marriage where you usually have a ring, a ceremony, and then a big party afterwards. In the end, this said wedding doesn't look unique and could be taking place in 21st century New York City or something like that. Or, another example. In most fantasy stories, the "age of manhood" where a boy becomes a man is generally between sixteen and eighteen, but he comes across as immature or there's no real reason for the age to be that young.

So, a few little suggestions for adding a bit of alien spice to your cultures. Look up lesser-known ones and their rites for maturity, naming, etc... and get some ideas. You could write it so that wedding ceremonies are very private affairs and the celebration is only for others, not for the couple, or vice versa. In the case of the maturity age, you could raise or lower it (Tolkien's hobbits didn't reach maturity until they were 33 years old), but please, no whiny, angsty characters; in the 1800's, you had girls who got married at 13 years old, but they certainly weren't the immature types you see today, rather the hard-working women who were fully ready to manage a household.

Sorry if my thoughts seem a little disoriented today, but I am a bit tired.

Accepting Criticism

2010-06-30T20:47:00.003-04:00

Let's face it: you spend time, blood, sweat, and tears on a story, leaving you feel so proud and on top of the world; the last thing you want to hear is criticism. I know this for a fact, as I have personally felt it myself.

However, if you really love your story, then you must be willing to accept what people say about it and contemplate it. If someone says "your writing is horrible, your characters are unsympathetic, yada yada yada", your first reaction is to get defensive or to ignore the comment, only focusing on the good people say. Any author's response should be to listen to what people say, especially if you plan to publish, because heeding criticism makes you into a better writer. It reminds me of a few years ago when I was working on a fantasy novel and wanted feedback; I had gotten positive from a peer and from an adult, but my father tore apart the first chapter. I felt discouraged at first and later gave up the novel, but, looking back over it, the critique was actually good and the story was a piece of trash. And it was this that has helped me to grow in my writing, but I still have quite a way to go.

Accepting harsh words about your writing is not easy, but it is necessary. Do not ignore them, as they are vital to growing in your abilities and they will make your story better. This advice is not only to aspiring authors but also to those who have already been published; being published does not automatically let you off the hook for criticism, despite what many authors may think.

Bad Romance

2010-05-29T11:37:00.002-04:00

One thing that really kills any story is how romance is portrayed. The unfortunate tendency in stories, especially in our modern day, is to have two characters look shyly at each other for a while then fall head over heels in love, with no substance or depth to their romance. Here are some examples of overdone, horrible love stories.

- Eragon and Arya from "The Inheritance Cycle". The two are destined, in a not-so-subtle way, to fall in love forever. However, Eragon's "feelings" are nothing short of lust for this hot elf babe, and she is nothing more than the arrogant, cold-hearted woman, and yet he still wants her.

- Will and Lyra from "His Dark Materials". The two young teenagers are companions for two books, and then suddenly, one day, they decide to have a make out session in the woods. Afterwards, they then are madly in love and are terribly pained when they have to separate. For goodness' sake, they're only thirteen, fourteen!

- Various romances in the "Binding of the Blade". Even though they are not as painful as Eragon and Arya's, there is little substance or depth to these various relationships. Most of them are the "love at first sight" kind, and there is little real chemistry between the characters.

- Robbie and Celia from "Atonement". I hate to add this book to the list, as it is very well-written, but I did not like the romance. Basically, the rich girl and the servant boy ignore each other most of the time and then decide to have sex in the library, where they then proclaim their love and maintain it for the course of the book, even though they are pretty much apart and have little contact during that time.

- Various romances in Erin Hunter's "Warrior" series. These are bad because they are the typical stereotypes and become very repetitive and annoying, especially as the series progresses. You have the forbidden love aspect (which shows up at least three times in the series) where two characters are not supposed to be together but are anyway and then the two characters who don't like each other then end up as mates.

- Paul and Chani from "Dune". Even though I enjoy the series to an extent for their great detail and complex plots/ schemes, Paul and Chani's relationship was a bit weak for me. Basically, the two fifteen-year olds meet for the first time, Paul knowing that they are destined to be together, and a few days later they have sex, beginning a long relationship that lasts the rest of Chani's life. They never marry, though Paul technically does to another woman but he treats Chani as his real wife and ignores the other woman. My issue is that there was little reason for them to be together apart from destiny, which means there is little substance to their love.

- Arkady Renko and his ladies in the Martin Cruz Smith books. Renko has two relationships with two women in these two books, and neither of them are deep or even well-written. He is more or less bewitched by one girl and continues sleeping with her, even though she's revealed to be a slut. The other relationship is sudden and unrealistic, with Renko 'feeling alive' with this girl but there's no evidence of this or of the relationship except for her nearly hitting him with a book and one sex scene.

The best romances, I believe, are those with chemistry and depth. Let me explain. The characters have to be attracted to each other, but not out of their rank or physical appearance. And, there has to be a spark between them, real interaction. I can't really explain except that it's something you see between a couple, the way they act together, that tells you if their love is real. Looking at pictures of various engaged couples over the years, there are some who just have a light on their smiling faces and eyes where you can tell "oh, yeah, they're in love", rather than a smile that looks forced and unreal.

Here are some suggestions for writing good romances.

- Begin the relationship as a friendship. My dad once told me that that is how love starts, and I think this has been seriously forgotten nowadays.

- Avoid the use of destiny or fate. If you do want to use it, then have more substance to the relationship, more of a real spark and less of how they are destined to be together.

- Leave room for disagreements. Even the best couples don't agree on everything, and most romances are written from the perspective of two lovey- dovey people too in love to argue. It doesn't have to be disagreements that end in the couple being separated, but it does have to be more than arguing over what outfit to wear to the party or something of that nature.

- Show it. If you want to make your romance convincing, then it has to be more than saying "I love you" or just a shy glance. The guy may give the girl flowers or chocolates, and the girl also has to give something to him, like sewing him a new cloak or making him his favorite meal. Another example, which could be used in a fantasy, if the guy just came through a real hard battle, the girl will want to comfort him emotionally and be a strong shoulder for him, though this could be applied really to any genra of writing.

- And, finally, unless you're specifically writing a romance story, one idea may be to keep the love in the background and not in the forefront. Even though Tolkien wrote his romances sounding more like an epic myth, I did like how in the "Lord of the Rings" books Aragorn and Arwen are in love, but Aragorn, knowing what he has to do, focuses on the task at hand, not griping about how far apart they are and how he misses her.

These are just a few examples, but I urge aspiring writers not to ruin your stories with a bad, predictable romance. It has become a pitfall for many authors, so don't fall into it as well.

No Repetition

2010-05-04T17:39:00.002-04:00

I was watching "Pride and Prejudice" (the looong version and the best, in my opinion) last night when a thought came into my head: I haven't read the book in a long time, but I realized how similar "Pride and Prejudice" and "Sense and Sensibility" are. Of course they're written by the same author, but thinking about it made me raise an eyebrow. Here is a list of similarities:

- Both have the dashing, likable man liked (or loved) by one of the female protagonists who turns out to be a complete scumbag

- The scoundrel turns out to be involved somehow with the man that the female protagonist who formerly like him marries

- The scoundrel is lured away either permanently or temporarily by a woman with a lot of money

- The older sister of the family falls in love with a pleasing, likable man who abandons her briefly, crushing her hopes, but then returns suddenly to declare his love and marry her

- The female protagonist marries the man she least expected to, the one who was in love with her the entire time

- One of the females goes to London in pursuit of the man she loves but ends up discovering he's abandoned her

- Both of the sisters end up married, one to the man she's always loved and the other to an unexpected man

- Both stories have a female character who is dedicated to playing matchmaker with one of the sisters

- Mrs. Bennett is reminiscent of Mrs. Jennings in some ways

- Mr. Bennett is reminiscent of Mr. Palmer in some ways

- Jane Bennett is reminiscent of Elinor Dashwood in some ways

Now don't get me wrong; I like Jane Austen, even though I've only read two of her books (I tried reading "Emma" a few years ago but couldn't get past the first few pages). However, my issue with her is that there are a lot of similarities between "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice"; yes, there are differences, but these similar characters, scenes, ideas, etc... are a bit glaring. To me, it shows a bit of a lack of imagination. Having said that, though, I'm first to admit that I'm very guilty when it comes to this sort of thing. Still, let it be a bit of a warning to you: try not to use the same ideas more than once. Rather, let them develop into something different so that no connection can be made between the two stories in that way. It takes time and a lot of thought, but, in the end, it makes you look as if you have more than a few ideas rolling around in your head.

Sermons

2010-04-23T19:05:00.002-04:00

One thing that is not a good sign in a book is if the author decides to give out a short sermon on a topic that ends up coming across as stupid and an annoyance. I'll give a few examples. In one book, the author did a couple of not-so-subtle sermons on how vegetarianism was right (though this was recanted a book later) and on atheism; readers leapt all over this, as it came across as the author shoving his own views on them. In another book, a different author let out a couple of anti-technology and anti-killing animal views that were not subtle and did not add to the story at all; and not only that, but the sermons did not fit the personality of those who said them, which made it even worse. And these sermons were minor, an add-on to the story. Things can really get bad if you decide to have a sermon as the major part of the story; for example, Pullman's "His Dark Materials" were well-written stories (except for the last one), but the whole anti-God, anti-Christianity message oozed through to ruin it completely.

If you want to use your story-writing attempts to teach your readers a lesson or a "sermon", as it were, I've learned that being subtle yet relevant is the best way. If you want to write a Christian fantasy, you don't have to be too open about it (a minor note here: I appreciate LB Graham for writing his "Binding of the Blade" series and its blatantly Christian themes, but I think a little more subtly could have also been better... among other things). I consider "Lord of the Rings" a very Christian novel series even though there is virtually no mention of God or of organized religion, but it has very strong Christian allegory and themes seen in the characters' morality and in objects like the lembas bread; another novel series I would consider Christian to a lesser extent is Stephen Lawhead's "Pendragon Cycle" (even though the whole "holy grail" thing I think could have been left out), as it does mention God and Christianity but they are not the central part of the story. If you want to write a pro-life message, you can be subtle in mentioning how precious life is. There are other examples, but my mind can't think of them at the moment.

A History Lesson

2010-04-13T21:15:00.003-04:00

World building is always fun to do, creating names, cultures, geography, history, etc... But one thing that I have discovered to make your world more believable is to add some history. Don't panic. I'm not suggesting you create a vast history like Tolkien did, but adding a bit to the background makes your world look better.

What inspires me most when adding a background to this fantasy world I've worked on for several years is real history, because it is so complicated. Wars do not happen for one reason; very often, there are several different ones that all collide and explode with deadly results. Rulers battle their own personal demons and troubles within and without their own realms. Kingdoms rise and fall. Scholars study and argue over what they believe is right. One little event over generations leads to something much bigger than anticipated. The list goes on and on. There is plenty of opportunity to explore these various areas, even in bits and pieces, so do so. It makes your world more alive and realistic, and it makes you look like you actually labored over your world building attempts.

Borrowing a Culture

2010-04-05T18:53:00.002-04:00

A common thing to do when you world-build, especially in fantasy stories (I've seen it so far in one sci-fi series) is to borrow from a real culture when creating your own. Now that's all well and good, but this can often cause issues and make you look unimaginative. I'll give you two examples of how it can be abused.

First, the Icemark Chronicles (a series of three books so far... the first is the best, the second was absolutely horrible, and I've yet to read the third). The author Stuart Hill has several different races: the people of the Icemark (clearly Nordic/ Viking), the Hypolitia (Scythians, more specifically the Amazonians of Greek legends), and the Polypontians (clearly the Romans of the Roman Empire). Even though these peoples are clearly cut out from history, it truly becomes annoying in the second book with the addition of more human races that are clearly based off of the people of Venice (the name of their city is Venizza or something like that), Middle Easterners, and then at last African tribes. The problem that happened here was absolutely no imagination. Nothing to separate these peoples from their real-life counterparts except for the fact that they're in a fantasy world.

My next example is from a book I'm currently reading called "Shadow Magic." You basically have two races who are trying to make peace after a looong war, which makes for interesting culture clashes (more on that later). While one culture is nonspecific, the other, known as the Ke- Han, are clearly Japanese. I'm not familiar with that culture, but from what I've read so far (and I don't expect a change by the end of the novel) the Ke- Han, like Stuart Hill's races, are basic cardboard cutouts with nothing new or interesting to differentiate them from the Japanese.

Borrowing a bit from a real-life culture is fine, as long as you add your own touches to make them realistic and recognizable but at the same time different. A good example of this is the Fremen from Frank Herbert's "Dune" universe. They live in the desert and have a language similar to Arabic, but these two people are very different. The Fremen don't have the physical characteristics of Middle Easterners, they ride giant worms and not camels, they live in stone houses and do not appear to be nomads, and several other differences. The point is, these people were clearly influenced by a real-life culture, but they are not the exact same; and there are more than just three or four differences between the two.

Not everyone bases a fantasy or sci-fi culture on reality, but for those who do, what you can do to prevent from having an unimaginative people is to let them grow. Add differences between the real thing and yours. Make a different history for them. Change their religion and names. I could go on and on. Over the years, I have discovered that one of my races that has played a predominant role in my story attempts, while being based off the Celts/ Scottish/ Irish have developed into their own people, as they are more literate, have a different history, and live in very different buildings. Those are only a few examples, but do not be afraid to let your culture/ people evolve into something complex and unique.

A little note here. I mentioned above a culture clash in "Shadow Magic." One thing I have rarely seen in stories that require extensive world-building (I am sad to say even Tolkien, for his amazing detail, could have done so much more with his various races in a culture clash) is two different peoples looking at each other and their customs. "Shadow Magic", despite the fact I think it's only an ok novel, does add entertainment with the interaction between the ritualistic, clean Ke- Han and the visitors who view them and their ways with a cool disdain. I myself had a great deal of fun using this in my second novel last summer when I had my Celtic race interact with the clean, poised vampires. It was entertaining to write about the "Celts" trying to use silverware, feeling dirty in the clean and polished palace, and just how they view each other. I highly recommend using this in your novel, because, as I said earlier, it's not used nearly enough and because it also adds a bit of conflict between your characters, which is always a good thing.

Keeping Track of Time

2010-03-20T12:50:00.002-04:00

One thing that I've discovered is helpful when writing a story is using a timeline to keep track of things.

As I worked on my current novel, I was not sure of the exact length of time and was even more unsure of the realism, as one of the characters is pregnant all throughout the story. To make sure that this remained realistic (i.e. morning sickness and more visible signs of her pregnancy), I made a timeline. It was nothing fancy, as I just used real dates like May 29th. Once I had the story start on a certain day, then I went through every chapter and made notes on how much time passed between days. It didn't take me very long, and soon I had a timeline and a good idea of the timespan (discovering that my first novel takes place over a period of a few months, between late "May" and either September or October), and everything fit in very nicely. While I'm not going to use precise dates in the story, the timeline did serve its purpose of giving me a better sense of time and making everything work realistically.

I recommend using it, even if your story is spread out over a year or two. Tolkien used a calender for his Lord of the Rings, beginning with the Second Age and the last date being Aragorn's death in the Fourth Age (but you needn't go to the great depths that he did with his). His use of the timeline for the story itself is very helpful, especially when you have several characters all doing different things who later all come together.

As I said, a timeline is a handy tool for novel-writing and keeping things organized.

Get Real... Really

2010-03-13T10:23:00.002-05:00

One thing that I have noticed in several stories nowadays is how unrealistic things can become. Even if you have a fantasy story, you still have to keep things realistic.

For example, I know of a story where a boy has never ridden a horse in real life but when he goes to the fantasy realm he automatically can leap on and off horses like a pro. That is not realistic at all. Another example from a different story is a boy who has never picked up a sword before and after a few months of practice is considered an expert. Let's be frank: these things do not happen in real life and thus do not happen in a fantasy world. Even if you have a natural aptitude for something, it takes a long time to develop that skill.

Staying real doesn't just apply to your character's skills or whatnot. Here are some other examples.

- If your character(s) do a lot of traveling, make sure they're going at expected speeds. Even if they have high endurance, they're not going to run a hundred miles in a day (unless you're Leto Atreides).

- If your character has been wounded, make sure he has plenty of recovery time. One normally doesn't get stabbed in the arm and then the next day use it in a major battle. If you want to be realistic, he's going to be in a lot of pain and won't be able to use his arm for a while.

I can't think of any other examples at the moment, but do remember this: keep things realistic in your story, fantasy or not.

Making a Race

2010-02-20T19:49:00.005-05:00

One of the fun things about writing a fantasy or science fiction story is that you have the opportunity to create different races and their cultures. However, nowadays in most fantasy, there is sadly not much imagination in this realm, as the typical races tend to be human, elf, and dwarf, all of which are stereotyped into the powerful, magical elves, gruff dwarfs, and the weaker humans. And some attempts to get away from those stereotypes just end up horribly convoluted *glares at the "Inheritance Cycle"*.

Here are some suggestions for getting out of the bog of unimaginative races.

1) Do a bit of research. When looking for ideas for creatures not used commonly in fantasy, I like looking up folklore (particularly Irish) as well as creatures of legend. All you need is a quick wikipedia search, nothing real fancy or in-depth, but rather something to give you some ideas. Then contemplate this for as long as necessary then begin writing down about your races.

2) If you want to or already are using elves and dwarfs, don't be afraid to let them evolve or even give them new names. A race called Loreleis (taken from a poem called "The Lorelei" that I read in high school) in my current fantasy novel has undergone years of evolution from a powerful race to one where normally they would be called human (or mortal, whichever you prefer). Try new twists on things, like have the elves as the dominant race and humans as dying out or humans as the magical race and the elves as not. You get the idea.

3) Be careful with how many races you have. I've had several different kinds with mermaids, vampires, humans, and another race all in one story., but it only got confusing and bogged me down, so I only left it to two races, where it currently is now. I don't have a good number for what to shoot for, but I would recommend to do only as many races as you can handle and only what are needed.

4) In relation to #3, you don't have to have one or two races that are all the same, because that's boring and not realistic. In my current novel, I've discovered that having one blanket term for a race and then letting them branch out is better than creating so many races. For example, my vampires are all descended from three people, but they are divided into many various groups, each with a different culture, language, physical attributes, etc... Besides the fact that it's fun to think up histories for the different branches and thus interaction between them, it's realistic. Think about it. All humans have the same ancestors, and yet we're all so different, being divided into various cultures and peoples from tribes of Central Africa to Native Americans to those of Polynesia to those of European descent; each is different and unique in its own way, yet they all are of the same race.

The only fantasy writer I have seen yet to use this concept is Tolkien. He doesn't go into detail about all his races, but ultimately there are four humanoid races: human, elf, dwarf, and hobbit. Each of these are divided into various kinds, like Silvan Elves and Noldor Elves or the Rohirrim and the Men of Dale. This allows for a lot of diversity in his races and makes the story more realistic and interesting.

I'm sure I could think of other tips, but right now my computer time is limited.

Take Your Time

2010-02-11T10:53:00.004-05:00

I know for certain that when you finish a story (especially a novel) that you get so excited and you want to get it published. Publishing is a noble thing to aspire to, but it's not a good thing to rush into.

When I was a young teenager, I finished a first draft of a fantasy novel and was so pleased with my accomplishment that I started looking up publishers. I was urged not to do that so soon, and I'm glad I was told. About a year or two later, I discarded the novel for its steadily-increasing bizarre nature and general disappointment in it. I looked it over a few months ago, and my, did my hairs stand up on my head. Absolutely horrible. I couldn't even finish reading it, even though years before people had said they liked it (though they may have been being polite, which is never a good thing when you want to take your story seriously).

But here's my point: take your time. Don't finish a novel and then work on it for a year or two then seek to be published. An important thing that I have learned from about eight years of story-writing is not to rush. The reason is, writing, especially for young people, is rarely well-written but has potential. But to reach to higher levels of quality, you should practice a lot and take your time, even years. And don't be afraid to let your story change as you keep writing new drafts of it. The evolution of a story is half the fun of writing as you discover how to make better characters, how to solve plot problems like inconsistencies, and in general how to write something better. So don't be afraid to spend years on a particular story. In reality, the fantasy novel series I am working on at the moment is the product of eight years of story evolution from Tolkien rip-off fantasy world to something hopefully far different.

So, as I say: take your time. Don't rush the writing process to gain fame for something poorly written that has a lot more potential but was never exploited. And keep this in mind: I heard somewhere that Tolkien spent over ten years (not sure of the exact time) working on the Lord of the Rings trilogy (someone correct me if I'm wrong) before publishing it. All that time, and look at the masterpiece we have today.

So take your time and make a masterpiece that will be remembered for all the right reasons.

Ok...

2010-02-04T22:36:00.003-05:00

Ok, so I've decided what I'm going to do here. Once a week (probably every Saturday because my weeks are filled with work), I will post something, a blurb or an article or however long I want to talk, to do with writing. No, this is not the blog where I will ramble about Celtic music or write various reviews. I will talk about my own thoughts about story writing, offer some bits of advice I have learned from about nine years of writing attempts, and possibly challenges for other young, aspiring writers like myself.

First Post

2010-01-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

Well, welcome to the blog. I deleted my private writing blog, but this one will be more public, open to all. Not quite sure what I will post here, but I'm sure I'll figure out something.