by Jim
Oh hell yeah! This song, especially the beginning, is a battle song. No doubt about it. When the choir starts their harmony right at the beginning, close your eyes and picture too massive medieval armies lining up on either sides of a war torn battlefield. They stair each other down as the rain falls around them and lighting breaks the skies above. Readers, Do … Read More From My Writing Playlist #Music #Metal #Writing
by Jim
I’ve actually heard debates about this quite often. Do you need a philosophical ‘bad guy’ in a story in order to create a working plot and tell a story? The answer is, simply put, it’s complicated. Let’s think about this for a moment, does every story need a Maleficent? Do they need, at the very least, a one-dimensional villain with little to no backstory … Read More Are Villains Necessary? #Advice #Writing #Literature #Fiction #Nonfiction
by Jim
My Gateway to Edguy and thus Avantasia… I love this song. It’s up, it’s down, it’s got power, and it goes from positive to negative and back very quickly. When to listen: Boss battle. This may be because I played a flash game where this was the boss battle music, but it is damn appropriate. Yes, play this when your character is confronting the … Read More From My Writing Playlist #Music #Metal #Writing
by Jim
Okay, so it looks like I’m still getting a lot of publishing questions. These are recurrent questions I get on a regular basis, and while I want to try to respond to everyone who reaches out to me, I don’t want my blog becoming redundant. So I think I’m going to repost this on a weekly basis from now on to help people navigate … Read More The Ins and Outs of Publishing, A Directory of Advice. #Writing #Author #Advice
by Jim
For reasons I can’t begin to understand, Metalite replaced their original singer. I’m not going to lie, I liked her better. She seemed to have a much better range, but I am willing to give this new face a chance. So far, she’s been okay. When to listen: This is a fight song, likely first confrontation between the hero and villain. I don’t know if … Read More My Writing Playlist. #Music #Metal #Writing
by Jim
Hi Jim, I have a whole library of stories that I’ve never been able to finish or I didn’t think I wanted to publish. I spent a great deal of time on them and every time I look at them, I feel like it was completely wasted. Sometimes I’ll go back and write a few more lines or make edits. Should I try to … Read More Revisiting Dead Works#Advice #Writing #Literature #Fiction #Nonfiction
by Jim
I’m sorry, I miss the 80s. Growing up in the late 80s and watching the slow decline into the early 90s was really amongst the greatest time to be a kid. Nintendo NES was everywhere, Sega Masters was where it wasn’t. Free range parenting was a thing, the internet was barely a dream in the eyes of computer engineers, people actually went out and … Read More My Writing Playlist. #Music #Writing #Advice
by Jim
I love the original, and this is… actually pretty hysterical! When to listen Easy, when you’re having trouble writing, frustrated, or just suffering from fatigue. A little comedy is a good way to power down. Readers, Do you have a question about writing, publishing, my stories, etc? Please feel free to post a comment or email me. jimthewritingwizard@gmail.com I’ll use those comments to … Read More My Writing Playlist. #Music #Metal #Writing
by Jim
So this is going to be an op-ed more than an advice piece, so feel free to skip if you’re not up for that. Recently in Hollywood, the Comic Book world, and even the literary world, we’ve seen a trend where a new piece of material is put out and bombs. Instead of going back to writer’s table to figure out what went wrong, … Read More STOP Blaming the Audience #Writing #Author #Advice #Movies #BirdsofPrey
+ advice, fantasy, Inspiration, literature, Music, Reading, Writing
by Jim
Yeah, no Heavy Metal playlist is complete without at least 5 songs by Dragonforce. This song is pure adrenaline. It makes you feel good, it’s upbeat, and I love it. When to Listen: Well, it’s on my general playlist and I like to listen to it whenever, but if you’re looking for a specific time to listen to it… burnout. I’m not kidding. Are … Read More From My Writing Playlist #Metal #Music #Inspiration #Writing
by Jim
Hi Jim, You write a lot about endings and how important they are. I’m currently part of the way through my first book and was actually thinking about some of your advice. You seem to put a lot of stock in the ending, and I mean to the point where it’s the most important element to the story. I’m reminded of saying ‘it’s not … Read More Ending Importance or Lack Thereof #Writing #Author #Advice
by Jim
SPOILER ALERT!!! Hi Jim, I actually picked up a copy of this book a while back and just got around to reading it. For the most part, I liked it, but I do have one question; were you trying to piss everyone off with that ending? You left it wide open and don’t tell your audience whether or not Xaphine get’s reunited with Piero! … Read More Open Ending, a Damnation Question!? #writing #fantasy #SciFi #literature #Fiction
James Harringtons Creative Work 