+ advice, Characters, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Writing
by Jim
Hi Jim, You speak a lot about characters that you love, can you comment on how you write characters you hate? Thanks, Linden Hi Linden, Base them on someone you don’t like. … Yeah, that’s pretty much all I can say about that. Do you need to write a character that you want to be thoroughly dispised? Take someone you don’t like, someone you … Read More Hated Character!
by Jim
I talk a lot about writing trends and would like to go into something that has been going on for a while now… There has been a push in more recent media circles to make fantasy and fiction more like reality… We’ve all seen this in some way, shape, or form. Be it people who let movies raise their children crying about Disney princesses … Read More Ruining Fantasy?
+ advice, Characters, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Reading, Writing
by Jim
Hi Jim, I’ve been writing for a very long time, but I need some advice. I’ve mostly worked on children’s books, but recently have started writing adult fiction. I want to use one of my characters from my children’s books in an adult setting, but I’m worried about how my audience will react to it. Some of my readers have grown up with … Read More From One Universe To Another…
by Jim
I’ve heard this one before and the best answer I can give is… no. The bad guy or villain in a story does not necessarily have to be evil at all. When Chancellor Palpatine said that goodness is a point of view in Revenge of the Sith, despite how self-serving his remark was, he was actually right on many different levels. There are actual … Read More Does a Bad Guy Have To Be Evil?
by Jim
Hi Jim, I often find myself writing a great deal when I’ve either had a lot to drink or right after smoking weed. Do you find either helps or do you know of anything else that helps spark your creativity? You don’t have to openly admit to anything illegal, but I read a while back that some of Stephen King’s best work was done … Read More Writing on High
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
Hi Jim, I was wondering if you could tell me what makes up a good fantasy story? Thanks, Sarah. Ahem… Hi Sarah, That is such a subjective… subject… that I’m not sure I can give you a definitive answer, but not for not trying. So I’m going to give you a few suggestions based on what I’ve seen work effectively. Anti-Hero. Include an antihero … Read More ‘Good’ Writing.
+ advice, fantasy, Fiction, literature, Movies, Opinion, Uncategorized
by Jim
Hello Writers, Did you recently kill off a character? Do you regret it? Do you want to get that character back but are too good to simply resurrect the character? Well we’ve got a lesser known, yet equally cheap gimmick for you; take the character from another reality! At the low cost of your writing credibility, you can have you character back without any … Read More Death’s Work-Around
+ advice, Author, Fiction, literature, Opinion, Uncategorized, Writing
by Jim
I’ve got a question about writing. I’ve currently got a novel in the works but I am currently finding it hard to continue. How do you power through the finishing stories? -Bahanehm Hi Bahanehm, Good question. I actually get asked this one quite a bit. Its a little hard to answer without knowing exactly what’s stopping you, so I’ll try to give a few … Read More Powering Through!
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
I have wondered this myself, as my novel is set in real places in Colorado… I do have a question along the same lines: How important in fiction-dystopian writing is geographical accuracy and specificity? People living here would know the difference and could be distracted by inaccuracies. People that are not familiar with the area may get lost in the details. And maybe the … Read More Writing Reality
by Jim
Hi Jim, I’m having a horrible time trying to come up with a theme for my story! I’m trying to map everything out before I write. I was wondering if you had any advice? What themes do you like? Thanks, Lawrence Hi Lawrence, Well I’d honestly say to start writing. If you have ideas, make notes, get them down on paper and then see … Read More The Right Theme
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