Tag: literature

Does a Bad Guy Have To Be Evil?

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?

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The Ins and Outs of Publishing, A Directory of Advice. #Writing #Author #Advice

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

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‘Good’ Writing.

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.

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A Better Blogger

Can you give some advices about how to get traffic towards your blog? How do you get so many followers on this app? By the way, your posts are really good😊! –Simmone Hi Simmone, Great question. The best way to think about WordPress, or any other blogging page is to think about it as a community. The more you put in, the more you’ll … Read More A Better Blogger

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Death’s Work-Around

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

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Powering Through!

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!

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The Ins and Outs of Publishing, A Directory of Advice. #Writing #Author #Advice

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

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Too Soon Tragedy

Hi Jim, I wanted to ask you about writing about tragic events. Example, let’s say you’re writing a story that’s taking place in the modern day and then something happens, does that alter your writing? Let me give you an example… Part of one of my stories is set in Berkeley California. There was a major riot out here and part of the area … Read More Too Soon Tragedy

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Writing Reality

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

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The Right Theme

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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Let’s Get Down to the Details

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 […]

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The Love/Hate with Relationship Writing

There seems to be a trend that is pretty well-established in Hollywood, but unfortunately has also inked its way into literature and other various art forms as well, and its one I do not like nor do I think its effects are positive. What do I mean by that? Well let’s think about this for a moment; Name one TV show in recent memory … Read More The Love/Hate with Relationship Writing