by Jim
Oh I just know I’m going to piss off a lot of people with this one… Keeping in mind, I’m just focusing on the main title, not the sequels or prequel here. Final Fantasy 7 came out roughly a year after I got my first PlayStation. I was in either 6th or 7th grade at the time… I don’t really remember. The gamer … Read More Unpopular Opinion: Final Fantasy 7 isn’t as good as you remember
by Jim
Recently I’ve spoken about some characters and how aspects of those characters are ‘perfect’, ‘flawless’, or even ‘saintly’. How terrible things happen to these characters, yet they come away unscathed with no lasting physical or emotional scars. In other cases, they are just perfect throughout the entire story; always making the right decisions, never having to worry about ramifications, and never losing their … Read More Imperfection is Writing Perfection.
by Jim
Hi Jim, I was wondering if you’d ever done a collaborative work? If so, what’s your opinion on the best way to organize it? I thought it would be fun to work with someone on a story because they have a plotline that they’ve been working on, and I’ve got one that I think would go along well with it. I’m concerned about some … Read More Collab about Collaboration
by Jim
Hi Jim, You may not be the right person to ask, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I’m writing a story about a long term relationship that also happens to be a long-distance relationship. However I’ve never had a long distance relationship work out. I want to write this so it sounds somewhat realistic, but it seems like the odds are staggeringly … Read More Long and Short of Writing Long Distance
by Jim
I want to talk today about a trope that lately has been driving me crazy. I call it the Perception of Beauty Trope, but perhaps it would be more like ‘the attractive guy gets the girl’ trope. This has caused so many problems throughout the literary and movie world. Let me give you a few examples: IT (2017)– Pretty much the one thing … Read More Perception of Beauty Trope
by Jim
Hi Jim, I’ve been following your blog for a while and was wondering about the ‘From my Writing Playlist’ pieces you do. Maybe it’s because I don’t like the same music, but I’ve never found music especially helpful in my writing. Now that I’m suffering from writer’s block, I’m desperate to try anything. I read some of your other recommendations, but they only helped … Read More Music Inspiration for Writing
by Jim
Hi Jim, I have a rather unusual one for you. I’m trying to write a romance story dealing with two completely different species. However one of the characters who is going to be part of the relationship is only about 13 years old. Her race essentially reaches maturity at six years old, though they still look physically young and only live for … Read More Writing Unorthodox Relationships
by Jim
By now it should be plainly obvious to everyone how I feel about J.K. Rowling. However, in case you’re not, I’m no fan of hers. I find her writing to be somewhat simplistic, her characters extremely archetypal, and her plotlines to be the literary equivalent of swiss cheese. She also seems to go back and retcon details thus creating even more holes in her stores! … Read More Unpopular Opinion: Harry Potter is a terrible protagonist
by Jim
Hi Jim, I was wondering. You’ve posted a lot about writing and how to make a good story. You’ve also mentioned that you have a tough time reading other people’s stories, hence why you wrote your own. I was just wondering, what is your favorite story? Best, Cheri Hi Cheri, Thanks for following my work! I’ll admit that my library read books has increased … Read More The Writer’s Favorite Book…
by Jim
I wanted to ask you about chapters. I’m heavily into the re-write of mine. I’ve been putting a lot more detail which means some of my chapters have become a lot bigger. In your view what’s the maximum word count for a chapter? Is it okay to have a 3k or even 5k one if it works? -Eric Hi Eric, There really is no … Read More The Non-Written Not-Rule on Paragraph Length
by Jim
Let’s face it, we’re all fed up with sequels and prequels, right? Once a story is over, there’s nothing wrong with declaring a happily ever after and leaving it at that. Once a story is concluded, the heroes have been through enough, and it’s time to move on to bigger and better things so they can live out their days in peace. So … Read More Follow-ups, Their Direction, and Why We’ll Never Get Away From Them.
by Jim
Hi Jim, I just had a quick question. I finished reading the Magnifica series and was wondering if you planned on going any further with it? I know the series is a couple of years old at this point, but I liked it and was wondering if we’d see these characters again. Thanks, John Hi John, I’d love to revisit Magnifica at some … Read More The Future of Magnifica
James Harringtons Creative Work 