Tag: writing

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Hated Character!

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!

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Ruining my Childhood.

I’ve heard this phrase over and over. We saw it come to a height during the Ghostbusters debacle, but it’s been around since before and long after. Mostly, people who use this and similar phrases are mocked as being man-babies, among other less flattering things. What does the phrase mean? Well basically when you say that something is ruining your childhood, they’re saying that … Read More Ruining my Childhood.

The Nazis are Bad!

There seems to be a rather annoying trend… I won’t say recently because it’s been going on for years, which is why it’s getting annoying. This trend is something we see in all mediums and it follows the same basic formula: Bad Guy + Nazi Imagery = Effective Villain. That’s right… is your bad guy lacking in back story? Are they just not cutting … Read More The Nazis are Bad!

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Writing the Devil

So no one really asked me about this one, but it was a question that I thought I’d pose. Since most of my stories have a good vs. evil, religious, element to them (no they’re not preachy!), I thought I’d bring this up. How does one write the devil? Is there a right way? Is there a wrong way? Well… honestly I don’t know. … Read More Writing the Devil

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Writing Fantasy

I loved the Skyrim picture in the bottom… My request is: can you give me some advices about how to write a good fantasy story?. I`ve been writing since… forever, but I want to do things in a better way now. I apreciate the help. Thanks! Emaleth Hi Emaleth, Phew, that’s a loaded question. How to write a good fantasy… Well honestly what’s good … Read More Writing Fantasy

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Character Development… At First…

Hi Jim, I was wondering if you could comment on how much of an introduction we should give each of our characters? I’ve gotten a good description down, but how much time should we initially spend focused on the characters personality and traits before really diving into the story. Thanks, Adrienne Hi Adrienne, Good question and the answer is pretty straight forward; AS LITTLE … Read More Character Development… At First…

The Antihero

I’ve always loved the antihero character archetype. To me, the least interesting character has always been the main hero, the good guy, the knight in shining armor. All too often the good guy is the same basic formula; A naive individual called upon to take up a weapon (either literal or metaphorical) and go on a quest to vanquish evil. Throughout this quest s/he … Read More The Antihero

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Memorable Quotes

I have two quotes I’d like to share with you today. I’ve been thinking a lot lately about our current political climate in the United States, the Trek Against Trump disgrace, and a lot of my writing. Every time I think about the huge mess that doesn’t seem to have an end in sight, I hearken back to when I was a child and … Read More Memorable Quotes

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A Writer in Need.

Hi Jim. I have always wanted to share stories as I have so many in my head constantly, but all I want to do is write some and get feedback as to whether I should go for it or not. Any suggestions as to where I could post something? Please note I work so time is limited sometimes. -Maria nunes Hi Maria, Great question. … Read More A Writer in Need.

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Character Development

Hi Jim, I’m trying to come up with characters for my book. I was hoping you could maybe provide a little insight into how you came up with yours. I specifically liked Xaphine, could you use her as an example? Thanks, Rich. Hi Rich, General Xaphine seems to be a recurrent theme in character discussions… perhaps I should write her into another story. You … Read More Character Development

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Collaboration Gone Bad

Hi there! I saw your link on twitter and wanted to ask you a quick question. So I’ve been working with this friend on a political drama. Unfortunately we can never see eye to eye on anything. He’s a hard-left Liberal and I’m a fairly moderate Republican… or at least I try to be. Anyway, my problem is that we’re trying to write about … Read More Collaboration Gone Bad

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Just Start Over…

Hi Jim, I’m in a major bind… I was working on my latest piece. I’d been working on it for days and… forgot to save it. I was about 140 pages in and suddenly my computer blue-screened. I’ve lost everything and Word didn’t auto-save it. I’m not sure of what to do now. I feel like having to start from scratch is a fairly … Read More Just Start Over…