Category Archives: How-to (Fiction)
Everybody To Their Limits
It’s been rather a while since I updated here, and some of you may be wondering why. Well, I recently suffered a strain injury in an anterior tentacle in a painful location, and it rather turned my life upside down … Continue reading
Less Rules, More Tools – Scene and Summary
In my previous (warm, witty, unforgettable) blog post, I compared two models for analyzing narrative: the classic rising-stakes model taught in nearly every secondary school, and a more flexible system outlined by Robin D. Laws in Hamlet’s Hit Points. I … Continue reading
Engines revisited
I ran across an interesting post the other day on Patricia C. Wrede’s blog, particularly interesting for anyone who remembers my blog post on the engines of a story. Wrede’s post doesn’t use the term “engines,” of course, but if … Continue reading
Ordering in fiction: looking at Star Wars “Machete Order”
Unless you either: a) have never seen the Star Wars movies and want to avoid spoilers for when you do watch them, or; b) absolutely loathe the Star Wars movies and could not stand reading anything at all about them; then I … Continue reading
Gentlewriters, start your engines
Recently, an e-book came to my attention under circumstances which hinted that it might, uh… not be written very well. I’m sorry to report that the hints weren’t mistaken, either. I don’t plan to name the book or its author, … Continue reading
Outlining, sizzle reel style
Today I conducted a solo walking/dining/shopping/relaxing expedition to a nearby metropolis, and reaped big rewards! Like, more than just a Monsters Crash the Pajama Party DVD with two pairs of 3-D glasses; I now have a somewhat rough but complete … Continue reading
Striking the right chord
Here’s the not-very-helpful advice you’ll get when you first start trying to write melodies for songs: “Sure you can do it! Here’s how you do it: just try lots of combinations of notes until you find some that sound good … Continue reading
JDC's Little Hill 