Romantic relationships are a part of being human.
Not every novel needs a romantic subplot. But given enough time and depth, most characters will develop that side of their lives. If we’re ignoring love, we aren’t writing fully realized characters.
If we as writers can tap into the allure and mystery of romance, we have the opportunity to evoke more powerful and compelling emotions through our stories.
Here are five tips for making this happen:
“I don’t really like Fantasy or Science Fiction, but I think I’ll write stories in those genres anyway.”
-No one
This month I decided to participate in NaNoWriMo. It had been a while since I had written anything, and I felt like it would be a good opportunity to try.
Then life happened…a lot. And, long story short, the only way I’m going to make 50,000 words is if I change direction and write a graphic novel where I draw 50 pictures. Get it? Because a picture is worth a thousand words. Sorry, bad joke.
The good news is that I do have a story, and a mythology. I even have some characters. I’ve done some of the foot work. And, one of the exercises that accomplished this for me is that I pulled from my inner-fanboy.
In a previous article some time ago, I wrote about developing a character named Breldin, and how I created his home setting, the town of Trindall Grove, based on the way I wanted to shape his personality over the life that he’s lived.
I want to take this moment to return to Trindall Grove in order to reflect on Breldin’s villains, and to discuss the way I’ve designed them to push his personality as the story goes forward. I hope this can serve as a case study for other writers developing their own characters.
Breldin is a young fruit picker fascinated with the subtle magics which ripple through the forest garden surrounding his home. But the water of a dark lake corrupts many of the region’s animals, warping their appearance and instilling them with bouts of insane frenzy.
This article is by Steven M. Long.
Everybody outlines. The second a writer imagines one scene following another, that writer is creating an outline, even if the outline is incomplete and only in their head.
Referring to a novel writer as an “outliner” usually indicates someone who feels more comfortable with and sees the benefits of knowing – sometimes in great detail – where their novel is headed.
As you can probably guess, I outline, and over the time I’ve been writing novels (I’ve written four, two of them pretty good) I’ve been told repeatedly that I should just “let it go” and that I’m “ruining my creative process.” As often as not, these comments come from people who’ve never finished a novel.
This article is by K.M. Weiland.
“Plot vs. character”—we hear it all the time, as if the two were mutually exclusive. Either your book is plot-driven or character-driven. Can’t possibly be both, right?
And anytime we run afoul of an either/or conundrum, you gotta know people are going to start believing one or the other is not only the best way, but even the only way to write a book.
Let’s consider this a little more microscopically. What would it take to make one or the other of these combatants “more important” than the other?
Recently at Mythic Scribes, we’ve enjoyed some exceptional articles on world building. I have incorporated tips from several already, with noticeable improvements in my organization and productivity in this challenging craft.
This process has also led me deeper into my worlds. In fact, lately I have been almost overwhelmed by all I have yet to discover about them—let alone communicate to my audience.
Faced with the gargantuan task of immersing readers in a whole world, one novel seems kind of, well, puny.
So I asked myself: “How can I redistribute that burden?”
The second issue of our fantasy magazine, Myths Inscribed, is now available. Once again, the quality of the writing is first-rate, and the stories are really fresh. This issue features the following original stories: Ogre by Tristan Gregory Abuse of Power by Brian W. Foster [part 2 of 2] The Diablarist by Anita Howitt The … Read more
I’m pleased to announce the launch of Myths Inscribed, an online fantasy magazine created by members of Mythic Scribes. The purpose of the magazine is to provide a venue for quality fantasy writing of all sorts—with a very broad interpretation of “fantasy.” Our first issue features original stories from Benjamin Clayborne, Alice Leiper, K.R. Foster, … Read more
