Category: The Process of Writing
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A matter of scale
Originally, the Urban Dragon books were commissioned by Cliffhanger Press, and that meant I needed to write them according to a very particular set of instructions. Among those instructions was a wordcount: each of the nine stories had to fall between 18,000 and 25,000 words, and so I got very…
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On Questionnaires
I’ve been on the writing corner of the internet for a while now, and I’ve got a long, involved history with questionnaires. Whether you’re crafting a single roleplaying OC or an entire world, you’ll find thousands of lists full of all sorts of questions. Those lists can be super short…
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Character Creation: all in the family
In my first sketches of this current WIP, the protagonist was one of two children born to a single mother. The family began and ended there; these three were each other’s whole world, and nothing mattered but each other. It’s a very American family structure, which isn’t a bad thing–…
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“But what’s my motivation?”
It’s a go-to joke that’s so old that you rarely see an actor depicted who doesn’t spout the line, but it really is important. Every character needs a reason why they do things. Is the villainous henchman a true believer, or like in Iron Man 3, doe he only work…
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The Importance of Place
Where does a story take place? Sometimes, giving a story’s location is unavoidable. If a story takes place in outer space, on Mars, or in Wonderland, the laws of physics might affect the characters completely differently than they would on Earth. But sometimes it’s not so simple. I’ve had conversations…
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Why secret identities make me see red
(Note: there are some vague spoilers for Daredevil and other titles in the MCU. I don’t get into too many specifics, but you have been warned.) I was watching the most recent season of Daredevil, and something struck me as off. It was surprising– I really enjoyed the first season,…
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Characters: too many or too few?
A well-respected bit of writing advice says you should limit the characters you introduce to your reader. Some have argued that you shouldn’t introduce more than five in the first chapter; others say you shouldn’t introduce more than two or three at any given time. It’s good advice. Having worked…
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When rules can be broken
Let’s start with an old grammar joke. Two women are sitting next to each other on a train. The first turns to the second and asks “So where are you from?” The second sniffs. “I’m from a place where we do not end a sentence with a preposition.” Ever the…
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Why writing rules are so hard
Depending on who you ask, there are six rules for proper use of a comma or sixteen. Depending on who you ask, numbers should be written out or typed as numerals, or written out and then typed as numerals inside of parentheses. Why? What’s up with these rules? What’s the point, and…
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