Tag Archives: how

FIGHT ON!

HOW TO CREATE A BATTLE SEQUENCE

Free Digital Photos

For all the fantasy / thriller / sci-fi people out there, this post should be helpful — something to aid you in sorting out an intense battle sequence. If you’re anything like me, whenever I think about a large-scale fight, I tend to cringe. In fact, in The Pioneers Saga, there are several of such sequences, and there were times in my writing where I found myself skipping the fight scene so that I could get on to something that was a stronger writing point for me.

But after my escapism writing was done Continue reading →

I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT

2 Replies

HOW TO WRITE MORE FLUIDLY

Free Digital Photos

So, I wasn’t going to do this, but I decided against it because of how impressed with this program I am.

I have been writing for over a year now, and for months I scoured the internet looking for a writing app that was truly for writers! Continue reading →

AMAZON — UHH ALRIGHT…

4 Replies

HOW TO CHOOSE WHICH EBOOK VENDOR

Free Digital Photos

Figuring out exactly where to post your book may be a challenge at first. There are literally dozens of sites that have their hands out saying, “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” There’s Amazon, there’s Smashswords, there’s Barnes & Noble, there’s Kudo, there’s iBook, and a list of others that would virtually seem endless!

My preliminary experience has shown me that you should never post your book on a site that charges you to post. The ones listed above do not require a posting fee. There is a site (which I won’t mention since I’m not into bashing) that charges $5 to post. Continue reading →

WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE HOPE IS GONE

2 Replies

HOW TO CREATE THE UNEXPECTED HERO

Free Digital Photos

Looks like we’ll be sticking with the Mariah Carey song, “Hero.” There’s an amazing line that she uses in this song from so long ago: “When you feel like hope is gone, look inside you and be strong. Then you’ll finally see the truth, that a hero lies in you.”

The unexpected hero is the one who would not under any circumstances ever want to be a hero or a heroine. She would say no to saving the world as emphatically as a fifth grader would say “No” to drugs.

These types of heroes are becoming more common in literature, because readers want to feel greater than ordinary, and let’s admit it, we writers want to feel the same way.

Continue reading →

CALCULATED RISKS

4 Replies

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE RISKS THAT YOU’RE TAKING

Free Digital Photos

In writing, why are these events considered risks? What really are we risking? I mentioned the consequences of taking a risk earlier, but I believe that I’d like to express this point more explicitly.

When decisions are made that are contrary to a character’s…character (CHARACTER CHARACTER), you risk the writer’s currency: credibility. Credibility to a writer is what we use to purchase the reader’s attention. And trust me, an avid reader will expect nothing less. Continue reading →

FLASHER

FANTASTIC FANTASY

3 Replies

HOW TO WRITE BELIEVABLE FANTASY

Free Digital Photos

One of the dumbest ideas for a novel would have to come from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Think about it. Some kids go to a house where they’re not wanted and they find this wardrobe. After finding it, they realize that this glorious piece of bedroom furniture is enchanted. Not only that, but the wardrobe, if opened by the right people, has an entirely different world hidden within it called Narnia. That’s ridiculous!

But this is where it gets crazy. Continue reading →

READ THIS LIKE A BOOK

14 Replies

HOW TO GET RID OF CLICHÉS

Free Digital Photos

Let’s start the week off with a BANG! I don’t know about you, but wasn’t that the longest weekend in forever? One thing is for sure, it was hot as fire here in North Carolina, but I know that in other places it had to be as cold as ice.

Clichés, like the ones above, are weak, and whenever they are used, they skip off your reader’s brain like a stone on a lake. They never, ever, ever portray what you want.

Continue reading →

DANGLING THE BAIT

2 Replies

HOW TO ADD A BIT OF FORESHADOWING

Free Digital Photos

Ever watch the sixth sense? Ever watch it twice? Watching it the second time is so frustrating because you watch it and think, “How did I miss that?” We all should have known that he was dead the whole time, but we didn’t — at least most of us normal people didn’t.

I’m not a fan of M. Night, but he did this one well. The clues were there, and those clues hollered at you! But we missed it? Why? Because we were so engaged in the story that we missed the hints. They added up, but somewhere within our “sixth sense,” we should have known.

Continue reading →

WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS

5 Replies

HOW TO NOT TO USE HAD ALL THE TIME

FREE DIGITAL PHOTOS

I have recently been reading a book that’s an epic saga, and it’s not Twilight. Please don’t accuse me of that. Haha!

I won’t mention the saga because I may make several references to it that may be good or bad over the next few days. Perhaps later, I’ll reveal which one it is. But I’m not into bashing people’s work. That said, this isn’t a bash, as much as it is an observation. Continue reading →