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Printed from https://shop.writing.com/main/newsletters/action/archives/id/3777-Series-Bible.html
Fantasy: June 02, 2010 Issue [#3777]

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Fantasy


 This week: Series Bible
  Edited by: Storm Machine Author IconMail Icon
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Table of Contents

1. About this Newsletter
2. A Word from our Sponsor
3. Letter from the Editor
4. Editor's Picks
5. A Word from Writing.Com
6. Ask & Answer
7. Removal instructions

About This Newsletter

I'm honored to be your Guest Editor this week.

All knowledge is worth having. ~Jacqueline Carey


Word from our sponsor

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Letter from the editor

The Series Bible


Series Bible  Open in new Window.

I think the series bible is more important in speculative fiction than it is in the more mainstream genres. The readers will roast you if you change a character's hair color mid-way through a series, but it's more difficult to remember a minor character's special power in the end if you haven't mentioned her for a hundred pages.

Why not just make up another character? Because it's messy. The story flows better to use the character already introduced. Here's another place a series bible will shine: when you need a plot twist, you know who can manufacture the necessary action by those you've already created.

The bible can also give you details on locations and timelines in history so you can come back to where you started, or show another facet of the setting later in the story. This is the great place to dump all the information you have picked up and researched and keep it out of the novel.

Why? The reader doesn't need to know all the details you picked up on windsurfing when figuring out how the characters need to get somewhere. Just enough to make it believable. The reader also doesn't need to know the finer points of living in a castle in the 1400s.

Never stop the story to describe the things. It was acceptable in the past, but today's readers want to get to the action. Let the details fill in the reader's needs as they need them, but don't be cryptic just to keep secrets. It's the fine line to walk as an author.


Editor's Picks

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Dawn of the Phoenix Open in new Window. (ASR)
Dust and ashes of the earth 'til the moment of rebirth.
#716865 by Davy Kraken Author IconMail Icon

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#855086 by Not Available.

Naming Fantasy People and Places Open in new Window. (E)
Do you have problems finding names for fantasy characters and/or places?
#1242209 by Ladyoz Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#355398 by Not Available.

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This item number is not valid.
#894790 by Not Available.

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#919344 by Not Available.

 Tips From The Pros Open in new Window. (E)
Advice from pro sci fi/fantasy authors
#879969 by Darshan1 Author IconMail Icon

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#766696 by Not Available.

 The Bug Open in new Window. (13+)
Insects spread a virus creating a pandemic of vampires.
#888872 by Kotaro Author IconMail Icon

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This item number is not valid.
#1634588 by Not Available.

 
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Word from Writing.Com

Have an opinion on what you've read here today? Then send the Editor feedback! Find an item that you think would be perfect for showcasing here? Submit it for consideration in the newsletter!
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Ask & Answer

espeon40
Thank you ever so much! I am so grateful for this piece of information that I will carefully print this out, pierce it into the wall, and catch a glimpse at it every day...until I will finally publish my own fairy tale...
I'm so glad to help! Keep trying!

LDSmom Author IconMail Icon
I really liked the advice in this newsletter. I try to put myself in my character's world and try to figure out a different way of saying things or describing things, because, in their world, they wouldn't know about our cliches. They would have their own little sayings, and sometimes you have to think out of the box to come up with it.
Do you ever wonder where the box went? I've been looking all over the place...

mattman95
top of the morning to you, just kidding, Great ideas of destroying cliches you really hit the nail on the head!
*Laugh* Thanks.

LJPC - the tortoise Author IconMail Icon
Hi Storm! Thanks for the great newsletter. The very first lines were a godsend to me. I've been writing chapters and was getting dispirited 'cause they are nowhere near as good as my beginning chapters. Just when I thought I'd 'lost it', you reminded me that you can save yourself in the revisions! Yay! {E:heart|} -- Laura
Go with the rewrites! They're worth the effort.

lcultraviolet_3 years on WDC! Author IconMail Icon
Hi Fantasy Newsletter,

How do you get recognised or reviewed for potential s the editor's pick?

Thanks

lcultraviolet

Oh, the tricky question. It's not easy to figure out what to choose for the newsletter, especially so many under 'Fantasy' are not appropriate to the Fantasy Newsletter. Perhaps it's a topic for another newsletter. I know Robert Waltz Author IconMail Icon has addressed it before.

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