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This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
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This will be a blog for my writing, maybe with (too much) personal thrown in. I am hoping it will be a little more interactive, with me answering questions, helping out and whatnot. It follows on from the old one, which is now full. An index of topics from old and new can be found here: "Writing Blog No.2 Index"  Feel free to comment and interact. And to suggest topics! |
| Writing Historical Fiction â Basics AbbyAG asked about how to write historical fiction because they like reading it. As such, I reached out to a friend who does just that. Her first book I was fortunate enough to be a beta reader for, set in the Australian Gold Rush. As such, she suggested for people just beginning to write in the genre the following as a nice way to cut your teeth: 1) Choose the historical period. Of course, this is logical, but it must be the first thing you do. It always works better if it is one you really like already and have some knowledge of. To write historical fiction, you need to be invested, because readers will be invested. They will know if you mixed up Georgian with Victorian England. So pick one period and make sure it is one you can mentally inhabit for a long time and be happy there. 2) Research some of the important events of the period. This is where you look at the big events that happened. These are easy enough to find, especially looking at popular periods. But you need to be aware of how the events are linked. For example, the creation of the English Doomsday Book comes from the victory of William in 1066, which came from Harald having already faced his brother and Vikings before facing William, which came from Harald giving his brother up to maintain peace⌠All of this is going to inform your story and the time period you choose! 3) Research the minutiae This is when you look at the things that made that period what it was, and different to our own world. This is where historical fiction writers often lose themselves; they love the research aspect of looking at the small details of everything about their time period. And this affection shows through in their work. My friend does warn that researching a period must also involve food and the words they used. That is where most historical fiction falls down. People are great at researching events, places, clothing, weapons, jobs, etc., but those two aspects become anachronistic in too many works. The further back you go, the more you need to make sure the words mean what you think they mean. Some words today have a different meaning even compared to Medieval times! Then you can go in two ways... 3a) Write about a family/ person greatly affected by one of these events This is taking someone from the lower or middle classes and how the event you have decided to focus on affects them. You invent your characters whole-cloth and set them into your realistic time period. or 3b) Choose a famous person involved in a historical event and invent a character who is in close proximity and helps them out. This will involve even more research because you will need to get the historical character as close to how the records indicate they were as possible, and their actions and reactions will have to match them, but it is also putting your character in the heart of a great event, so engaging your reader more. My friend recommends that you start with a short story or two with the same character. This will get you used to writing in the period without worrying about filling out a whole novel. It will help get your research chops down, and give you a chance to focus on one or two aspects first. She says you can then take one of these shorts and use it to extend if you want to write a longer work, because you are already in that character/ event. The short story can even become a prologue or the like. Of course, she points out, this is her suggestion, and a longer work, once you have incorporating the research stuff into a story down, can be brand new. I hope that helps someone. |
| Tell, Donât Show Now, youâve probably read that and thought, Well, Stevenâs lost it. Surely itâs the other way around! Well, no. Not all the time. This is when not to use show, but to instead rely on tell. 1) A short story Short stories can be any length under a specific word count (under 12,500 words is the definition I tend to use), and that is great. But if you have a market for a short story, the chances are it is going to be much more limiting. So, the markets I tend to submit to have a maximum word count of 5k-6k words., some as low as 4k. Sometimes, to not exceed the word count and to make a story therefore sellable, we will need to tell some of the events and not show them. 2)A recount You have character A spend an entire chapter watching the enemy army, noting what they are doing. They return to the camp and character B asks them what they saw. A quick recount is all that is needed, not the complete show of everything A said. It is not only boring, but a repeat of what we, the readers, have already experienced. 3) A jump Character C is woken by a strange noise, and we are shown how they feel about this. But we then want to show that the rest of the morning is fine until an event at lunch in the work staff-room. Telling us the details of the day that show the mundane without getting into the emotional nitty-gritty is perfectly fine. It does not affect the story, and allows us to get to the next interesting point smoother and without drawing things out. 4) A repetition avoidance When we, the writer, know that what we are about to describe and show is very close to something we have already written because of similar events, emotions, etc., then it is fine to tell us that it is a repeat and to not go over old ground. 5) A means of hiding We do not want one of our characters to be known to the reader. Their motivations, thoughts, feelings, etc., are supposed to be hidden from the reader because we want them to be completely unknown. The mysterious entity, the inhuman entity, a being that is too different from humans to make sense; or we just want them to be in the shadows. So, when it comes to their actions, we just tell the reader what they do and let the reader wonder⌠So, there we are â five times when telling can be better than showing. Now, in most cases you are definitely going to want to show, not tell. But sometimes⌠sometimes rules are made to be broken. |
| Positive Info-Dumping At times, I have said that we should avoid info-dumps. It can be boring to a reader, and can slow the narrative flow to a crawl. But sometimes an info-dump is necessary because otherwise your reader will become lost. So, in these cases, we need to info-dump. But when? And how? 1) We need a receiver The info-dump generally cannot just be there in the text. It works better if someone is telling another character things they donât know, or if a character is remembering all the information. For example, theyâve reached a town, and theyâre trying to remember everything about it. Or an old priest is explaining the world to a young acolyte in terms of their religion. Or a soldier is warning the adventurers about what lies ahead. 2) We need relevance The information we are getting needs to be vital to the story. Why info-dump the history of the mouse-gods of Owl Mountain if it is only in passing? But if they are going to steal the Ruby of the Rat Ruler from the mouse-gods of Owl Mountain, then that information becomes vital. The town the character is remembering is now the scene for all the action. The acolyte did not realise how complex the religion was and is now doubting their choice of vocation. The adventurers think the soldierâs story means there is fame to be had. 3) We donât necessarily need everything The things that are important should be there, but leaving some things to be discovered can add little plot twists, or maybe the information is not entirely correct through misunderstanding, or anything else. Adding that hint of doubt can make the reader more invested. So the character forgets that the tavern is beside a barracks, and the soldiers they are trying to avoid drink there all the time. Or the acolyte discovers that the image of the gods of their religion is wrong when they encounter an avatar. Or the adventurers discover when the soldier said ten living trees, he meant a hundred. 4) Limit how many we get We do not need an info-dump about each and every thing the characters encounter. Just where having that information will make the reader follow along much easier. How long should an info-dump be? There is no answer to this. If you find it too long, then it is too long. If your beta reader says it dragged, then it is too long. But, then again, if your beta reader says they needed more to understand it, then extend it. So, yes, info-dumps can be tedious and skippable. But if used correctly, they can actually enhance a piece of writing. Just donât do one every three pages. |
| Novel #30 Back to the novels! In 2012-2013, having given up work as a teacher to be a stay-at-home dad, I studied a Diploma of Professional Writing at TAFE (sort of Australiaâs version of vocational college). When I finished the course, well⌠letâs just say it added another piece of paper to my resume. Anywho, the final subject I had was what is called a ânegotiated projectâ, where the student gets to pick what they want to do, within some very strict parameters. Minimum word count, had to be a complete piece, things like that. I decided to write a novel. They said I could not do it in the 20-week semester. I said I could. They agreed, thinking Iâd fail, and have to redo the subject, and so pay them more money. Three weeks later, it was done. It was a return to the horror-thriller genre I keep on going back to, and it is not the most brilliant piece of work. But 22 days to write it. My lecturer and tutor â who had been keeping tabs by me doing a document share at the end of each day â had never seen anything like it and I got a high distinction at full marks. Corporal Works Without Mercy is a 60,000 word novel that flowed out once it started. Basically, the story involves a group of teenagers who try a Satanic ritual as something to do, it seems to go wrong, and they go home. Seven years later, it comes back to haunt them (quite literally). Using the seven Corporal Works of Mercy of Catholic belief, a demon is killing or destroying the lives of these people. Some nice gore, a couple of decent characters, and a surprisingly upbeat ending, a lot of religious iconography. But it is not a wonderful piece. The feedback was minimal from the TAFE people â I donât think they had been ready for someone to just produce something like this so quickly. I took their feedback on board, made a few changes and then gave it to my then-beta reader. She hated it. Iâd forgotten she was Catholic. So I gave it to someone else, made a few more changes, and thought it might be ready I have submitted it a few times, but with no success. Obviously. One publisher recommended I really up the gore, but to me it does not feel like that would fit the story. And then, out of the blue, it was accepted by Little Demon Books after the success of Patch Of Green, but the company went bust before it could be published ⌠owing me money! Okay, so hereâs the excerpt. And it was a little challenging to find a decent bit. Not for the first time⌠Excerpt: CHAPTER 11 Laura sat on one of the hard plastic seats in the hospital cafeteria, drinking a foam cup of horrid, lukewarm coffee, trying very hard not to think about the reason she was in this place tonight. She looked up as the chair on the opposite of the small table was scraped across the hard floor. Mrs Greene, Joelâs mother, sat down with her own cup, but said nothing. âHow is he?â Laura asked quietly. âNot too good,â she said, barely controlling her emotions. âHeâs conscious now, butâŚâ She was struggling. âOne of his hands is pretty badly burnt, and heâs got broken ribs. They think he might have damage to his lungs as well. Heâs got a few stitches in his head, bruises everywhere. He looksâŚâ She started to cry. âNo,â Laura said again, âhow is he?â She shook her head. âHe wonât talk. When he found out that Justine didnât⌠didnât⌠make it⌠didnât⌠he, well, heâŚâ The tears really flowed down her cheeks now. âHe doesnât want any visitors. Not me, not his dad, no-one. Itâs like this has killed him inside.â Laura did not know what to say. Just one more thing to add to everything else. She looked up, past the crying woman sitting in front of her at the glass wall of the cafeteria and the people wandering past. No-one smiled. It was just a conveyor belt of depression. A place of pain and anger and sadness. Her eyes widened. The figure that strode past was one she knew â the long sheet of black hair, lithe figure, black clothing. Eve was here as well? Her chest felt like a hand grasped her heart and squeezed it tight. She had to do something. But what? So, while I am down on it, the fact LDB did like it and wanted it to be a follow-up novel tells me there must be something there beyond me being so down on it. So, this might be another one that needs a new beta reader and then should be sent out into the wide blue yonder of cyberspace to see if it can get another life. You never know. |
| Hemingwayâs Iceberg Now, I have brought this up before, but someone asked me about it recently, and so I thought Iâd do a whole post about this: Hemingwayâs Iceberg on Info-dumping! So, basically, Hemingway reckoned you should do a heap of research or character development or world-building. An absolutele heap. And then you should not include seven-eighths of all that hard work. The tip, that top one-eighth, that is all you see of an iceberg in the ocean should be also all you see of your research. However, there is a catch. Most astute readers will work out if you do not actually know that other seven-eighths. They have a âfeelingâ that the writing lacks substance. To continue with the frozen water metaphor, instead of being an ice-berg, itâs just an ice floe travelling free and merry. In fact, Hemingway called it the âTheory of Omission.â He wrote that he believed he could tell the quality of a written piece by looking at the quality of what was omitted from the final work. If a beta reader still gets the story completely without all the stuff you have omitted, then it was not necessary at all. Info-dumps can also slow the narrative down to a snailâs pace, breaking the readerâs enjoyment of a story. Of course, if there is no information, then the reader can be confused. One-eighth; thatâs all you need. Stephen King said that a second draft should be 10% shorter than the first, and a lot of the stuff deleted is the extraneous information that makes a writer feel clever but bores the pants off the reader. You just have to brave enough to cull what is not necessary. Part of the problem is when a writer writes a 3-page character study of each MC and yet only a paragraph fits in. Or they write a 5k word essay on the land they have created, but five paragraphs spread through the book is all that is needed. Writers have done this work and â dagnabbit! â they are going to show the world how clever they are. But remember seven-eighths hidden⌠and the fact readers will know if that unseen seven-eighths is not there. |
| YouTube Channel Suggestions So, Schnujo keeps on coming up with ideas for my columns. Now she wants to know the YouTube people I watch that I find good for my writing. I went through my way too long list of subscribed channels and found 12 that I use either often or occasionally. That is a nice number, so I have included them all here. Now, not all of these are going to be for everyone. Some will find 7 hour long videos too much to deal with; others will find 15 minute lessons dull; still others will find 15 minute bouts of negativity too mentally distracting. But I think there could be something here for everyone. Storied A decent look at not only the history of words, but elements of mythology and how they developed over time. Great for world-building and etymology nerds (and so developing my own languages). RobWords This is all etymology-based, but that also brings up a lot of historical context. Again, world-building and language development. Dominic Noble Compares books to the movie adaptations, looks at books and what can go wrong with them, can be negative and is sarky British, but I find Dom very entertaining. Hello Future Me This is one of the better âhow toâ writing channels out there, especially when it comes to fantasy and science fiction. Making your stories logical is his whole thing. He also does some reviews, but the writing stuff is good. Krimson Rogue He dissects badly written books. Not just saying âthis is badâ but explaining in great detail why books are bad. This is using examples to help writers get out of bad tropes. I thanked him in the acknowledgements of my book Invasive Species because his advice helped me make it a better story. BookFox I do find BookFox a little dry but he knows his stuff. Some strong advice here, especially for writers at the start of their âjourney.â Writer Brandon McNulty A lot of his stuff is focused on movies, but it is very easily transferred across to writing as well. Comparisons of positive and negatives are where he shines. Jesterbell Jesterbell is more an opinion channel, from an actress and independent film-maker about what trends are not working in movies (and railing about popular culture), but this is also transferrable to writing. K.M. Weiland This is more a series of lessons, each following from the other, and so is great for beginners or people with specific issues. I tend to look at the videos where I need some brushing up, but I can see her being very good for those who are struggling. Brandon Sanderson The only well-known, big-selling writer whose channel I think is worth the time. He has a lot of advice and good things to say, and it is easy to get lost in what he talks about. Snarky Jay While mainly a pop culture critique site, her looks at what works and doesnât in movies can easily translate to books. She is also a great cosplayer. Jed Herne This is the newest channel I have found. Primarily about fantasy, he covers some of the same stuff as Hello Future Me, but there are enough differences to make him another channel I think is a great help. His advice also differs from many! So, there we go, a dozen YouTube channels that I do honestly think could be good for writers of all levels and experience! |
| Setting The Time Youâve written a great story set in the years you were a teenager. Youâve used your memory to fill in the gaps and add colour to an era that some readers might not have lived through, or might have been too old to see from that teenaged perspective. Your beta reader has a look and says, âWell, itâs sort of that year.â What? Youâve spent all this time! Whatâs wrong with it? Okay, first, donât rely on your memory! Memories are not infallible. What you think happened in 1992 could well have happened in 1999, and that changes everything. I thought they played Wilson Phillipsâ song âHold Onâ at our year 12 formal and I danced with Mel to it. Well, they couldnât have; it was released 2 years afterwards. So, just check with some research. But donât just rely on research. The book Ready Player One was clearly written by someone who lived in the 1980s, but who was not actively involved in the pop culture. It reads like a series of Wikipedia articles, not like a natural memory of someone who was involved. Itâs all well and good to state certain things because they were popular, but who were they popular with? âIâve Never Been To Meâ was huge in Australia; none of my friends liked it â it was bought by our mothers! It would be like someone in 2040 writing about 2010 and saying Susan Boyle was on every kidsâ mp3 player. She was popular, yes⌠but with older people. The kids were listening to Ke$ha, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, not an older woman from a singing TV show. In places where hiphop was more popular, they were probably listening to other artists. But Susan Boyle? Mum music. You cannot fake a recent time period! You need to have been there or know someone who was. Now, adding colour is all well and good. Pop culture references, clothing references, political references are all ways you can make the time seem realistic. Make sure you are being area and person specific, though. In Australia, disco was niche; in the 1970s, the kids were listening to pub rock, glam rock, Kiss and AC/DC. In 1981, girls across Australia had their hair cut in the âLady Diâ style; in the US they were doing the Farrah Fawcett big hair thing. In the 1990s, the US was really delving into the urban music scene and post-grunge; in the UK, Europop was taking a firm grip; In Australia, we stuck with last remnants of grunge and discovered local country. Ronald Reagan being president of the USA meant nothing to us in Australia. Having Bob Hawke be our prime minister, a man with a beer-drinking record, did. Now, some things were world-wide turning points. The Berlin Wall coming down in 1989, the Y2k bug fear (and, yes, it was real, they just got on top of it early) in 1999, COVID in 2020 â these are touchstones. Know what wasnât? Woodstock in 1969, the Challenger space shuttle explosion in 1986, the events of September 11, 2001. Why? Because they might have been in the news, and some fallout might have come the way of the rest of the world, but they were localised to the USA. That is something that needs to be remembered â the USA runs the media, but that does not mean the events in that country affect the rest of the world in the same deep, meaningful, cultural manner. This does make it difficult to write to a time period, but it does mean that when you are authentic, it will show through. Or you could simply have a character say, âI never thought 1988 would be like this!â |
| Novel #29 Yes, time for the next novel. This one was quite a departure for me. It has absolutely no spec fic themes at all. Whereas even Relick, which was a comedy adventure yarn, had religious fantasy elements about it, this one is nothing of the sort. Spandex Dreams clocks in at 51000 words, and is a comedy story. Straight forward comedy. It details the adventures of Tristan, a footballer kicked out of the game for being, basically, a moron, and who decides that professional wrestling is the best way for him to maintain fitness and keep in the public eye. Over the course of the book his attitude towards many things changes, and I like to think I have finally succeeded in showing a character grow in some way. Most wrestling books and stories focus on one of three things: * How great wrestling is if youâre at the top of the game; * How depressing it is for has-been wrestlers (and the film The Wrestler is probably the best example of this, with a story so well written and acted I think it was seriously robbed at the Academy Awards); * Or wrestling used as the back-drop for some tacky martial arts story (see Hulk Hoganâs deplorable No Holds Barred⌠or donât. In fact, donât. Itâs crap). I like to think that Spandex Dreams tells of the lower end independent wrestling promotions in an affectionate manner. And while the book is written as a humorous one, I donât think I put the wrestling down. And, for what itâs worth, I am really happy with this story. I like the characterisations, I like the action, I like the way the story unfolds. I think I didnât do a bad job with this one. I like it. It has been rejected 8 times so far. And I think this needs a genuine beta reader, not the two wrestlers who read it when it was first written. Excerpt: opening scene A brain fart. Thatâs what I had â a complete and utter brain fart. It was a brain fart on a grand scale. One minute Iâm running for the ball, the next Iâve thrown an opponent over my head and dropped a knee on his chest. I think he said something about my sister, a member of parliament and maybe a hamster, but I donât remember. All that mattered was he said something that I, strangely, found offensive enough to physically assault him. And the stupid thing is I donât even have a sister, just a brother. And his relationships with members of parliament and hamsters is unfortunately well known. Still, thereâs no denying it caused a brain fart, pure and simple. I guess if it had stopped there, I might have gotten away with a few weeksâ suspension, a hefty fine and maybe some community service. The football overlords are big on their community service â coaching underprivileged kids, giving lectures about not being silly to underprivileged kids, telling overprivileged kids to stop being arseholes towards underprivileged kids â as I have discovered more than once in the past when other minor, shall we say, indiscretions had occurred. It makes their money-hungry ignoring of the grass roots of their sport seem not so bad. But the problem was, it didnât stop there. I have this email quote on why Spandex Dreams was rejected at least one of the times: âit would be too difficult and would ruin the integrity of the story to eliminate the Australianisms throughout.â Still, I think this is a good book, an affectionate look at pro wrestling at the level I was involved with. In fact, one character is most definitely based on me. And the football player Tristan who narrates was based on a wrestler I trained with⌠and who went on to be in the WWE. I do think this one could well be a fun book for a publisher to take a risk on, and the Netflix series would be awesome (if I was allowed to do the casting). |
| 10 Essential Books For Writers This is an opinion piece! Some people say, "Why books? I got Internet!" Then why are you trying be a writer, doofus? So, this is my OPINION! Disclaimer over. Because I have been writing with something akin to vague success for so long, I get asked questions. And Schnujo reminded me of one that I get asked a surprisingly large amount. Now, this column I wrote for a different site, and I never transferred it across to WdC. So, here it is So, what is this surprising question? If there are any books I would recommend to help up and coming writers. In that vein, I would like to present the ten books I would recommend to writers. All ten I find useful, but the first three are possibly a little niche to be suitable for everyone. The other, seven, though⌠very important. 1) The Writerâs Complete Fantasy Reference by Writerâs Digest Books (1998; Writerâs Digest Books, Cincinnati, USA) The most niche of these books. But if you write fantasy, this is something you need. I use it often. To add a sense of realism to your fantasy, this book is essential. It explains the mechanics of things in fantasy settings â cultures, magic, economics, non-humans, clothing and war. The authors of each section do not talk down to the readers/writers, but explain things in a concise and logical way. An example is the diagram showing the parts of a suit of armour, so when you are describing this in a story, you can use the correct terminology. Okay, sure, you can find a lot of this information online, I understand that. But here it is all in one place, easy to cross-reference and you can use it offline. For fantasy writers â great resource. 2) How Not To Write A Novel by Sandra Newman & Howard Mittelmark (2008; Penguin Books, London, England) This niche book is for those who are looking at writer longer works of fiction. As a budding novelist (5 published, and, no, I donât do self-publishingâŚ), I have found this book a great resource. In a comedic manner â and it is quite funny â by the use of really bad passages of prose, it demonstrates the mistakes that too many writers make. One of them â being too clever with the use of words â was something I was guilty of, and this book made me go back and change a lot of what I had written⌠as in, 15 years of novel writing (at that stage) looked back on. Wow. Anyway, every single facet of the novel â character, plot, setting, voice, etc. â is looked at. If a writer wants to have a go at the longer form, this is the book they need. Not just novel, but novella, and definitely book series. Novelists should read this. Here's a full review: "20250407 Book Review â How Not To Write A Novel" .3) The Penguin Rhyming Dictionary by Rosalind Fergusson (1985; Penguin Books, London, UK) This is the last of the niche books. For people who write traditional or form-based poetry, or who write songs, or who write rhyming prose for children⌠actually, there are a lot of times a book giving you words that rhyme with the word you want could be very handy. This is something I use a lot. There are three caveats. First, you need to know what the words mean (in which case, you need a dictionary â see the next entry). Second, this is based on UK English pronunciation. For Australians, that is not a problem. For those in the USA, however, people need to be careful. Third, it works a little like a Thesaurus when finding the words you need, and some people find those awkward to use. I have not found one as comprehensive as this one â including online â and heartily recommend this. I know a number of song-writers and all but one use this. Important book. 4) A Dictionary It does not matter what sort it is, this is the main book a writer needs. You need a dictionary. If youâre not sure how a word is spelt, do not trust spell-check, look it up. Affect or effect? Look it up (affect is the verb; effect is the noun⌠except in very specific cases). Yes, there are some online ones that are fine (dictionary.com springs to mind), but too many are not, and the âNet is not always available. Get a paper one. Also, get one that suits your region. Now, I rarely use a dictionary, but if I do, it tends to be a US dictionary. I use this because I am Australian and I need to make sure I am using words culturally correctly. I do have an Oxford for my UK English and a Macquarie for my Australian, but I very rarely need them (not big-noting; itâs experience â I was an English teacher); the USA, though, I do have to check. And thatâs why a dictionary is so important. 5) Brysonâs Dictionary For Writers And Editors by Bill Bryson (1991; Broadway Books, New York, USA) Another dictionary? Well, this is the one where those little questions are answered. Things like affect/effect mentioned above are explained. And that is why this is so good. It is a clarification. There are sometimes just words without a meaning, which is to show how they are spelt. It does not cover everything â of course not â but it does cover the most common things. It is like a âcommon mistakes correctiveâ tome, and that is so very important. I pull it out occasionally just to clarify something, especially when someone has corrected me and I think theyâre wrong. Still, valuable work. 6) The Writerâs Source Book by Chris Sykes (2011; Hodder Education, London, UK) This is a basic âhow-to-writeâ book with one pretty big difference â the exercises are awesome! Every section, from character to plotting to dialogue to everything else, comes with a heap of exercises. The problem with a lot of writing books with exercises is that what they get you to do is dull or does not work (not all â Lillian Roseâs Cultivating Creativity has some fine exercises in it); this one they actually make sense in context of the ultimate goal, and quite a few are challenging. Iâve used a few of them as a teacher and they worked for all levels. There are also little highlighted bits of advice that could make a great list for every writer to just remind themselves of.7) The Elements Of Style (4th Edition) by William Strunk Jr and E.B. White (2000; Pearson Education, Boston, USA) This is a dry textbook. It covers similar ground to Brysonâs book in part, but also how to put a sentence together, some grammatical rules (which it appears Grammarly is yet to learn), how to put a paragraph together, form, etc. The thing about it is that it is not long; my copy is 85 pages. And so it has all the important technical information in a succinct, easily digestible form. I do know it can be boring, but this sort of thing is vital for any writer. Learn the basics; this book will help. There might be more recent editions, but 4th is what I have and it is fine. 8) Reverse Dictionary by Readerâs Digest (1989, reprinted with amendments 1996; Readerâs Digest, London, UK) Know what you want to describe, but canât find the word? This is the book for you! I mean it â this is the book for you! I use this a lot. A lot of entries, and with a lexicon of difficult words at the end, like a dictionary. Google can do the same thing, but Google is based on viewer algorithms and paid content, so a lot of the information cannot be trusted. This book has some great stuff; for example, your story includes a guy who likes fishing, in this dictionary, look up âfishing termsâ and there is a decent list. Simple. My copy is an Australian version, and I have been trying to get the US version (for reasons I have mentioned already). Still, a valuable resource. 9) Rogetâs Thesaurus (1972; College Books, London, UK) I use this book a lot. One thing about especially writing fiction is that using the same word over and over can be annoying and boring for readers, so you need to find different ways to say the same thing. That is where the Thesaurus comes into play. For example, I wrote a story where the colour red was an important element. Red, red, red, red, red⌠yeah. Red, crimson, scarlet, cardinal, vermillion, cherry, cerise⌠Now itâs interesting. See what I mean? Now, I know a thesaurus is often complex for some people to use. But with a bit of practice, it does become pretty much second nature. Oh, and while Iâm here â thesaurus has nothing to do with dinosaurs. âSaurosâ is Greek for lizard; âThesaurusâ is Latin for treasure. Different language. There are some online ones as well, and some are quite good. But we are not always able to be connected, and paper is right there. 10) On Writing by Stephen King (2000; Hodder & Stoughton, London, UK) This is the single most important writing book in my collection. The first 80 pages are an autobiography. Fine. But then we hit the âToolboxâ and âOn Writingâ parts of the book. The most important bits. I read these sections every couple of years or so. In 150-odd pages, he explains how to write, what tools you need (not just physical), how to make stories sing and then, so vital for me, how to edit. And edit properly. So very important. Anyway, hereâs some quotes to whet your appetite: âStopping a piece of work just because itâs hard, either emotionally or imaginatively, is a bad idea.â âThe most interesting situations can usually be expressed as a What-if question.â (This is how I write 90% of my stories â from a âwhat ifâŚ?â question.) âIf you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.â (The most important bit of advice for each and every writer.) This book is my inspiration. I wanted to be a Stephen King. I did not get there. But I am a writer, and Stephen King is one of the main people to thank for that. So, there you have it. If you want to be a writer, then these books are well worth your time. I will add one more thing, and this is something my son (who is at university at the moment) warned me of - a couple of online dictionaries and thesauruses are now changing to include definitions, synonyms from AI scraping. This means the language is being dumbed down seriously, and mistakes are made more and more. It just makes paper look even better. Good luck and good writing! |
| Character Jobs Your hero is an everyman type. They go about their lives like everyone else. They are not a millionaire, they are not a famous person, a musician, a writer, a self-employed clog-threeper. They have a job, earn a paycheck and live like everyone else. Then the story happens to them. What happens to their job? Do they get time off? Take sick leave? Take annual leave? Just not turn up? Get fired? How do they then get money for food, petrol, getting away from the Big Bad, helping the romantic interest? Okay, itâs fiction, what does it matter? Well, these little details can help with immersion. It was something that a review of Invasive Species said was a positive of that book â she was a snake-catcher and he was a teacher, and they continued to work throughout the events of the story. Their real lives, their jobs were impacted by the goings on, but they continued. Most of our stories are about real people with real lives, and they need real jobs⌠And it will also affect their personality. A Starbucks barista could be highly strung because they are dealing with morons who want everything so prescribed itâs like the barista needs a chemistry set. A road-worker is going to be exhausted. A truck-driver is going to have lower back and buttocks pain. A teacher is going to be confident speaking in front of others, but also might have different expectations of behaviour and be more rigid. It is more than just earning money; it is life changing. This is not only the main characters, but the secondary characters as well, and the tertiary ones. They need some sort of living that impacts their lives to make them more relatable. If you do character sheets, then include occupation, work times, work skills on it. Make it like a mini-CV. The worst genre for this, by the way, is traditional fantasy (as opposed to urban or magical realism). How do the heroes make a living? Heroing is not a particularly lucrative occupation. Gold-hunting, robbery, sure, but just out-and-out heroing? Not really. Oh, they belong to an army? Great! So theyâre AWOL. Mercenaries, then. Who is paying them and for what? Some thought might have to be put into this. How did they earn a living before going adventuring? Now, I have mentioned before that serfs would have their families punished for just leaving, but also remember there were no banks, so all their valuables would have to be carried with them. And do they have valuables? Is there money? What about bartering? And thatâs a whole different story. So take care when looking at the jobs your characters have. Itâs not throw-away; it is a part of who they are. |
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