Posts by Jedediah
Let's take Tolkien's Middle Earth, and the Lord of the Rings, as an illustration: Not beginning at the beginning At the very beginning, Eru created the spirits which would become the Valar, who w...
The Word "Legend" Evokes an Expectation Putting Legend into a title is fine, but it's a promise to your audience of something a bit larger-than-life. Given a title like "The Legend of [Protagonis...
Distance is carving off the incidental details It's not the size of the details, but their relevance to the story. In Cinderella, it matters that she scrubbed floors, and that her sisters were ug...
I would propose that there is a simple yardstick to measure whether your "supernatural" elements are making your story a fantasy story. Imagine stripping out the Sci-Fi elements and setting the st...
People want things A character is both more plausible and interesting if they have goals and desires which move them to a significant enough degree that the plot is impacted by those desires. Eve...
It's [not] a Conspiracy There are no simple, black-and-white rules to writing a perfect story; there is no secret. Writing is a complex endeavor, which different people approach in different ways...
Yes, if it's the Grinch A unique creature, which is the Manananggal (effectively THAT creature's name), should be capitalized. No, if it's a fairy Even if your creature is rare, if you are likel...
(Nearly) Everyone needs to be a writer Research mathematicians write papers. Corporate workers draft emails and reports. Software engineers write documentation. Basically any educated worker ne...
It actually takes very little to make a character unique It's not in the clothes, but it might be the clothes. It's not in the color or gender, but it might be the color or gender. But what do I...
A shepherd boy was bored of just watching sheep, so he cried out that there was a wolf, and the people from the nearby town came running to save him, but were angry when he laughed at them a...
Try stream of consciousness Fear is the most immediate of emotions. If you are not put into the moment, you don't really feel it. Consider: I was so scared; I thought I was going to die. C...
I would probably be categorized as a "discovery" writer. I certainly don't work from a formal outline, and only make occasional notes to remind myself of some particular minor detail or other I th...
It's absolutely fine to introduce a new POV late in a story IF: It's the POV of a now well-known character, whose motives were already a significant plot point, and the clarification of those mot...
When someone says that writing is good or bad, better or worse, is it merely a way to talk about whether something is popular, or interesting to you? Or is there more to it than that? Compare the...
In spirit I have struggled long to find A manner fit to hold my roiling thoughts; A way to slowly pour them to a mold - And happily that manner has been found. A writer long, inclined to stories...
