Character Names that Mean Something
Sometimes it’s hard to think of a good name for a character, location, or object. When I first started writing, I would ponder for days, sometimes weeks, trying to find the right name. Once I got on...
View ArticleWorld Building Tools
A guest post by Joshua David Bennett. In fifth grade, I wrote my very first story about a raccoon space pirate named Bucky. Way before Guardians of the Galaxy, Bucky was breaking new ground for...
View ArticleResearching it Old School and a Little New
Louis L’Amour talked to every “old timer” he could find so that he could accurately portray how folks used to live in the old west. Nowadays most writers just turn to the Internet. There are great,...
View ArticleOrbit Xplorer
A guest post by Doug Dandridge. I was going to write a post about Ginger, a software program that helps writers find errors in their manuscripts. However, Ginger changed their interface to the point...
View ArticleWorld Building in Dark Fiction
Guest Post by Pamela K. Kinney Whether your tale is set in a real place or an imagined one, you need to establish your characters’ world so that the reader can suspend disbelief and fully engage with...
View ArticleThe Semi-True Story
I gave a copy of Fossil Lake: An Anthology of the Aberrant to my parents with a proviso attached: it’s not autobiographical. The assumption would be easy enough to make. My contribution to Fossil Lake,...
View ArticleFor Me
For me, writing comes naturally. Writing well takes work. I decided this year was the year to take a step back and evaluate how well I write. Although reading is a great way to learn about writing, an...
View ArticleThe Unconscious Autobiography
It’s been said, and I’m sure you’ve heard it before, that all characters in a story have a bit of the author in them. Everything you write is colored by your personal preconceptions, observations,...
View ArticleScientist or Writer? Why Not Both!
You wouldn’t believe how many times people have told me that I couldn’t possibly be a writer. NO! Nathan, you’re an engineer, a scientist. And everybody knows that those sciencey types aren’t creative....
View ArticleWill Build Worlds for Spare Change
A Guest Post by Sonia Orin Lyris In this month’s theme of work-life-balance, author Sonia Orin Lyris tells us how a real-life encounter with an historian influenced the details in her novel. Sometimes...
View ArticleWorldbuilding in the Final Frontier
A guest blog by David Heyman. As a reader and writer of fantasy, I am strongly drawn to stories that emphasize worldbuilding. I think it’s a fascinating process: creating a living breathing world, real...
View ArticleThe Devil is in the Details
A Guest Post by Karen Pellett What makes a great story? For me it is the details. A story is the sum of its parts. It is an amalgamation of plot, character, dialogue and imagination, but it all comes...
View ArticleCan’t Take the Sky From Me!
A couple months ago, I had the pleasure of introducing my girlfriend to one of my favorite fandoms — the Firefly TV series. We shared a bottle of wine and watched the first few episodes together while...
View ArticleMisconceptions About Terrorism
Guest Post by John D. Payne I first learned about terrorism from fiction. My introduction may have come sitting on the couch with my dad, cheering as Chuck Norris shot motorcycle missiles at Arab...
View ArticleOn Writing Crime Scenes
Guest post by Marta Sprout. Developing crime scenes that are both intriguing and realistic is a delicate balance. Popular TV shows are notorious for depicting scenes that are dramatic, but anyone in...
View ArticleScience Fact and Science Fiction (Part 1)
Many of the people with whom I’ve shared both aspects of my life are surprised by the dichotomy. I aspire to being a best-selling writer, and yet work as a professional scientist. I take writing...
View ArticleScience Fact and Science Fiction (Part 2)
Yesterday, we talked about what sort of people become scientists and how they think. If you missed Part 1 of Science Fact and Science Fiction, be sure to go read that first. And now, back to the list...
View ArticleGenre Frappé
All month long, the Fictorians have been posting articles on mixing several genres together to make a book more interesting or to entice a wider audience. Here are two outside-the-mainstream ideas for...
View ArticleDon’t be Diss’n the Myth
A guest post by T.L. Smith. “One man’s myth is another man’s religion.” Many variations of this quote exists, so I won’t try to figure out who said it first. I only bring it up because that’s a popular...
View ArticleThe Genius of Mistborn
While I was working with Brandon Sanders at Salt Lake Comic Con a couple years ago, a fan asked him what his favorite book was. “Les Miserables,” he shot back without hesitation. Mine too. I read the...
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