December 25th, 2023
Artistic critique and preference are more complicated than "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" (wow!). Even when we cite surface level reasons for enjoying a story, a lot more is beneath the surface than that. Or shall I say, behind the looking glass.
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December 15th, 2023
Or if you’re tossing and turning at night asking yourself other questions like: What makes a good character? Are my characters fleshed out enough? Are my characters brave and stunning? Are they relatable? Enter your solution, character models!
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September 30th, 2023
Since I’ve easily spent more of my time as a writer writing fanfic than original work, I’m not gonna shit on it and call it cringe.. bc the real cringe is adults bullying teenage girls for having interests. That being said, there is room for nuance and criticism around how fanfic and fandom spaces affect authors and the literary scene. These critiques are angled at other hybrid authors of both types who may be thinking of doing more original work.
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September 23rd, 2023
Character interviews are a very open, flexible way of building a character. It helps develop their psychology, voice, their memories, and even material to be used in your book all at once! However, many interviews I have seen left me disappointed since they either explored superficial details (”What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”) or asked way too open questions (”What was the happiest day of your life?”). I made my own and my interview’s been a great help in building my characters.
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September 4th, 2023
Writing seems a lot more straightforward when you begin, or even think about beginning. When the going gets rough, a lot of frustration can build up. You can be looking for novel writing advice, courses, the whole nine yards bc your favorite project is getting NOWHERE and it is such a pain. But you may be trying to fit a square in a round hole.
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August 21st, 2023
My first rant! I'm pissed about elitism in enjoying things.
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August 14th, 2023
This is the sister post to Designing Magic Systems!
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August 6th, 2023
Magic systems have a number of unique features to consider in as much or little depth as you want! In this article I'll cover limitations, limit ceilings, and costs.
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July 24th, 2023
Stakes and tension are intertwined and the backbone of conflict. Stakes are what is at threat in a story if action isn't taken to avoid them. Tension is a writer's ability to lead up to and dramatize important moments. Tension, in essence, comes from the presence of stakes, which need to be believable to the reader. And most storytelling modern day Westerners like myself are familiar with is told from the perspective of a defined individual. Knowing that, here are some general categories I came up with:
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July 11th, 2023
This is a character developing concept I came up with for Oracle Bone. I think it would be particularly good for character-based narratives, especially ones where the different POV characters don't know each other beforehand. The basic concept of a singular relationship is to have characters have at least one unique person they have a relationship with. It is an opportunity to learn about their backstory and the different ways they socialize.
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July 2nd, 2023
Allow your characters to be fuckups. Total assholes, even. Flawed characters with redeeming qualities are more interesting and likeable than characters who are one-note good. Characters being likeable (morally agreeable, someone I could hang out with) is separate from them being likeable as in interesting to read about and understand (endearing).
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June 16th, 2023
Are you making a culture, a particularly violent or militaristic one? Awesome. Here's a list of questions to develop their strengths, weaknesses, and culture. I wanted to define 'combat-oriented culture' somewhat loosely, so it will apply to as many cases as possible. But to clarify, I mean a culture where combat is a crucial part of the culture.
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June 4th, 2023
Often when you're worldbuilding, you get tired of making shit up all the time. Or you are worried about the details of a particular situation and its ripple effect. You have a couple options for learning from world history:
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April 26th, 2023
So, you want to improve as an author. Unfortunately, art has no objective value and therefore, there is no One True Path to Good Work. But I run this blog for a reason so I won't stop there! There might not be one certain path, but the one of self understanding.
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