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For those of you who haven't noticed, I'm a writer. And, as a writer, I have an interest in both the art and the craft of writing: from paragraph length to creative use of punctuation to the proper rules of characterization and description. At my StoriesOnline blog I posted a series of rants on various topics, and have decided to archive them here. The motivations behind this were threefold. First off (as mentioned), I care about writing, about doing it well, and about helping others do it well. For no other reason I do peer editing on Literotica. Second, it gives me a chance to show off. I'm no small amount of smart-ass, and like most writers I like to hear myself talk. My hope is that I can at least say something interesting and useful while I do so. And thirdly, it gives you, The Reader, a chance to see "behind the curtain" as it were. Why do I construct tales the way I do? What bothers me about the fiction I see (and, relatedly, what will you probably never see me write)? This is my site's DVD Commentary. I hope you find it worthwhile. In no particular order: On Wide Characters Ever met a person who never gets mad (or stops being mad), or always cries (or never cries), or never loses patience (or always has infinite patience)? No? But we accept that our characters can and should be like that all the time. Let's fix that, shall we? On Applied Realism, Part One and Part Two "Applied Realism" was my name for Deconstruction, back before I realized that was what I was talking about. These articles are more about why I'm so obsessed with unflinching realism. On Science-Fiction Fiction is much more reliable than psychics at predicting the future. Science-fiction, which concerns the implications of technology, is even better. On Dialogue You just know when it doesn't sound right, don't you. Well, maybe it's something worth learning. On Punctuation Picking the perfect word can take forever. Getting the perfect punctuation mark in the perfect place is much easier. Maybe it's something worth learning. On Earning Your Cliches There is nothing new under the sun. Unless you make it seem and sound new. On First Impressions of Characters Making a good first impression can be hard. If The Reader needs to be attracted to that character, it's even harder. Here's a way to handle that moment. On Static Male Protagonists One of the easiest pitfalls to fall into if you write erotica: writing a male lead who never changes because he's already perfect. On Character Development I had an insight on the topic that inspired this one. I know what it is, but I think most people don't. So I'm here to change our understanding of what it is. On Being a Writer of Color This is my confessional booth. On The Moral Obligation of the Writer, Part One and Part Two Here I pontificate and bluster, even more than I did with my Sci-Fi rant (which The Night Hawk of EWP held up as an example of someone who's totally stuffed up). But the truth is, this stuff concerns me. And that's why I talk about it. On Perfectionism A truth for you: if you're not a perfectionist, you'll never get anywhere. Here's why... And how it's actually much easier to be one than you thought. |