Sometimes everything just goes your way – characters chat like they’re real, plot points slide into place like lubed puzzle pieces, backstory surfaces subtley and effortlessley – oh who am I kidding! It’s hell all the time! Here are a couple of things that are worrying me this week. Read more…
It’s yearly-round-up-time! I much prefer this way of celebrating the new year to keeping your neighbours awake phoning everyone you know and yelling “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” at them, then keeping your crappy party music going until four in the morning. Read more…
You ever look over past projects and think, “how did I come up with this”!? That’s what I’ve just been doing, and it got me wondering… what are the story elements I use to kick-start a project? Read more…
I’m finishing off a draft and looking ahead to my next story. Picking through ideas I’ve got, I’m looking square in the eye of a fun story involving dinosaurs (yeah baby!) It’s way outside my normal style, which makes me consider how I dreamed it up in the first place. Read more…
Are you at the mercy of your Muse? Do you wake at night drenched in sweat, the icy fingers of a nightmare still clinging to your heart? A nightmare where you’re alone in a cold desert, digging in the dirt for just one idea (and you have no pants on)? Fear not, the Muse can be tamed! This is your oasis! Read more…
It is often said that a writer doesn’t necessarily know what his/her story is about when they start writing. It is sometimes said (normally in an English Literature class) that a writer doesn’t know what their story’s about when it’s finished, either. Another school of thought says that a writer should know what their story is about before they even start. Read more…
When I was a teenager, ideas came thick and fast. This stopped being the case long ago, but that doesn’t mean the ability to come up with new ideas is gone. Maybe I’m just out of practice. Read more…
Yes! Okay, so you can see I’ve already made my mind up. Maybe you want a little more though? Fine, come on in! Read more…
I recently, and unexpectedly asked myself this question of a “finished” story. I came to the conclusion that not only would I have to do a rewrite, but that “good enough” was not really good enough anyway! Read more…
Yes, I’m back on this again. Because over the past two weeks I have come to realise that there is a distinct gap between these two related ideas. So lets explore them shall we? Read more…