Tag Archives: fantasy

At least I remember to put them on!

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In the past, I’ve gone out with my top on backwards and never noticed it until I got home, and I almost went out once wearing my slippers.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not addlepated – or maybe I am – I’m not sure. No, it’s just that I have my mind elsewhere, I live in other worlds, other dimensions. All illusionary, certainly, I admit it’s all made up. But that’s the lure.

I can pick and choose everything – any adventure, any background, any set of heroes and enjoy with them all their challenges and successes. I can ride the waves of excitement, travel the galaxy, explore the unknown, then come back and write about what I’ve discovered and the feelings I’ve experienced.

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Middle of the Night Inspiration.

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That’s often the way it is – lying half awake, thoughts naturally turn towards your latest project, thoughts become words, words becomes sentences and some of it starts to sound pretty good.

At some point you become aware that there are pages forming here and if you don’t shift yourself into full wakefulness, get out of bed and go write it all down, you just might lose it.

So you drag yourself out of bed, doing your best to hang onto strings and threads and vague dialogue. Then while your computer powers up, you get the kettle on and wonder what time it is. 2:00 in the morning. That’d be right.

The cats go crazy. It’s romping time and if they’re lucky they get a middle-of-the-night snack. Why not, you think, it’ll keep them quiet. So you feed the cats while the kettle’s boiling and by the time the coffee is made, the computer has finished doing its updates and you can get working.

Now… What was it again?

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Body Language.

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Dialogue can be difficult and writers can be unhappy with their results, they’ve been inside characters’ heads, they know what they want to say and they say it, then they play with those words of dialogue because something just isn’t sitting right – No matter what they do, something is wrong, something is missing and they just can’t seem to clinch it.

It might not be the dialogue at all that’s causing the issue. It might be something that should be surrounding it and is often forgotten by writers more concerned with the message contained in the spoken word. Communication has many layers, so if you’re having trouble with writing dialogue, have you considered including body language?

People don’t just yammer at each other. They move, they stretch, they raise their eyebrows, smile, laugh or frown, fold their arms, slouch, flap their hands around, or drink, smoke, eat. Dialogue often happens on the move, walking down a street, crossing a shopping mall, or in a car or bus.

Adding body language and movement can fill the scene and give the reader more than dialogue alone. You don’t want your readers feeling they might as well be listening through the wall because they are unable to see anything. You want them in the room, at the table, or out on the street or in the taxi. You want your readers to be there. So, what are they going to see if they were present? Who does what while all this talk is going on?

Naturally enough, you don’t want all your characters flapping and twitching and moving and hopping about, but a touch of it here or there can make a huge difference to a scene. It can bring the scene to life. Not only can it reveal some of what is around the characters talking, it can also reveal attitudes and demeanor.

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A Writer’s 9 Essentials and 1 Optional for Going Out.

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  1. iPad (or some gadget to capture inspiration).
  2. Pen and notepad for when the battery runs out.
  3. Spare pen for when the ink runs out.
  4. Extra paper for when the paper runs out.
  5. Money for coffee.
  6. Money for more coffee.
  7. Money for when pens run out.
  8. Money for when paper runs out.
  9. Money for when coffee runs out.
  10. Clothing optional.

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Imagination the Great Implementer.

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There is no progress without imagination – None – Every innovation has come about because someone sat and thought for a time and worked out how something might work, then figured out how to create it.

From making fire and designing the wheel, all they way up to skyscrapers, computers and landing on the moon, imagination has been the thing that made it happen. It’s the most powerful tool we have. Hand-in-hand with manipulation, it’s a most destructive force used against mankind, but used kindly and openly, it’s our greatest provider.

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COMPETITION COMING SOON – HOW TO WIN!

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Be one of 4 lucky winners to win an autographed paperback of The Khekarian Threat!

I haven’t got the date yet, nor indeed the question (such things are in the hands of my Competition Organizer), but I can tell you that the answer lies somewhere in the first four chapters, which are FREE TO READ RIGHT HERE:

You can get a good head start and won’t have to panic read on the day. Shhh! Don’t tell him I told you!

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A Book is So Exciting – A Series is Even Better!

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Every story takes you on a journey. You will know roughly what sort of journey it will be, although you won’t know exactly where you will end up, nor what surprises await you, just that you are guaranteed a journey – The story and characters both might be bumpy or smooth, with twisty curves and great heights, or dead straight and direct – but whoever you meet and however long your journey is, reading a book and delving into worlds, adventures and situations unfamiliar to you is an adventure to be savored.

That, to me, is what makes picking up a book so exciting. You just don’t know what gem you might discover or what lasting impressions it will leave you with.

If you love the action you were thrown into and the people you encountered, then the adventure is even better if it is part of a series. Yes, you enjoyed the ending, the story closed, but there’s more yet and that’s got to be the greatest thing of all – seeing another doorway offering more to discover.

It won’t be the same journey but a new one, and this time you have a clue what the terrain will be like. This time you will be traveling with friends.

That’s my definition of a good book and a good series.

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A Writer’s Passion.

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The story forms out of passion and images, heart and mind and creativity weaving a world so tangible that it must be shared – has to be shared – because it really has become an amazing place.

In my darkest hour, when I truly thought my science fiction series would never see life in print, my biggest, deepest woe was that these worlds, these people would vanish with me when I died and no one would ever know their stories, their secrets, their tantalizing dreams.

It drives us all, all writers. It’s the passion to share the majesty within, something that has built over the years and grown into something whole and unique, something much bigger than we are – something that causes us to say, “I have something. It’s marvelous. Look!”

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The Hidden Depths of Writers.

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The non-writers around you do not understand the process – to them a writer is someone who sits at a desk every day, producing reams of wonderful prose that turn into a book within weeks or months, to then be quickly embraced by a publisher.

What they don’t understand is the creative process, the time and effort and dedication needed to grow your skillsets – there’s more to being a writer than writing.

Not only do you have to know how to put words together, you have to know how to put ideas together, as well. You have to have solutions, connections, the Why, the How, the What. You have to get character development, plots and backdrops all worked out. You have to have done your research on a multitude of thing, events, professions, and gain some understanding of the psychology and drives of the individuals you are writing about.

So years go by. Your friends and family show support to varying degrees, but they’re not seeing what you are seeing, and they’re not seeing what’s going on beneath the surface. They understand that you have a passion to write, they even see you occasionally scribbling away, but they also see not much actually accumulating.

Instead, they see you staring the skyline, seemingly distracted or noncommittal, which doesn’t look much like dedication. Dedication, of course, is exactly what they are seeing, they just don’t recognize it.

So words sneak into the conversation about how perhaps you should turn your attention to a ‘proper’ career or maybe give up this foolishness. Most writers have jobs, they have ‘proper’ careers, it’s just not where their heart is – and foolishness? These people read books, right? They watch movies, yeah? Why is it ‘foolish’ to think you can produce in this line? It isn’t foolish, and while it might not sound like it, most of your friends and family actually would like you to succeed.

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Writing – A Method of Survival.

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Believe it or not, I was a shy kid, I found it easier to express my emotions through my writing and my fiction became my strongest venting place.

If I was angry, I’d write angry scenes. If I was upset, I’d weep through the eyes of my characters. I explored emotions and reactions, searched for solutions, and distracted myself from my life, all through the written word.

I pretty well moved into my early stories and stayed there as long and as often as I could. I fell asleep each night, there in my fictional worlds. I woke and slipped within my story again before even getting out of bed. Then I wondered why I missed so much in school, why I didn’t hear instruction and why my report card always said, “Must try harder.”

Over the years I found my own strengths, founded in solid experience (much of it taken aboard for the sake of my writing), but still the habit remains – I automatically step inside my current story as easily as breathing, frequently throughout the day. It’s such a part of me now, I’d be lost if it ever went away.

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