This article is by Sarah Hood.
I know what you’re thinking: “Great, another article about clichés.”
Yes, I know. Google “clichés in writing” and most of what comes up tells you to avoid them. No, wait! Don’t hit that back button yet. I’m not going to tell you to avoid clichés. Because here’s the deal. You can’t avoid clichés.
If what I’ve heard is true, that there are only seven basic plots, then every one of them is cliché by now. And even if there are more than seven, you’d have to be a lot smarter than me to think up a plot that’s completely original.
I used to drive myself halfway to the psychiatric ward trying to come up with something that’s never been done before. I couldn’t do it.
Continue Reading »
Kingdom of Heaven
This article is by Joseph Zieja.
I’m an officer in the United States Air Force, and I’ve been wearing the uniform for ten years. I also write.
I’ve had pieces appear in Daily Science Fiction and some other anthologies across the web and in print. So I have a tiny bit of writing clout to back up my military experience, and you can lean on that when I tell you that there are a lot of mistakes in the way that writers portray the military in their fiction.
I therefore present to you the Top 5 Biggest Military Mistakes in Fiction, According to Joe Zieja. I’ll try my best to keep it to speculative fiction, since I know that’s who my audience is, but these mistakes extend to all genres.
One last warning: I’m from New Jersey. Hold on to your self-esteem.
Continue Reading »
Nimpentoad
This article is by Henry L. Herz.
When my sons were five and seven years old, I wanted to share my love of fantasy with them. Struck by inspiration one day, I came up with a way to share the joy of entering the magical realms of fantasy. I would write a fantasy book for them.
What I did not anticipate was that my boys would give me feedback on the story.
They devised some of the character (“Nimpentoad”) and creature (“Neebel”) names, and made plot line suggestions. And who better to help make the story appealing to kids than other kids? My sons also helped with the art direction. Our artist would give us a rough sketch, and we would provide feedback on details and color palette. My goal of interesting my sons in fantasy transformed into also encouraging them to participate in the creative process.
Continue Reading »
This article is by Terri Rochenski.
My love affair with the fantasy genre started at an early age when someone bought me and my older brother The Chronicles of Narnia seven book gift set. I read them ‘til they fell apart.
Literally.
I can’t tell you how many times I checked the backs of every closet in our large farm house, totally expecting to find Mr. Tumnus. Oh, the disappointment of finding fantasy is just that—fantasy. Make Believe.
I was introduced to The Hobbit in middle school. The first time I watched the original cartoon released in 1977, I was hooked. I gobbled up the LotR series within the following month. While I may not have understood the underlying moral lessons at that age, re-reads through the years cemented Middle Earth as my favorite daydream land.
Continue Reading »
This article is by Dr John Yeoman.
I knew I had to kill the wizard that night. Sure, I felt bad about it. Hadn’t he always been my buddy? But he shouldn’t have fooled around with my wife.
Every new story writer knows the difference between first and third person narration. Don’t we?
The first person voice ‘I’ has power and immediacy. The narrator can convey his or her innermost feelings and intentions directly to the reader. Try changing the voice in the passage above to the third person: ‘He knew he had to kill the wizard, etc’. It loses its power. It’s awkward.
The third person voice is the newbie’s choice. It’s far easier to use than the first person. There’s no constraint on the Point of View (PoV). The narrator can be privy to every secret (although omniscience is optional).
Continue Reading »
This article is by Martin White.
Horror is by no means an underrated genre, but it’s typically forgotten in discussions of speculative fiction. Much ink is spilled on the differences between science fiction and fantasy, but horror is examined on its own, with few connections to its siblings.
As an advocate of genre-mixing, I’m drawn to horror from the direction of fantasy. One discusses our dreams, and the other our nightmares, but the two sometimes call upon surprisingly similar techniques.
Continue Reading »
This article is by Marc Davies.
If you have watched television, read a newspaper, seen a play or been to a movie in the last couple of years, there’s no doubt that you would have been exposed to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people and their issues.
The only way you could avoid it is by living under a rock, and even then you’d probably discover said Rock has a penchant for designer clothes and an obsession with maintaining its rocky skin in fabulous condition.
Whatever your personal views, LGBT people have been readily accepted by much of mainstream media. There are popular movies and sit-coms with gay characters. Literary fiction has embraced gay characters and gay issues. If you go to see the ballet or a musical, you can bet half the cast is probably gay. And pop music embraced gay performers and music long before Elton John and Queen became best sellers.
Continue Reading »
Completely, undoubtedly, irredeemably evil?
This article is by Martin White.
Every epic needs an opposing force, and in most high and heroic fantasy, that opposing force is evil. Sometimes, it’s literal Evil with a capital E, embodied in an army of twisted champions. Other times, it’s the sort of evil that kicks puppies and kidnaps damsels. Either way, it contains within it the author’s conception of the things that humanity would be better off without.
I don’t typically write about evil people. Many of my characters, both protagonists and antagonists, have traits that could be called evil, but I’ll never have more than one character per story who’s completely, undoubtedly, irredeemably evil. More often, the concept shows up only in first-person perspectives, and it’s called into question whenever the accuracy of those perspectives becomes questionable. In this essay, I aim to show why.
Continue Reading »
This article is by Dr John Yeoman.
Every plot is a cliché, isn’t it?
According to Christopher Booker, there have been only seven basic plots since the dawn of story telling, although Georges Polti expanded the total to 36. No good plot is original because successful stories evoke one or more of the Seven Deadly Sins. (It seems humans are not clever enough to think of any fresh ones.)
Every one of the 3000+ tales I’ve judged at the Writers’ Village story contest have been grounded in a plot cliché. Yet some stories were spectacularly fresh. How come? Their writers had added a clever new twist, dropped in sensibility or played creatively with the cliché. Here’s how to do it:
Continue Reading »
This article is by S.G. Rogers.
I’m a fantasy author who enjoys building worlds. Perhaps my interest in world-building stems from the wonderment I feel in the presence of beauty. Magic exists in the waterfalls of Brevard County, North Carolina, the stunning views at Big Sur, and the Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico. Magic radiates from the paintings of Michelangelo, the castles of Europe, and the sculptures of Bruno Torfs in Australia. When I experience this magic, I feel compelled to communicate my sense of awe in the stories that I write.
I’ve sold eight fantasy manuscripts so far on the strength of my world-building, with two sequels in the works. Although each project has its own unique challenges, my approach to world building involves a few common principals.
Continue Reading »
