Character by any other name: Subverting character archetypes
Over the last few months, I’ve been watching a lot of anime. And by a lot, I mean hours and hours as I pre-screen shows for my ten-year-old son. He’s at that awkward age where many of the Y-7 shows are too immature for him (boring and stupid according to him), but the Y-14 contain themes that he’s not quite ready for. There have been moments over the last few months where I roll my eyes at the similar plot lines and story tropes, the campy drama and teenage romance. But, ther
"He said what!?" - Getting the most out of your dialogue
Have you ever listened to a real life conversation and then tried to transcribe it into your story only to realize it doesn’t work? You’re left scratching your head and wondering how to write clever, witty, quick conversation. Dialogue is a fantastic tool in the writer’s tool box, but like any tool, it must be used right for it to work. It’s easy to find information about what not to do, but hard to find advice on how to do it well. Let’s start with the basics. There are laye
I finished my first draft, now what?
You’ve slaved away over it. Bled and cried words on to the blank page. Finally, after months, years, weeks, you’ve typed those glorious words ‘The End.’ Now what? There’s a lot of conflicting advice on what to do once you’ve completed your manuscript. Some of it is common sense. Some depend on the writer and their personality. Some are rubbish. This week, I’ve compiled a list of the things I do after I finish my first draft. 1. Celebrate. Congratulations! You’ve completed one
Onomatopoeia and Other Fun Writing Tools
We’ve all seen the advice. Avoid alliteration. Don’t use onomatopoeia (Don’t worry. If you don’t know what that is, I’ll explain later.) Don’t rhyme. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Just Don’t! I call BS on the list of do not that tell a writer to avoid using tools in their tool box. Any tool. The tools are there to be used when and where appropriate. Poets are encouraged to play with and use any and all of these devices. But, novelists are often told not to use them. Why? Can any and a
Dive beneath the words ... An exploration of subtext
Subtext is a tricky beast to tame, but once you’ve mastered it, a whole new world of nuance opens up. Subtext is the meaning behind the words. The themes and messages that lay beneath what is being said. Actors study subtext to convey the emotion behind the words they speak. Writers must dive beneath the words as well. Think back to a favorite book. One you’ve read multiple times. One that becomes more meaningful with each reading because you uncover something new. Chances ar
Whose head am I in anyway?
Point of view is probably one of the trickiest and most vital choices a writer makes for any story. It determines how the reader will view the story. No viewpoint is inherently better than another. There are pros and cons to each of them. Some writers tend to stick with one because that’s what they are comfortable with. Some writers will claim that one viewpoint is superior to another. I would encourage you to try out and read as many viewpoints and narrative distances as pos
