Getting inspiration from religion Religion Oh religion. It is one of those topics which nearly everyone tells you not to talk about. However, it can be a great source of inspiration for writing. No Faith? No Problem! First of all, I am not suggesting anyone run out and convert. If you do not believe in […]
What’s all this fuss about a gender swap? When we gender swap characters, what really happens? And will audiences accept the changes? This was most recently shown in the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot. You’re Ruining My Childhood So when the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot was first announced, I recall any number of fans complaining that it would […]
Writing Various Ages Ages change if we write about more than a year in a character’s life. And we can also find we are writing a clash of them, as parents and their offspring collide, or teachers and students collide. Infants and Toddlers The very young can change in rather rapid and surprising ways. Fortunately, […]
Ideas jar Do you have an ideas jar? Origin I first heard of this idea when I read Ray Bradbury’s Zen in the Art of Writing. However, I suspect this methodology may not have been his invention. However, either way, it is a fantastic concept and it can help you in two very separate ways when […]
Getting inspiration from pets Pets are our constant companions. For a lot of people, their animal friends are their sole contact on some days. And they can inspire. Do you speak Dog? Humans first domesticated dogs back when we still lived in caves. They probably saved our species and certainly love us unconditionally. Dogs are […]
Working with covers Covers! Let’s say you aren’t working with a cover artist. Or maybe you are doing the covers work, and you have purchased the work and been given full rights to it, to do with it as you please. Or maybe your work is not selling, and you are looking to make your […]
Descriptions All about descriptions Descriptions are a must. You need them for any type of writing beyond the barest drabbles. Involve the reader in the piece. And that means pulling descriptive prose out of your head. You must commit it to paper or pixels. Scenes Scene setting is covered elsewhere in this blog. However, that’s closely related […]
Creative Commons and Whether You Can Use Certain Images What is Creative Commons? Their story is best told by them: Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. But this is not copyright! Instead, the concept exists to work with copyright, in order to […]
Eavesdropping for fun and inspiration So, Eavesdropping? Eavesdropping really works, and it is probably a writer‘s best tool. Once you start listening in on conversations, you will open up a whole new world. Because real dialogue, interspersed with your created dialogue, adds realism. Subtlety First of all, you have got to be subtle. This means […]
Grab Some Inspiration from Friendship Friendship Friendship is as inspiring as the memory of old love affairs. Our friends can help us write. Sometimes it’s because of something we did together. And sometimes it’s because we want to honor them. Names For stories which need a lot of names, why not ask your friends whether […]