It may sound incredibly obvious, but in real life, the most common way for us to understand someone’s personality is when we hear them talk: the words they say, the way they say it, the topics, the tone, and the body language. And yet, sometimes in stories, we skip conversation for interior thoughts, assumptions, and the narrator telling us why someone is doing what they are doing. Why? Why ever replace a powerful relevant conversation that has a place in the story with exposition (non-dialogue) instead? This is something I’ve caught myself doing recently and am trying to fix. I think the answer is it’s easier. But easier isn’t better. Those words, even if they’re incredibly obvious and expected, help build character in a way that actions and expressions don’t.

I remember when I was a teenager, before Kindle and story samples online, that I would flip through books to get a sense of writing style before buying a book. And I would put one back down that had too little conversation (I remember some with almost none). I didn’t know why, but those books felt sterile and dense to me. They weren’t as fun or easy to read.

Dialogue is a great benefit to our writing. Don’t neglect an easy benefit to your writing! Let your characters talk…

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I had some fun painting the Broken Cowboy / StoneDragon cover image. It’s not done yet, and this was a quick snapshot with a cheap camera in bad lighting, but I’m looking forward to when it’s done. I’m also on vacation, getting a little bit of momentum going again on the story, which is nice. At this point, I’m just focused on ‘chopping wood and drawing water’, getting the revised words on page and letting any judgement on quality wait until the end. The only thing worse than an imperfect book is no book at all!

Not that it’s easy to do, but this is what I think is needed, as I hammer up from little to big (not the way you’re supposed to learn, but in writing, it’s like catching fireflies to get all the writing advice you need, so in some respects, it is the only way to learn). So big picture, I think you need:

1. A sense of wonder (an emotional reaction, created through: premise, which in turn encompasses: setting, big picture conflict, magic system, character types and attributes)
2. A cool plot, that catches interest early, picks up speed, and ends in a crescendo (plot, obviously)
3. A song of emotion, through the story (have the character FEEL intensely, see the story through an emotional lens, have it tie together consistently and have clear backstory to create it, and clearly share it to the reader in your scene and POV choices).

Three things. Simple, in a way.

Execution, however, is incredibly difficult and complicated. And, of course, execution is 90% of the battle. But that first 10%, getting the big picture right, is essential. If you miss that, you miss it all…

(I might have to revisit my writing mountain and refresh the top layer. It seems to tie into that thinking)

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This is another sketch from StoneDragon (Broken Cowboy), for one of the characters which dances along the line between good guys and bad guys. I apologize for slowness on my progress here (or should I? Some days this seems like a big assumption that anyone cares. 🙂 ) But even for me, it’s quite discouraging that I’m still early in the most recent structural edit. I’d give a lot to be working on a new, fun and exciting story instead, instead of something that is feels so chewed over. But anyway, I will finish it. One day. One way or another! 

If you haven’t guessed, I’m feeling a bit run down, and (evident from the less frequent posts) very stretched for time. We have been house hunting, just bought a new house (after several auctions), and now have to sell our home. Work is still crazy, to the point that the older kid wants to know why I’m working so much more, and why I don’t find another job, and it’s not easy to fit writing and art into what is an exhausting schedule already.

But I’m trying. It may just be slow. Hopefully the rest of the stuff slows down and my battery recharges…

I knew I’d get the wording right eventually. 🙂

I don’t consider myself an expert on short stories, symptoms sickness even though I have one published. A few months back, buy sale before I got that one story accepted, visit this I tried to make a list at how I looked at them. I figure it would be interesting to review.

I think that an effective fantasy short story should have the following elements, in the following priority:

1. A cool idea, whether based in plot, character, world-building, or theme. Something that people might want to talk about afterwards.
2. Clean tight writing. It’s with a bit of surprise that I realize I haven’t got a post on this topic yet to link to. Important in all writing, but even more so in a short story.
3. A clear emotional goal for the reader. What do you want the reader to FEEL at the climax of your story. Maybe the answer is relief from tension, as you have a high-octane action story, maybe it’s a pang of loss or nostalgia. But whatever it is, it’s worth considering. There are tricks to creating reader emotional reaction, if you know exactly what you’re trying for.
4. Some kind of surprise, whether plot reversal, story revelation, or character action. But while surprising, the seeds of the reversal need to be hinted at earlier in the story (the ‘rule of three’).
5. Goals and obstacles. Really, no post on this one either? I seem to be roaming around on cool topics, but skipping over some essentials. Will try to remedy! But anyway, clear character goals and obstacles in a scene creates tension.
6. An early hook. A first sentence and early paragraphs that intrigue and raises interesting questions, without creating confusion (a fine line, as I’ve talked about here). This is often tied to your ‘cool idea’, above, and why reading widely is a help. If your cool idea has been explored by a well known story, it’s not cool anymore, but derivative. Boo!
7. A meaningful resolution that ties all the major elements of the story together as a package(thought-provoking is a bonus).
8. Nothing extra. No extraneous characters, setting, world-building, or other elements that distract or are not contributing to that overall package. See Egg or Wiffle Ball, where I talk about my occasional struggles with this concept, as I am often more intrigued by a first chapter than a short story, which therefore means I often have unrelated stuff that would only be explored later. A fine line to walk.

That’s it for my package today! No tip for delivery required (mailman joke there, not anything else, for people who’s minds have sunk so far into the gutter that they can’t see their way out! He he. Shame on you.)

Here’s to a productive and successful 2016!!

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The art is a first and VERY quick character sketch for Bernetta Brogi, a young lady who swings a couple of mean axes, in StoneDragon. I’m polishing up my world building wiki in this draft, and doing a bit more character work. I may polish up the character sketches more later, but you may also see some other quick charcoal pieces in the coming months. It just helps me to visualize and keep the details consistent.

This took about fifteen minutes this morning, with some interruptions as I was summoned to the Little Prince’s room. 🙂

Happy holidays! To celebrate, a nice dark cowboy image. 🙂 I’m working on StoneDragon (or the Dead Dragon Cowboy) tonight, right before wrapping up a few left-over kids presents, so thought it would be an appropriate image.

I’m going to talk now about one of the most impactful concepts that I’ve come across recently in my writing thoughts, one that I’ve spent some time mulling over and want to better apply in my own writing. It is the concept of writing following a clothesline, with various story elements tied to it, but an absolute need to keep that line of forward momentum.

Maybe a zip line would be a better analogy. You can tape setting, theme, description and other things to the wire, but you need that sense of purposeful movement that comes from sliding along it.

It’s a forward moving line, not a patchwork quilt where you don’t seem to be getting anywhere.

This concept can be credited to a couple of people, at least in my own research: Joshua Bilmes as recorded in one of Brandon Sanderson’s writing lessons, and Ilona Andrews, in describing how to deal with transitions (albeit in a slightly different context).

One of the points that this brings in is that description and detail should only included if they are directly relevant in time and significance to the main character in their immediate circumstances. Plot is the clothesline, other stuff can be strung along it, but it has to keep moving. You can’t stall in something that doesn’t have a sense of being relevant to the immediate story.

In other words, each paragraph should build on the one before and need the one after to fully realize the impact of the writing. As long as you keep this forward progression, you don’t need to rush. You can paint setting, give details, and help the reader to visualize the scene and understand your story.

The point is that readers want to feel a confident hand at the wheel. They want to make sure that everything that they are reading has a purpose and that they aren’t stuck in a morass of unimportant details that don’t lead anywhere. Especially for a new writer, that hasn’t earned their trust.

So keep things tied to the clothesline. Keep moving forward. And may that make all the difference for all of us!

Merry Christmas! May you have all the success you dream of in the New Year!!