Believable dialogue is one of the most important skills a fiction writer can learn. The speed and rhythm of a character’s speech tells a lot about their personality, the environment they grew up in and their education. It is essential to give your characters a believable voice to give them life. Like a musician who […]
People often ask me if I have a work routine. I like to think I don’t. However…I would say my work habits are flexible, but disciplined. My work schedule on one day may begin at 2 PM and end the next morning 3 o’clock. The next day, I might rise with an idea at 6 […]
The older I get, the more I try to simplify my life. If I’m writing, I ask myself if I can get to the point quicker and still be thought-provoking. And if I’m drawing, I ask myself if I can say it in fewer lines but achieve a fulsome, engaging picture. The more we learn, […]
Writers can get attached to their syntax and feel that their way of writing the world is better than possible alternatives, simply because that writing is theirs. Often that does not turn out to best serve the author’s work. I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for a writer to foster a good relationship […]
How many writers have sat at their keyboard, or at a desk with a pad of paper, pen in hand, trying to figure out the story arc for their protagonist? For some of us it’s an easy task, for others it’s a brain cramping event. Yet, we need look no further than our own lives […]
I have seen and heard many people ask how they can get rid of writer’s block. Anyone who offers a definitive answer to that question is, in my opinion, the equivalent of a snake oil salesman, someone selling you a product to cure your ills that doesn’t work. Harsh? Perhaps. Are there some specific conditions […]
The most amazing prose will never be read if it’s presented in an unattractive, ill suited format. Lines of type crammed together into rectangular blocks that swallow up the gutters of the page and smother the writer’s intention are a bane of printed books. You could be another William Shakespeare, having just written another Hamlet. If […]
A man of wisdom once told me, “If you seek praise from the world, you will only find pain.” If an artist gets caught up in the pulpit of public opinion, upon which one person says they’re a genius, that their art, writing or music is otherworldly, while the next person calls them amateur, a […]
Musicians know this term well: “Develop your ear.” In its simplest form, it is the ability to hear what is going on inside of the music – it goes beyond just understanding the melody and the rhythm section. Musicians who develop this ability quickly mature and often take their playing to a higher level of […]
Sequential art, like jazz, is a language which expresses ideas and stir emotions. To communicate, comic books use shapes, symbols, signs and pictures – as well as the letters of the alphabet. Comic book syntax is a systematic, orderly arrangement of panels, composition, typography, illustration, design and economy of prose. Grids, used to form structural […]
Nearly 35 years ago I was reading a book on Sufism. The title of that book escapes me, but a line from it still resonates deeply: “Get used to being alone.” It’s a message that’s opposite from what the world tells us: have lots of friends, be social and cultivate deep, meaningful relationships. Yet, the […]
I am not a fan of formula writing. I don’t like neat little bows tied at the end of stories, or stories where I can guess every reveal before the actual reveal. Neither do I enjoy stories that change course without warrant because the writer can’t keep their focus, or because the writer lacks a clear […]
I feel that in many forms of media, the features that make characters interesting, unique and multi-dimensional are being lost to anxieties about diversity and inclusion checklists. When it comes to the stories, people and cultures represented onscreen and in print, I am absolutely in favour of diversity. Diversity means difference. It suggests a robust variety of images […]
Every writer will tell you that every story needs conflict. The best stories have a strong villain and the most dramatic stories all need moments of levity. More experienced writers, though, will talk to you about the importance of friendship. Friendship is an opportunity for a writer to explore loyalty, love, and loss. Friendship unites […]
I often give workshops at public and private schools. I emphasize that everything is about telling a story and every story needs a good villain. When I ask if anyone can name a good villain, nine times out of ten I hear, “Darth Vader” or “The Wicked Witch.” Why? Because these are two clear examples […]
I often get asked how I construct a character. I begin by basing my character on someone I know or have known. When I say this at public presentations, some people quickly respond by letting me know they feel left out of that umbrella, “But I write fantasy, and my characters are badgers and dragons”. […]