A month ago or so, I finished reading all the entries I had received to judge for a writing contest. I read both children’s lit and YA fiction this year, and it’s been fascinating. I have so many things on my mind to say about what I observed, but I wanted to take a step …
Tag: characters
Oct 27
Invention
Okay, as we’re getting ready for NaNoWriMo (it’s just days away, folks!), it seems timely to talk about invention for a minute. What is invention, after all? Let’s blow the dust off an old Latin text by Horace (from the Ars Poetica): Either follow tradition or invent what is self-consistent. … If it is an …
Jun 16
A Matter of Perspective, Part II
I’d like to continue J. Leigh’s discussion of POV vs. perspective. This is such an important topic for writers, and something that can make or break a story if not executed correctly. In the last post, J. Leigh defined perspective as a refinement or narrowing of the larger category of point-of-view. When writing, you have …
May 26
Pocket God — or How to Be a Mean Author
So, a while back I heard about this phone app called Pocket God. I kind of wanted a smart phone just to be able to play this game. Basically, the idea was you get this little man that you can torture in all kinds of fun ways. You can strike him with lightning, or feed …