This guest post is part of the 2013 Blogger Book Fair and was written by D. H. Aire. He is the author of Highmage’s Plight. CJB: Tell us a little about your book. DHA: First, thank you, C.J., for the opportunity to appear on your blog. I know you’re a fantasy writer, so you likely understand why I love to write across genre, sci fi and fantasy. These are among my favorite genres and combining them in unusual ways offers me the opportunity to dream up unique stories, combining adventure, satire, humor, and, of course, elves. My debut novel Highmage’s Plight, published last […]
Yearly Archives: 2013
50 posts
Some of you know that I’m a martial artist. I’ve been training in martial arts for over 19 years as of this writing. I started in taekwondo when I was 12 and earned my first black belt in the now-defunct International Taekwondo Council (ITC). I trained for about two years in a Japanese Karate Association (JKA) Shotokan karate school before heading to college at 17, where I trained for a year in judo. When I transferred colleges, I ended up in a Chidokwan karate (basically Shotokan + escrima sticks + street-style self-defense) university club, where I trained for two years […]
First, read this post on Writer’s Block and How to Defeat It. It outlines how writer’s block is generally a result of either fear or confusion, and how to address those issues. This post does NOT address those deeper issues. These tips and tricks work best for me when I’m only “sorta stuck”… I have some ideas, but the words aren’t flowing. These are ways to jog your creativity and exercise your mind. If you’re dealing with writer’s block, please look at the root causes first before relying on the tips and tricks below. Exercise and Think About Your Story […]
I’m writing this partly because I was inspired by this post at SF Signal, in which Zack Jernigan conducts the first part of a round-table interview focused on writing about race in science fiction and fantasy (SFF). I’ve also been asked about race and racial issues in my writing by some readers and thought I could shed some light on my perspective. Unlike Zack, I don’t have a varied and accomplished panel of interviewees to make excellent points, so I’m attempting to do this myself. I’m a white, Anglo-Saxon, middle-class American. I don’t have personal experience of being the outsider […]
In fantasy and other fiction, a lot of stories begin with the question “What if…?” Humans love to explore what might be and what might have been. It’s entertainment, but it’s also a way to learn about ourselves and about the world we live in. Today’s guest post is by chick lit / romance author Deb Nam-Krane. The Importance of Alternate Realities Even though my writing stays firmly in the world of Newtonian physics, it’s important for me to know that for all of my characters there’s an alternate reality or, as I call it one of my books, everyone’s unique […]
{EAV:e18fa93393e1d766} I wrote this post weeks ago, serenely confident in my wisdom. It just went live, but the post has been written for almost a month. And it’s good advice! Nothing has changed… what I wrote then is still true. But now, as I’m struggling with Book3 in the Erdemen Honor series, I’m reminded of how very frustrating writer’s block is. I’ve asked a few online writer buddies to help me with brainstorming. Once I know where my characters are going, I can write it. Sometimes I don’t need that… sometimes we’re all heading off toward crazy adventure together. I […]
Most writers deal with writer’s block at some point in their career. It can be incredibly discouraging, and it doesn’t always result from a lack of “inspiration” or discipline. Without dealing with the root causes, writer’s block can continue to be a problem. In my experience, writer’s block is a result of either fear or confusion. Fear (NOTE: I drafted this post quite a while ago and then I watched this video. Watch it! It’s less than five minutes long. Apparently, we’re on the same wavelength.) Fear of looking stupid. Fear of imperfection. Fear of emotions you don’t want to explore. Fear […]
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Today we have a guest post from Dave Higgins on vampire stories and myths. Thanks to Dave, I’ve added more works to my To Be Read list (which is long enough to last years already!). Please check out Dave’s website and work too. I’ve added links throughout the post. The links on author names to go the author page on Goodreads, where you can find reviews of the books as well as easily find other books by the same authors. The links on individual titles go to the Amazon page for that book. In the case of series, I’ve linked […]
Sidney Carton was one of the first characters I really loved (after Winnie the Pooh and other childhood favorites), and the one who set me on a multi-year Dickens-and-other-classics phase that lasted through middle school and high school. Charles Dickens isn’t known for his rollicking adventures or his page-turning plots. Even in the most-obsessed time of my classics phase, I struggled to get through every word of Bleak House and David Copperfield without skimming, looking for the good parts. Generally I believe the book is better than the movie, and that’s probably true in this case as well. However, sometimes […]