Essays on the mechanics of writing as a profession. How I do it, and some thoughts on the writer’s life.
She was younger than he and not a beauty. Too much care had tarnished her features. Under the long coat, he knew, was a slender attractive figure. It was that, he could now confess that had first drawn his attention. But it was her spirit that had ensnared him. She compelled in a way a mere beauty could never have.
The psyches of nonhuman species are going to be different from ours. Sketching out the parameters of an alien mind is essential to writing believable characters.
A close look at the stories that work will show that it is the characters themselves who change, not just their situation. That is what the reader is hoping for.
At its simplest, a good story concerns a character who is unhappy at the beginning and happy (or happier, at least) at the end.
In any world, all things obey natural laws. No Exceptions. Magic also must have its laws.
It’s perfectly possible to enjoy a difficult task [editing], provided one is skilled enough at it. The satisfaction of performing the task skillfully, being proud of the result, make the job pleasurable.
If your characters get horny, let them fuck. Tell us what it looks, sounds, feels, smells and tastes like. Show us how they feel. Your readers deserve no less…
…the net effect of violence in fiction: an emotional distancing of the reader from all those involved in the violence…
Violence is like a potent spice. Use it carefully and sparingly for best effect.
…for those who don’t like to read “four letter words”: Fuck ’em!
Whenever I write anything, I imagine only one person is going to read it.
We long to visit other worlds, other planes—Færieland, Elysium, Asgard—as easily as stepping through a door.
In horror movies, the closed door is a source of terror. Properly, such doors should be a source of wonder.
Next time you find a small, oddly shaped, or out of place door. Try the handle. You never know what wonders might await you on the other side.