November 19th, 2008
Getting everything about your characters in place before the writing begins is the surest means of weaving your story and characters together throughout your book - erm… no.
I was thinking around a recent comment on my character arc post. Kev wrote:
Planning a story arc for a character can be difficult until you know the character [...]
November 14th, 2008
If you’ve been paying attention here, you’ll know that my big project, TableRappers, has been conceived as a series of novels. Currently four are planned, with aims to create a least six. This presents a significant challenge in managing character arcs.
Arcs are, of course, essential. The reader must follow a character’s journey through each story [...]
October 28th, 2008
CHAPTER 29 - Keynes tries to uncover the truth behind Hanson’s threats and is handed a puzzling opportunity he cannot afford to refuse.
October 23rd, 2008
The history of TableRappers is one of planning. Like nothing I had tackled previously, the concept grew from simple ideas into an expanding universe of possibilities. Even after several years, the expansion continues.
I posted on the TableRappers site yesterday an announcement about the fifth book in the series. The concept I have had hanging around [...]
September 30th, 2008
CHAPTER 28 - Keynes heads to the west of the city, searching for answers. But his journey is not to pass unhindered, and unanswered questions become the least of his concerns.
September 28th, 2008
Just a few days before our two week vacation and I have finally managed to select some reading matter to fill up those endless days doing very little. But in these times of writing my own novel, and wanting to take only my Sony Reader, selecting a book was less than straightforward.
Avoiding disappointment
First criteria is [...]
September 25th, 2008
As a reader, discovering new writers and learning to trust them can sometimes be a toe-stubbing, root-riddled ramble. Having had my time stolen far too frequently by disappointing reads, I try to explore the potential based on recommendation or general background hum. Just this week, and despite the general hum sounding distinctly positive, I had [...]
September 19th, 2008
Hollywood endlessly remakes old movies, bringing them up to date, polishing them with modern dialogue, swanky sets, and more than a splattering of special effects. But this kind of star-spangled resurrection doesn’t happen with books.
I am currently reading Algernon Blackwood’s The Damned (1914), which Wikipedia describes as “A highly original haunted house tale in which [...]
September 15th, 2008
I have been on the search for stories that scare me as much as those I read during my formative years, and I’m struggling to find anything that satisfies.
In addition to the big writing project (TableRappers) and its supplementary tales featuring its characters, I want to create some old-style scary stories. By old style, of [...]
August 27th, 2008
Bear with me while I pop back in time a handful of years to when I messed around with stand-up comedy.
For the first few years as an aspiring stand-up comic, one must tread the rocky paths of the open spots. These are the 5 minute - or if you are lucky 10 - slots that [...]
