Writing Tips

A man at a desk, writing

My Writing Process For Fiction 2016

Having a solid process for writing has made all the difference. It’s not perfect, but I humbly share my own writing process.

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An imaginary animal, a squirrel with horns

Naming Your Fantasy Creature

Names are a big part of creature design, but writing unique fantasy creature names can be hard. If you’re stuck, start here!

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A Woman Knight, in the Snow

Start With a Human, Let the World Build Itself

I know a lot of people who love to world-build, and that’s awesome. Some of them can get so far in-depth with their created world that they struggle to start a story. There’s just so much depth in the world that it almost holds this untouchability. But for me, while I love world-building, I’d rather over-create a character.

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An Archer in the Mountains

Or, Start With a World

In my last article I explained how I usually start with a character and then move toward the world. But I don’t always follow that to the letter. Sometimes you have a world in need of a character. This is how I personally handle that setup.

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A man and a woman walking away from an explosion

Sabotage

One of my favorite musicians once admitted to sabotaging relationships because it kept things fresh, and helped him write better music. I never understood it with real people, but the idea is perfect for not-so-real people.

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A Doomsday Prepper With Gas Mask and Guns

It’s Okay To Write Strange Characters

This is my second time watching the Doomsday Preppers series. There’s a whole lot that I could say about it, but the one thing that stands out is how completely blind we are to our own biases and oddities.

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A Groundhog that needs water

Make Your Characters Thirsty

Have you ever had one of those days? I’m fairly sure everyone has. Either that or I’m just completely weird.Anyway, it’s something that I’ve never seen in a story.“How on Earth is this relevant?”, you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you.

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A man, about to step on a banana peel

Sometimes You Don’t Need a Reason

I don’t know about you, but my life is pretty random. One moment I’m at my desk writing something, the next I’m being attacked by a Husky who wants my attention. Or a 4 year old.

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Autumn trees with yellow, gold, and orange leaves

Metaphor: Seasons and Weather

One of the first metaphors I ever learned was that of weather and climate. I think it’s that way for a lot of people because of how readily available the comparison is.

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A Man, Copying a Book

Similarity in Writing. Or, “How Close is Too Close?”

In a previous article, I encroached on the concept of encroaching on someone else’s story. (That last bit about the cave and the coin.) And I thought it might be worth a followup about the theme of similarity.

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