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A Small, Sad Dwarf Part 2
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A small sad dwarf sat at the end of the world. He remembered his name… now what? There, at the end of the world, a small sad dwarf stroked the flower in his coat. The world around him was bleak and dark. Smoke floated away in an army of clouds.…
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Crafting a Space Opera—Let the Pain Begin
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I don’t know what possessed me to want to write a “space opera.” Of course, I loved the original Star Wars trilogy. As an aspiring fiction writer, it’s not that inconceivable that I’d want to try my hand at the genre. But, boy, it is harder than it looks. There…
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A Small, Sad Dwarf Part 1
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A small sad dwarf sat at the end of the world. Everybody else’s time had come… why not his? A small, sad dwarf sat on a stump, looking out on the rolling landscape in front of him. He didn’t remember his name or much of anything. A black army of…
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Finding a Genre That Works—It’s Harder Than It Looks
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I’ve been writing for a long time. It’s been a journey, a long, hard, miserable journey. Trying to get something published is a pain in the ass. And not really worth a person’s time anymore, since you’re better off self-publishing. But honestly, none of that matters if you’re not writing.…
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How to Use Real Life to Write Your Story
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The most personal stories can be the most powerful One of the most challenging questions aspiring writers have is where to look for ideas. Well, we’ve spent plenty of time over the last few weeks exploring that question. And why, it can easily be solved. Ideas are everywhere. And the…
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Real Life can Inspire New Ideas
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How art imitates—or inspires—your next big story Over the last few weeks, I’ve explored how writers get ideas for their stories. I tackled why that’s such a daunting question for some writers. Then, we explored various ways writers (or any kind of storyteller) can harvest new ideas. I even provided…