Count After several starts and stops, and a few dozen bad words, the first cut of chapter 2 is complete! It’s currently in the 1900 word range. I’m concentrating more on narrative and action than description, so that will likely increase. After Orchids Ablaze it feels like a very long chapter! I even pulled out […]
Exercises One of the lessons that I’ve read and heard about writing is the need to use only the words necessary. One of my early English teachers always taught that there is one, exact, word that precisely expresses what the writer intends to convey for any specific purpose. Part of that challenge is, naturally, the […]
Cartoon or Opera? Lethality in the superhero genre is an interesting phenomenon. Heroes and villains (apparently) may perish, but their eventual return is all but guaranteed. One of the factors in bringing The Jagged Earth to life is how to deal with death. Characters – good, bad, and other – need to resonate with readers […]
Sequel Complications I completed a basic revision on Chapter 1: Staging/Diagramming review (narrative combat and exploration matches set construction drawings) Basic dialog check (character dialog matches their specific form) Costuming & powers (match costume details and power descriptions to character definitions cross-checked against Orchids Ablaze). I already had an outline for Chapter 2, so I […]
If you’ve been visiting here long, or enjoyed Orchids Ablaze, then you likely know that I believe families are important. Whether you love them, hate them, just met them, or wish you never had, they are still important. They are a connection, for better or worse.
Reading When I decided to write as a serious effort, I picked several of my favorite authors to re-read. I tried to read them critically and dissect out what it was that so impressed me about them. It was actually a lot of fun as well as educational. I’ve written on that before, but now […]