Creating Great Characters: Focus on Formative Memories
Last month I discussed how important it is to develop ALL of your characters, and this month I'd like to talk about how you can do this. Specifically, I'm going to focus on how you can maximize the impact of each character development exercise, transforming your characters into real people with the smallest amount of effort possible. Now, that doesn't mean this is going to be easy. Creating characters that feel like real people is tough. Even Tolkien didn't always pull it off
Professional Interaction for Authors: How to communicate with aspiring authors
Last month I talked about how we treat teenage fans, and today I'd like to talk to you about how we treat aspiring authors. I've always been welcomed into writing communities with open arms, but I've seen pros be dismissive of or even rude to aspiring authors, and it fills me with a deep sadness. As professional writers we have a duty to nurture the writing community. We need the writing community to thrive, and it needs us. Besides, we're all here because of the writers who