Learning the craft -

16Aug 2016 by Dianna L. Gunn

Making immortal characters feel real to your readers

Many of the most fascinating characters in fantasy are immortal--the vampires Lestat and Armand immediately pop into my mind--but so are many of the most shallow characters, especially villains(I'm looking at you Sauron). I myself struggled for years to find the true voice of Riana, the cursed demigod who is the main character of Moonshadow's Guardian, the fantasy novel I'm currently preparing to self publish. There are countless examples of immortal characters who have all the feelings of a cardboard cutout or who mindlessly serve a single purpose even when it's doomed but it is possible to write an immortal character your readers will like, even love. You just have to be prepared to put in some extra work. This article will explain how to develop immortal characters who have lived…

09Feb 2016 by Dianna L. Gunn

Investing in your writing career: when, why and how much?

Learning the craft, Writing

Let's start with a fact we all know: building a writing career is hard work. It's hard to become a freelance writer and it's much, much harder to become a successful fiction writer. Even the best and brightest among us put years of hard work into their craft before they see any measurable success. The few who do manage to become popular with their first published novels often wrote several others first; those who get the first book they wrote published have often spent years writing short stories. Luckily we live in the internet age, which means there are thousands of resources to help you speed up your own career. You can learn about how to get excellent freelance jobs from Linda Formichelli of The Renegade Writer or Sophie Lizard of Be a Freelance…

16Dec 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

19 Resources to help you edit that novel

Learning the craft, Writing

I originally started blogging because I wanted to share my journey towards writing success, but now I also blog because I'm dedicated to helping others build their own writing careers. I want to help you not only explore different writing methods, but to master as many aspects of the craft as you can. One thing crucial to your success as a writer is the ability to edit. This is true for writers of all kinds, and especially true for novelists. Now that it's been a couple weeks since you finished your novel, it's time to start thinking about editing. Starting before the holidays are over is probably a bad idea, but brushing up on your editing skills is always a good idea—and if you've been at this a while, you…

21Oct 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

Using setting to develop character

Learning the craft, Nanowrimo, Writing

Any writer who's been at this a while will tell you that in the best novels, setting, plot and character are intertwined. One cannot exist completely separate from the other, and they all influence each other to make a whole, interesting story. This means that building upon one aspect of your novel often informs work you're doing on other aspects. The history of your world, particularly the development of prejudice, impacts how your characters behave and are perceived. If one or more of your characters are in marginalized groups in the society you've created, they're going to interact differently with other characters and be treated differently too. Of course, how you can play with discrimination in fantasy settings and how that impacts characters' lives is an article in its own…

19Oct 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

Ultimate Character Resource List

Learning the craft, Nanowrimo, Writing

If you've followed more than a couple blogs about writing fiction for a while, you've probably noticed that most writers will claim one of two things is the most important aspect of any novel: character or plot. And before you ask, I suspect the only author you're likely to know of who thought worldbuilding truly was the most crucial aspect of story was Tolkien. (Feel free to mention others if you know about them. I don't.) You might be wondering what I have to say on the matter, and just to satisfy your curiosity I'll give you the short answer: I think it depends on the writer and the story. Which is really my short answer for everything to do with writing a novel, because it's hard to say anything…

14Oct 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

Developing your world by examining adulthood

Learning the craft, Writing

Every culture throughout history has had some sort of tradition that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. These traditions vary widely, ranging from wild parties to vision quests to marriage--which often involved a massive party anyway. Now that pretty much everybody lives to adulthood and a great many people aren't religious, the vast majority of us don't celebrate adulthood with some ancient cultural tradition, but we do celebrate. Oh, and adulthood starts much later now than it did a couple hundred years ago, when fourteen year old girls were commonly married and fourteen year old boys were working. Today's challenge is to write a story about one of your main characters making the transition from childhood to adulthood. Pay particular attention to these things: What age does adulthood begin at in…

05Oct 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

The Ultimate List of 42 Worldbuilding Resources

Learning the craft, Nanowrimo, Writing

Do you need help figuring out how to plan your novel? Are you looking for writing exercises that will help you develop your setting? UPDATED WITH NEW LINKS OCTOBER 2017 Well, it just so happens that you're in the right place. This year as part of my Nanowrimo blogstravaganza I've decided to create three lists: the ultimate list of worldbuilding resources, the ultimate list of character building resources, and the ultimate list of plot development exercises. My goal is to present you with all the options and the knowledge necessary to find your own way to success this Nanowrimo, and in every novelling endeavour you decide to take on after that. Are you ready to start planning your Nanowrimo novel? Is that a "yes" I hear? Well then, let's get…

24Feb 2014 by Dianna L. Gunn

Commit to learning: take an online writing course

Learning the craft, Writing

Once of the 10 Commandments of a Serious Writer is "I shall always be learning". Part of this is practicing your writing consistently. Part of it is reading books that teach you new techniques or new things about the world. Yet at some point it becomes necessary to do more, to take learning about your craft to the next level. So how do you do this without spending thousands of dollars and hours getting an MFA? I've talked a lot about the value of a writing group in the last few weeks, but you can step it up a notch by taking an online course. Several universities now offer free writing courses, and some writing communities offer them to members as well. Still, sometimes what you need to reinvigorate your…