A question that has come up in many discussion groups is, how long should a story be? Some stories barely breach the definition of a novel at 80,000 words while others could challenge Harry Potter for sheer heft. So then, what Is the right length? The short answer is that a story is only as …
Category: Writing Tips
Tips and advise for those wanting to become good storytellers.
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Writing Tips: Multiple POVs in an Epic Story
Writing an epic story takes a lot of planning, and by epic I’m talking something that spans multiple novels, has scenes that take place all over the world in question (or even on multiple worlds, where applicable), and has more than one major event taking place at the same time. Telling such a story requires …
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What Defines Epic Fantasy
Recently I saw a discussion online asking what makes Epic Fantasy. Of course I posted my onw opinion- being the author of something that is easily considered epic in scope- and one or two of the responses seemed a bit… limiting. One answer was along the lines of basing Epic Fantasy very strictly on Tolkein, …
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Writing Tips: Passion In Your Writing
No matter what type of story, book, genre, or subject you wish to write about, be it short story, epic series, or self-help book, above and beyond ALL other good tips for writing, there is one piece of advice that rules them all, and that is Passion. You MUST have passion in your writing. So, …
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Writing Tips: Designing An Alien Culture
In the course of writing a fantasy or science fiction story, the subject of alien cultures inevitably raises its head. The reader expects them and so as the writer it is your job to design some good ones. So, where to start? How do I design a culture that is alien enough and that the …
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Writing Tips: Writing Rules For A Hero
Every good story has its heros, but what defines a hero? How are some heros greater than others and what can you as a writer do to see that the Reader views him as heroic? The answers are not all that hard but are worth enumerating. First off, the obvious. A hero has to have …
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Writing Tips: Writing A Good Villain
Every story needs a good villain, but a great story needs a great villain. So, just what comprises a great villain? Just having someone in a black hat that can unstoppably destroy everything he touches is a bit juvenile, too basic, and rather unimaginative. On the other hand a villain can’t be weak either. So …
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Writing Tip: Even Magic Needs Logic
The biggest cop-out in a fantasy story is when the author (in the form of one of the characters) has something happen as a result of some magic spell or item of power and when the illogic begins to rain down just says “It’s magic, it doesn’t need any reason.” Well, I’m here to say …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.maldene.com/writing-tips/811
Writing Tips: Time Travel In A Story
Time travel is one of those things that is great as a concept, but all too often a horrible miss in execution. Be it in books, movies, or TV, too often the author thinks that the phrase “It’s time travel, who can understand it?”, or “Temporal physics gives me a headache,” is all they need …
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