Character Death Should Be Premeditated

I’m a big fan of fiction and screenplays that kill off major characters mid-stream.  It happened in Breaking Bad.  It happens all the time in The Walking Dead.  The problem is that an amateur writer will kill off characters for the sake of killing them off or for shock value without thinking through the character death and

The Plot Thickens: Sweetening the Plot

I used to fear for the future of humanity in the days when Twilight was all the rage.  Now look at it.  Gone, baby, gone. And good riddance, I suppose.  You know something is passé when it garners a top 10 list of reasons why it is good that it has passed on. However, there are

I’m Giving Away My Post Apocalypse Novel for 5 Days! – Day 1

As stated yesterday, I am going to give away my post-apocalyptic novel This Broken Earth for the next five days.  It is available through Amazon only, though, but Amazon has a handy app for any mobile device where you can download books and read them if you don’t own a Kindle. I will be tracking the

The Necessity of Kinesics

K is for kinesics, which in the study of linguistics means the analysis of how body movements can communicate meaning.  As a writer this is something that we must learn how to use as well as we use dialogue to communicate characterization, mood and tone. I have read plenty of writing where the writer has grasped

Writing the Twist

As per a suggestion by Eric J. Baker, I decided to write today about twists that we can place in our novels which can be used in pretty much any genre.  Good writers are good readers, avid readers, and I really love a good story that leads the reader down a path only to force

Plot Devices: Constructing a Novel

This week I have been plotting out my new novel tentatively titled The Painful Best.  In the process of creating characters, tying the plot threads together and creating some terrible red herrings for my readers to follow, I have been going through some new and interesting things to do to my new novel to make it

Plot Development and the Sociological Conundrum

As some of you know I am a huge fan of AMC’s The Walking Dead.  Some of you who do not watch the show might be saying “Eeww.  But it’s about zombies, right?”  Don’t judge.  I have watched the show since the pilot episode, and the reason I love it so much is not because

The Next Big Thing: What I’m Doing Next

Olivia Boler over at Oliviaboler.com invited me to be a part of a blog chain that introduces the premise of my latest work while promoting her blog and five other blogs of writers like myself.  I have posted the blogs of these writers after my little Q&A session, and hope that you will go over

Under the Gun

I have heard two origins of the term “under the gun”.  One definition originates from a military situation when people used to mount castle sieges.  Men who built back a wall that had been damaged with cannon fire while the cannons were still firing were considered “under the gun”.  There is also the simple explanation

NaNoWriMo Time Management Tip #2: Media is a No-No

Today’s tip is a warning.  If there is one thing that can quickly waste my time as a writer it’s media.  I know you are reading this blog right now, but I will be quick. This month, James Bond will celebrate his 50th anniversary in film with Skyfall starring Daniel Craig.  Rick, Carl, Darrel, Laura, and,