 Fantasy: June 30, 2010 Issue [#3832] |
  Fantasy
This week: Conflict Edited by: Storm Machine  
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I'm honored to be your Guest Editor this week.
All knowledge is worth having.~Jacqueline Carey |
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Where's the Conflict?
Many times we read stories where a lot of things happen - a coincidental meeting, aliens land, or all sorts of other things. Sometimes I wonder how much writers realize coincidences aren't worthy of plot. It's just another of those differences between real life and the plotted novel.
Plot isn't just happened upon. Those 'it was all just a dream' stories annoy editors because when it's a dream you've misled the reader and taken away all the tension. The tension and conflict is what makes the reader care about the protagonist.
Next time, instead of just happening along with the protagonist, have the other person's goals be counter to the main character's. Remember Snape from Harry Potter? You weren't sure which side he was on for half the series, and even when he was working on the good side you questioned him. Why not add someone with similar ambiguity to your story?
Another thing to avoid is telling your reader something happened like "they had been at odds for days." This tells me, as a reader, that you're avoiding the conflict. I want to see them fight, or give each other cold shoulders, and the reason why is to feel the conflict within them. The reader needs to feel that tension in order to really be behind the hero when he or she finally succeeds. |
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The post-genome family relationships are not strictly governed by historical gender roles.
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Lorelei  I'm new here. I'm trying to find a forum for my next vampire novel. Editor wants me to better my writing. Since my novel is urban fantasy, this is probably where I want to be. Right?
Yes, You're probably where you want to be.
Ladyoz Thank you for featuring my little article 
You're welcome.
LJPC - the tortoise HI Storm! Great newsletter, as always. I've written many reviews warning about description bogging down the story. There's definitely a thin line between too much or too little. For me, I'd like to know 'the finer points of living in a castle in the 1400s', but I'd like it to be shown rather than told. -- Laura
That's definitely the trick. Show me!
sarahreed I had never heard of a series bible before, but it sounds like a great idea. Thanks so much for pointing it out!
Good luck creating one.
L.V. van Efveren So, so true. I've actually been working on my own "Series Bible" for some time now, to support the fantasy world I've been building for the past 8 years. It's more of an Index of names and places and it refers back and forth a lot, but it helps me remember how I put down specific myths and, perhaps more importantly, how they all relate chronologically and cartographically. Mixing up eye colours is fairly bad, but putting an entire country in the wrong place is pretty damn epic!
Oh, let's randomly rearrange all the countries and see where they end up. Glad you're managing your way.
lcultraviolet_3 years on WDC! Thanks so much for featuring my story in your newsletter  lcultraviolet
You're welcome.
A thinker never sleeps Great newsletter. I constantly found myself checking for continuity (especially hair colour), and so I used MS Access to create character forms and databases. It was awkward at first but once the forms were setup, they could be applied again and for many situations. So my advice to other writers is to make use of MS Access.
Good idea, for those of us who have the program. |
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