So, in an earlier post, I talked some about my first stories. Actually, I mentioned the story that I felt was my first actual true story. And I didn’t give many details. This is where that is going to change. So, sit back and read all about the Tucker Mystery Series! Now, don’t let the word “series” in the title trick you into thinking that it really was a series. I’m afraid to say it wasn’t. The plan was for…
And we’re back! It’s great to see y’all again. Remember how last week we talked about favorite tropes? Well, this week we’re gonna talk about least favorite tropes. In case you missed that post or just want a reminder of what a trope is, you can go read that here. Onwards and upwards! My List Intelligence = Isolation– This is seriously one that gets my goat. (Yes, that phrase is a cliché. Had to use it, though. 😊) In this…
Hey again, Folks! Who here knows what a trope is? Well, in literature, a trope is “something recurring across a genre or type of literature, such as the ‘mad scientist’ of horror movies or ‘once upon a time’ as an introduction to fairy tales.” This is not to be confused with clichés, which are “Something, most often a phrase or expression, that is overused or used outside its original context, so that its original impact and meaning are lost. A…
“How did you get started writing?” I’m sure this is a question that nearly every author has faced at some point in time. Some people might eagerly look forward to answering this question, spilling their oral memoir to any available ear. Others fear it. They wish the ground would just open up underneath them like a black hole and swallow them for eternity. Most of us, however, are somewhere in between both extremes. My Writing Story I’m really not sure,…
I’m pretty sure in this day and age that we are all very familiar with Google translate. Many of us have probably used it, or have heard the horror stories about mistakes it has made. You would think that it would be a simple thing for Google translate to go from one language to the other without messing things up terribly. But when you put something in to be translated and try to take the result and turn it back…
What is one thing that, no matter how good of a writer you are, your story will not exist without? Characters. There is no way on this blue planet that you can write a story without characters in some form or fashion. It is physically and literally impossible. But, even though characters are such a necessary part of giving life to a story, poorly written characters can kill a story just as quickly. So, how do we go about making…
What is it that drives us to read books? It might be the questions of what’s going to happen next. It might be the excellent descriptors of the setting the story is based in. It might even be the emotional ride that the author takes you on. Perhaps it is all of the above combined. But even if it is all of these, there is one common factor throughout all of these. To figure out what happens next, the characters…
We have discussed how geography, languages, and religion affect world-building. In this last installment in this series, we will be discussing how culture and traditions shape world-building. The reason these two are last is that the previous topics influence culture and tradition. Culture is: the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization; the set of values, conventions, or…
In this vast, blue world of ours, we have quite a few religions. We are so surrounded by religion and belief systems that it has become just everyday white noise to most of us, despite numerous people continually arguing about it. What very few people notice is exactly how much influence religion has on all our lives. Some religions believe in a single god, which is called monotheism. Christianity and Islam are among these. Now others are polytheistic, believe in…
Second up in our world-building series is geography. Let’s face it. If you’re building a world for your story, it has to take place somewhere. Your characters aren’t just floating in the great abyss interacting with each other. That’d be boring. And honestly, very confusing and worrisome. Let’s say that you want to have a city as the setting for your characters. Now, this city can be medieval, modern, futuristic, minuscule, gigantic, essentially whatever you want. It doesn’t really matter….