Tag Archives: characters

Worldbuilding with Horses: Personalities

Posted on April 2, 2012 by

There’s one trap the worldbuilder can fall into all too easily. It’s the same one Hollywood persistently falls into with genre films. The special effects take over, and nobody remembers that what really makes a story work is people. Soylent … Continue reading →


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Posted in Animals, Blogs, Book View Cafe, horses | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

So Nice…

Posted on March 21, 2012 by

By Linda Nagata (cross-posted from Hahví.net) Mostly, I’m a nice person. Odds are excellent that I won’t cheat you, sabotage you, or stab you in the back. I’m not very good at holding grudges either. Frankly, grudges, old hates, enemies, … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Villains: Evil and Otherness

Posted on December 13, 2011 by

Typically, science fiction conventions will offer a panel discussion on villains. Writers and readers love to talk about the bad guys. After all, more often than not, they’re more interesting — not to mention sexier — than the good guys. … Continue reading →


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Posted in Book View Cafe | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Characters — More Than Real

Posted on September 7, 2011 by

For me, characters make or break a story. I’ll forgive a lot of plot holes or even huge stretches of belief if the characters are compelling–if they’re folks with whom I want to spend a few hours. But it’s hard to get that right on the page. Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , | 5 Comments

What’s My Motivation?

Posted on August 3, 2011 by

No wonder most folks think they suck at plotting—they do. Lately, I’ve read implausible plots, overly melodramatic plots only missing the villain twirling a mustache, plots so tangled there’s no way you can get the synopsis to five pages and have it make sense, and complex plots where the romance (and the character) are lost in the action. How do you fix this? It all goes back to character. Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Question of Archetypes

Posted on April 10, 2011 by

I’ve heard literary scholars claim that Gandalf, the mighty wizard of Lord of the Rings, is merely a reinvention of Merlin, who in turn evolved out of wise old figures in the epics. When this sort of discussion comes up … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 29 Comments

Mary Sue Deserves Respect!

Posted on March 29, 2011 by

In his excellent book, Creating Short Fiction, Damon Knight describes stages in a writer’s development. The very notion is extraordinary, so let’s not rush into the specifics. Assuming we are willing to work at acquiring and perfecting the skills necessary … Continue reading →


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Posted in Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Shifting Gears

Posted on January 19, 2011 by

I remember quite clearly when I began to write my epic fantasy series, set in the imaginary Celtic country of Deverry and its environs.  It was a rainy Washington’s Birthday weekend in February of 1982.  The last of its fifteen … Continue reading →


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Posted in Urban Fantasy, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

Not Just Another Funny Forehead: Creating Alien Characters

Posted on May 4, 2010 by

All too often, television and films have depicted alien races as either shapeless blobs bent on wholesale destruction or else human actors with wrinkled noses or pointed ears. Alas, printed media have not proved immune to such generic and often … Continue reading →


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Posted in science fiction, Writers on Writing | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Darkovan Characters: Yours, Mine, and Ours

Posted on December 29, 2009 by

One of the most delicate and challenging aspects of continuing Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover series–or any world invented by another author, for that matter–has been the portrayal of characters not my own. Most were created by Marion herself, but some … Continue reading →


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