We are told, over and over again, that only flawed characters are interesting. That characters who are simply heroic, or competent, are boring--they make the right decisions, they figure out the mystery, but they fail to grow as people. Even worse, readers can't relate to them and will find them dull. This ignores the fact …
Bad Advice: Write Like Your Parents Are Already Dead
Because, of course, then you'll be liberated from the fear of offending them. Or you can write about them, even better, right? You can write about how crazy they were or how they treated you or what they did to keep you from writing. Right? It's true that writers need to be a little fearless …
Continue reading "Bad Advice: Write Like Your Parents Are Already Dead"
Politics in Genre Writing
Short answer? Go for it. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You've probably heard someone tell you this by now. That they don't want "politics" in science fiction, or horror, or Disney Princess fanfic. Of course we all know what they really mean. They don't want you to write anything that disagrees with their personal …
Bad Advice: Single Biome Worlds
It's one of the great cliche responses to science fiction. "Earth has dozens of different biomes, but every planet in sci fi is just one thing, either it's all desert or all frozen or..." It's easy to see why this bothers so many people watching science fiction movies. It's very true that Earth has a …
Bad Advice: Static Protagonists
Everyone knows that your characters need to go through arcs. They need to change, or grow, or learn a lesson, or discover something about themselves before the story's over. Don't believe it. Plenty of great stories are led by static characters. Most writing guides will insist that every character you create needs to be dynamic …
Unconventional Devices: Direct Address
Any story is a conversation between a writer and a reader. There's an unspoken agreement you make when you pick up a book--the author is going to tell you a story, maybe even try to make a point, and they know you're listening and (hopefully) paying attention. That's a lot to ask from a reader, …
Questions People Ask Writers
What are you working on? Is it finished? When can we see it? Do you have a day job? Are you published? But seriously, what do you do for money? Are you also looking for a real job? Is your book any good? How long did it take you to write it? Are you published? …
Writing When You Just Can’t
Note: I was sick as a dog this week, so this one is going to be pretty quick. It's also more practical than my usual entry. Please note as well that there will be no update next week, due to the imminent holiday. Thanks. There are days when you just can't write a word. Days …
Second Person and Present Tense: Why and Why Not
I risk coming off like a grumpy old man in this post, which is something I'll just have to live with. It's my assertion, though, that second person viewpoint and the present tense are overused in modern writing, and that outside of certain usages they should be shunned. Let's start with second person, that is, …
Continue reading "Second Person and Present Tense: Why and Why Not"
DAVID WELLINGTON 
You must be logged in to post a comment.