If you’re anything like me, then you’ll know that the closer you get to a story the harder it is to objectively question it. You’ve spent so much time there and it works so well in your brain that it’s hard to take that mental step back and look for problems.
I’ve already talked about the importance of stress testing a world (see my first article on world building) but we haven’t covered the best ways to start questioning your world and finding the breaking points. Continue reading
Is it a life form? Is it a flower? Is it a piece of art?
Following up from Wesley’s great post, we’re continuing our look at world building!
World building can be intimidating and overwhelming, but no one should ever be discouraged from attempting to build a world for their story.
You already have a huge natural advantage when it comes to world building because you actually LIVE in a WORLD! And it’s full of examples and good ideas you can steal for your own story. Continue reading
Pen Friends~
For our Feature Friday we want to welcome The Spinning Pen’s new Contributor, Ira McBee, a writer of Young Adult fiction, among his many other trades. His current novel is a YA fantasy titled, The Watchman. His first post is below ~ Welcome Ira!
One time a witchdoctor healed me after being wounded in a sword fight. That’s kind of how it went, mostly. Well, not exactly. The wounded part is legit. Oddly enough, so’s the witchdoctor part. The sword fighting? That’s a stretch. Continue reading
Did you know that today is Chinese New Year’s?[1]
Growing up, even half-Chinese, I wasn’t aware that anyone went by a different calendar[2], or that there were holidays Americans didn’t observe, or vice versa. That’s pretty typical for children, of course. You don’t really start looking outside your own world until you’re a teenager – if even then. My first foray into a culture totally different from my own opened up my world figuratively – in drawing my imagination, and literally – I’m living overseas (and loving it).
But what helps people to greet such differences with interest rather than fear? Continue reading
The Spinning Pen 