Avsnitt
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Pacing can make or break your story. So, how do you make sure your pacing is right on point? Is this action scene you worked on just an empty CGI extravaganza or bears significance to the story as a whole?
I will be talking about creating and managing conflict, building tension and handling pacing of the stories you write.
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Writer's block is a boogieman of creative writing. Everyone fears it, everyone talks about it, but yet not many aspiring authors all willing to face it once it shows up. Some of them even stop writing alltogether, which is a shame.
Here are some tips on how to deal with your writer's block. Maybe they'll help you to get a little bit inspired and puch trough.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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The first draft of your novel is done. You type "the end" after the last few lines and you celebrate. Or do you? There is a lot of reading, editing and changing stuff around before you can call your novel truly done. What is there to celbrate, right?
It is really a matter of perspective and your mindset how "done" you really are and how nigh "the end" really is.
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There is a lot you can run into when attempting to finish your first draft. It is not just about your discipline and willpower. Sometimes it is about creativity or rather... Aiming that creativity in the right way.
Writing can be tiring, but it should not be exhausting. At least not all the time.
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I have heard a lot of "well, it is messy, but I am a discovery writer". Discovery writing is very powerful approach to writing, yet at the same time many aspiring authors use it as sort of an excuse to let their texts wonder.
There is a lot to know when you start discovering otherwise you'll might end up being stuck in your own text.
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A group of teenagers is trapped at the cabin with a serial killer, one of the characters tries to call for help, looks at their phone, but only "no service" message glows on the screen. Many aspiring authors take these shortcuts to limit their characters option to solve the situation at hand.
But limiting your characters options is no fun for the reader. It is in fact pretty frustrating and can turn on you very quickly. How can you make your dangerous situations mount tension and make the believable at the same time?
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The story telling principle known as a Chekhov's gun is fairly well known, but there is a subtext to it regarding sci-fi and fantasy writing. So, how do you use the Chekhov's gun principle in your text and how do you use it in world-building?
This is exactly one of those principles that is way easier to explain then to grasp within your own text.
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I will be talking about deus ex machina again, but this time what if the Gods don't help our hero, but rather make him fail. Sometimes you might want your hero to fail, even a little bit so they can rise and prove themselves – that is a nice story, actually.
However, you might end up forcing your hero to fail and still have nothing for them to overcome.
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This time I will be talking about deus ex machina – something so overused in modern story-telling, it is almost a staple. Yet, many aspiring authors still struggle with this mechanic that can end up breaking your plot and your world.
Deus ex machina is a tool however and you can learn how to use it and actually help your story along. Maybe even improve it.
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What makes a character the main character in you story? What makes it "the one"? There is a lot of stuff you need to think about when you are creating your hero and I am going to talk about what the criteria are and how to successfully built a strong main character for your story.
Ending up with a generic character you just call the "hero" of your story is actually easier than you think. Rather then focusing on character development, I will be focusing on character creation mostly for now.
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Exposition is another tool in your writing utility bat-belt. Yet, it seems it is one that has a very bad reputation. You hear a movie review saying "There is too much exposition." So, how much is too much exposition?
So, how do you handle exposition – how do you explain background and circumstances to your reader and characters with exposition? Or maybe without it...
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Show, don't tell! Everyone who ever attempted creative writing heard this a million times. Everyone grasps the basic idea, but many aspiring writers struggle with using this principle in their text. Why is that?
The thing we call "show, don't tell" principle runs a little bit deeper and has more meaning than you can easily jam in three catchy words. I am going to talk about the hidden inner meanings and on how to best you "show don't tell" in your texts.
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During the writing process, you often need to open up search engine. How much distance can a person walk in a day? How heavy an actual sword actually is? How many Gs can a human being survive? But, there is much more to research than that. Research can expand on your story, provide fresh ideas and eliminate clichés.
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There is a lot to be said about worldbuilding. Especially in sci-fi and fantasy genre. But what is worldbuilding–story conflict? It is what I call an imbalance between worldbuilding and plot development.
So how do you achieve the balance? One is fun and relaxing, the other can be painstaking and overwhelming. How do you create your fantastic world and make it work with your story better?
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A lot of aspiring authors here a lot of "everything has already been written" and struggle with how to be original and how to make unique story come to life in a unique setting. Trying a failing to feel like you are working on something original can be very though and can put a lot of doubt into your work and yourself. So, how can you be truly original?
I will talk about creativity, originality and give you some basic tips on how to make your work more original and free.
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You might have started writing a fantasy or a sci-fi novel in the past. Maybe a few of them and you can't seem to finish it. Why not? In the first episode of my podcast I am going to talk about what drives aspiring authors to start writing a full novel, maybe even series right of the bat, without any significant previous writing experience. The issues you might encounter, how to deal with them and eventually be able to decide whether you are ready to write a full fantasy or sci-fi novel.
