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Meta
Monthly Archives: June 2016
Making the Scene
Most fiction is made up of scenes. A scene can be a few lines long, or a long chapter can all be a single scene. Almost by definition, a scene involves at least one human (or non-human actor) doing something … Continue reading
Those Pesky Details
Writing a decent murder mystery has to be a huge challenge. There are so many details you have to get right! The other day I picked up Breakdown by Jonathan Kellerman at the library. My first impression was that it’s … Continue reading
Theodore Sturgeon Was an Optimist
Sturgeon’s Law, as everybody knows, is, “Ninety percent of science fiction is crap. But then, ninety percent of everything is crap.” He was talking about fiction published by professional publishers. In his day, self-publishing did exist, but nobody paid any … Continue reading
When Idiots Abide
In plotted fiction, it’s essential to get the lead character into some kind of predicament. And the predicament has to be serious. If there’s no predicament, you don’t have a plot at all, just a collection of random incidents. If … Continue reading
Jim Aikin's Oblong Blob 