This is a bonus episode, featuring an interview with the British Science Fiction writer Alastair Reynolds. In this interview we discuss Al's advice to aspiring SciFi writers, the state of Science Fiction literature, and why the future doesn't have to end up in the hands of flesh eating zombies.
In this episode we condense about 2,300 years of story theory into ten minutes(!) and then look at four practical lessons we can apply to our writing, including how to make a great first impression with an opening line, why it's so important that we get our work into the best possible state, and how to tell whether a clever plot element really is as clever as we think it is.
How do you start a story? With a compelling opening line, of course. In this episode we will look at how you can write a great opening line, what the most important objective for an opening lines is, and how the dimensions of story can help you. We'll have a look at some great opening lines from literature, and a couple of bad ones that I've made created just for the episode!
This episode is a "must listen" for all writers of horror, fantasy, and science fiction. My guest is Jeanne Cavelos the primary instructor and Director of the Odyssey Writing Workshops Charitable Trust. In her role Jeanne directs the Odyssey Writing Workshop; a six week intensive course - the only workshop of its kind run by an editor. In this interview Jeanne gives us tips on planning versus pantsing, world building and character development and tells me about the single biggest problem she see...
What is foreshadowing? How does it work, and how can you use it to enhance and enrich your writing? In this episode we will look at the different types of foreshadowing, how they can empower your writing, and how to use them to best effect
What's the most important thing in creating a plot and story development? It's knowing your guiding principle, or 'Controlling Idea' as the master of story telling,Robert McKee, calls it. In this episode we identify what that guiding principle is, and why it's critical to your story.
You know that feeling, you are about 20k to 30k words in to the story, and you suddenly begin to wonder where it's all going. Is this story really any good? Is it even worth you finishing it? These are all classic symptoms of the mid-story crisis, and in this episode we explore what that crisis is, and how you can resolve it.
This is a guest episide with Ottawa-based storyteller and science-fiction/fantasy writer, Marie Bilodeau. Marie's writings have been nominated four times for Canada's biggest SF award, the Aurora Awards. Her new dark fantasy series, Nigh, is about to be released. She's told stories across Canada in theatre houses, tea shops, bars and under disco balls. Find out more about Marie, her writings and upcoming shows at www.mariebilodeau.com.
One of the more contentious debates in creative writing is the question of whether authors should plan and outline, or simply go with the flow and dive straight in to their writing. In this episode we look at both sides of the argument and try to pick the best from both.
Continuing our review of the essentials of plot, in this episode we look at the things you need to deal with early in the story, namely setting out the main storyline and setting the core expectations and boundaries for your reader.
This episode is an interview with artist and children’s writer and illustrator, Claire Keane. Until 2013 Claire was based at Disney studios where she worked as a visual development artist. She contributed to two animated feature films, "Frozen" which was released last year, and "Tangled", which she worked on with her father, the animator Glen Keane. I invited Claire on to the show because of her interest in character development and story and sincerity and integrity in art. We had a great conver...
We've started on the process of building a story from the ground up, and we're going to kick off with plot. In this episode we look at three aspects of plot: the shape of the story, the engine of the plot, and the danger of cliches
It's time to start planning that story, but with so many aspects to creative writing and the creative process being such a subjective and mysterious thing, how do you plan? In this episode we explore the dimensions to a story and how to balance the discipline of structure with the flexibility to harness imagination
Back to first principles. We're asking a couple of fundamental questions in this episode as the foundation for going on to look at a whole range of aspects to creative writing over the weeks and months to come. These will include: plot, character, theme, genre,setting, style, and viewpoint.
The HARVARD model is a systematic process for developing the personae of your characters. It's different from other character generators in two ways: first, it encourages you, the writer, to show how the character's personality manifests itself, and how they interact with others; and second it acknowledges the way in which character and plot should work together to produce your story.
In one of our occasional interviews on the Writer's Toolbelt, I talk to award winning SciFi and fantasy author Derek Kunsken about showing and telling, outlining, characterisation, and being found out by your writers group.
So how good are your characters? Can you tell? Here are three tests that you can use to work out how effective your characters are. You can also use these tests to help you develop your characters further.
Great books can have ordinary characters plunged into extraordinary situations - but they can also have extraordinary characters who create their own extraordinary situations! Who are these characters? What are they like, and how can we, as writers create them? These characters have what Harry Bingham in his book "How to Write" calls - characters with edge.
It's what your character does, rather than what you say about them, that defines them for the reader. In this episode Andrew talks about how action defines character and gives examples for both heros and villains
Continuing our series on characterisation, in this episode we look at character motivation and why the motivation for the characters in our writing must be: evident to the reader, reasonable and understandable, and must drive the plot.
What are the personal qualities you need, not only keep you writing but to help you improve in your craft? Andrew shares his views on why perseverance, humility, and imagination are the fundamental character traits you need to develop as a writer.
In the last episode we looked at character integrity and how this is founded on 1.Believability/plausibility and 2. The character as an individual. In this episode I'm going to start to look at how a character can become an individual, focusing on descriptive markers and character weaknesses.
This episode introduces the core requirements for good character development: character integrity and individuality. We will look at individuality next time, but in this episode we look at how making a character believable, and keeping them consistent are the keys to successful characterisation.
In this episode I cover two issues, using precise and powerful verbs, and also using the active rather than passive voice to energise and drive your story
Grabbing the reader's attention immediately is a vital part of storytelling. Often writers will start a story too early, or fill the first critical paragraphs with backstory and infodump. In this podcast we explore techniques to make sure your writing grabs the reader right from the first sentence.
In this podcast I explore some of the mistakes that editors look out for. Here are ten things to think about before you submit your work - get them right and make your manuscript shine!
This is the last of the five techniques for showing not telling - and arguably it's the hardest one to do. Humour is a serious business and requires precision and integrity in its execution. Precision in terms of timing and editing, and integrity in terms of keeping the characters and scene believable.
In this episode we look at another dimension of showing not telling, and that's the potential for hinting, suggesting or implying something rather than telling the reader outright. One of the most powerful tools we have as creative writers is derived from the fact that a hint or suggestion, well understood, will always have more power than something said explicitly.
In this episode I will explain how you can use sensory language to show rather than tell your story
How to use a small number of very specific descriptive cues to show your reader both scene and character
