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I went through this turmoil whith what i wrote last year. I havent pitched it yet, so i havent had to come up with a category label, but ive written semi mythic vikings set 90% in real places, with one exception, based partly on real historical people and partly on mythological people...

So I seem to have agreed to script a graphic novel that a talented artist friend wants to do the art for. Anyone written a graphic novel before? Obviously the basics of story arcs, acts, etc all apply, but hints on approach, how to think about the story visually in terms of image place ent on a...

This has kind of been said, but i think it’s more important the MC is interesting and the reader can empathise with them in some way than they are likeable. The empathy comes from their dilemma, and the fact that as a reader you may not agree with their decisions, but you are rooting for them to...

Passive voice almost invariably uses more words. To take the above example active - "Brutus stabbed Caesar", vs passive "Ceasar was stabbed by Brutus" is 3 wrods vs 5 words - so generally with passive voice you are taking more time to say a thing, in a less direct manner than you would using...

Late to the party but I watched Black Panther this morning. I loved the villains. They were human, relatable and wanted something more subtle than “destroy/enslave all humans”. Ironically I found the most shallow character to be Black Panther. He didn’t seem to really want much. He loves his...

I think this works because if I remember correctly all the characters are locals (or aliens). I could imagine a literary version of something like Peaky Blinders or Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels taking a similar approach. Language is the setting. Actually thinking about it, I'm fairly sure...

This is actually proving very helpful for me to think through bad guy characters and apply what I've just said to my own work :)

Ironically I find Loki the most human of the lot, but maybe thats because I like Viking myth and assign added depth to the character based on other things I've read. Plus they've basically turned him into more of an anti-hero than a full on evil bad guy now. I'll give you Spiderman, but...

I think this is part of it, but I've been thinking about this in the context of superheroes recently, having just watched Season 4 of Gotham and I'm re-reading Arkham Asylum, then watching the Avengers Infinity War trailer and thinking, yawn. I'm sure some people love them, but I find the Marvel...

The tension between what the gatekeepers (agents, etc) want and what readers want is tough. I look at this through the lens of recruitment and CVs/resumes. In my last job I did a LOT or recruitment. I must have seen literally hundreds of CVs. When you get. A pile of 20 CVs dumps in your desk...

I love a good fight scene, but it has to be good. It depends on what era you are setting things in, but if you are going modern or sci fi I'd recommend some military memoirs. Black Hawk Down is a great place to start to understand the frenetic intensity of a firefight. The fact that for a lot of...

If you are writing 1st or close 3rd POV, describe the emotion as people have said, but also from my expereince (reenactment, etc) fights are pure chaos. Even in "structured" big fights like shieldwall vs shieldwall, pike blocks, etc, you'll often find yourself turned around, facing the wrong...

Yep, and as society becomes more electronic, that becomes even more of a problem. So I'm kind of seeing this tension between him wanting to go to more and more remote places, but being drawn back to places he remembers as pivotal somehow, even if he doesn't know why, which essentially gives me a...

Agreed... but what I'm trying to work out is does he know he's say, at least 100, 200, 500? Even if things fade. Or does he just "fill up and reset" every so often, so he's left with no real memories other than haunting shadows. Story wise, it works if he's aware he's special, but doesn't know...

Interesting angle. That could work. I agree - which is why I'm angling towards he's basically broken, and saving him will be about throwing the curse and becoming human/able to die. Not in a Highlander "I've won" kind of way. but I'm thinking the antagonist will be whoever cursed him in the...

I'm pondering ideas for a new thing in which the central character is immortal. For context, modern-day magic/urban fantasy-esque. Either the MC or a major plot character is cursed to immortality as a result of a spell, lives 1000 ish years and a core of the story is about unlocking the binding...

Not strictly true, and that's where the perceived danger comes from. "Simple" AI (expert systems, RPA) is programmed with IF/THEN logic. Complex, yes, but still coded by humans. Machine Learning is the game changer. Machine Learning is an add-on for most commercial AI platforms, like Watson.In...

I’d never seen the Stephen king comment before but I agree with it. When you have limited words, you learn to be super concise. And as a journalist you are constantly slammed with deadlines, so you have to learn to write well, and quickly. We have a rule of 7 lines or less for paragraphs. I try...

Again I think this depends on what's good for the story. Neil Stephenson is good at making the tech to what he wants to tell a story (Snowcrash and Reamde in particular). Ready Player One went that way as well, playing up on the nerd heritage of Oasis so normal users all buy into geek culture...

I like the idea of ads, pop ups, etc. We did some far out future of marketing scenario planning for work last year and one crazy idea was firms would pay consumers to watch ads. Kind of privacy plus controlled, curated media environments means people see less ads, so you could have a whole class...