The Evil Banker theory of richer character development
When we create characters, we tend to see them in terms of their function in our story. Got an evil banker? You probably know something about his history as a…
Tag Archives: theory
Raising squids in the fountain – a character theory
I believe it was Orson Scott Card who first taught me (in an essay that I can no longer find references for) that a good way to make a short…
The geometry – and light – of story.
An interesting discussion cropped up on Reddit the other day, in which fellow fantasy author Michael J. Sullivan was wrestling with the writer’s creed that a good story is composed…
Why showing is both more and less than telling
Every writer has probably heard the advice, “Show, don’t tell,” but very few teachers can explain what they mean by that. It seems to be one of those “you know…
INCEPTION: How to make a reader feel an emotion
Elsewhere, I’ve talked about the theory that causing people to think in a way associated with a particular mood can often cause them to experience the mood itself. Before today,…
