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Fiction Writing Tips

Colors in Writing: How To Use Them in Your Novel

June 28, 2019

feelings, fiction, manipulation, symbolism, writing

Vision is one of our most important senses. We use our eyes to interact with much of the world around us. Unsurprisingly, colors reveal a vast universe of beauty and meaning. Why should they be absent from your fiction? Colors in writing are far more important than many authors give them credit for.

Since colors are so important in our everyday life, it’s only natural that we respond to them in fiction, too—ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς; Eos rhododactylos, rosy-fingered Dawn, says Homer.

colors in writing — Colors in writing often convey rich symbolic meanings

My personal favorite from modern English literature is a description in Pamela Zoline’s “The Heat Death of the Universe”, referring to a land that, like California(!) is “Cunt Pink and Avocado Green”.

Learning how to use colors in your writing can add significant depth to your fiction. So, let’s get started!

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How to Write Realistic Characters

June 15, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

characters, creativity, fiction, literature, reality, writing

How to write realistic characters is something most fiction writers worry about. This is for good reason. Writing realistic characters, with realistic dialogues and inner worlds, is the key to writing realistic fiction.

Of course, before seeing how to write realistic characters, you should perhaps ask yourself whether it’s necessary for your novel to have realistic characters.

You might find that question a bit odd. Surely, what’s wrong with realistic characters? Why would anyone not want to write realistic characters?

We’ll take a look at this little detail, too. Sneak preview: it has to do with what I mentioned above, referring to “writing realistic fiction”.

After we get that out of the way, I’ll give you concrete tips on how to write realistic characters. Here’s another sneak preview: To write realistic characters, with believable dialogues and rich inner worlds, you must think like them, individually.

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Worldbuilding in Fiction: a Guide

May 2, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

fantasy, fiction, science fiction, worldbuilding, writing

Today’s article is a result of a conversation I had with Francis Mont, author of House Arrest. We were talking about worldbuilding in fiction. Particularly, we were talking about the challenges involved in creating an imaginary setting for your science fiction novel.

And so, I decided to write this short guide to worldbuilding. If you’re a science-fiction, fantasy, and perhaps horror-fiction author, this post will interest you.

Interestingly enough, preparing this post required me to ponder on worldbuilding in fiction myself. As a literary-fiction author, I never really had to think about how to worldbuild. So, writing this post made for an interesting exercise.

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