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Character Nods: a Development Tool for Fiction Writers

April 18, 2019

Android, app, characters, computer, fiction, programming

Please note that none of my Android apps is any longer maintained – and they’re not even available on Google Play anymore – for reasons you can read about here. If you still have any of the Home for Fiction Android apps installed on your phone, you’re advised to uninstall them. The post below should be seen purely as a snapshot of history.

My plot development tool, Narrative Nods is by far the most downloaded of my apps on Google Play. A lot of people have told me it’s helped them a lot. And so, I made another similar app, Character Nods, which is based on character narrative theory.

How Character Nods Helps You Design Better Novels

If you haven’t read my article on fiction character types, I really suggest that you do. It gives a lot of information of various character types you can implement in your plot.

However, the focus of Character Nods is on your protagonist and your antagonist. They are by far the most important characters of your book. As a result, it’s them you should make sure to develop properly. The reason? The interaction between protagonist and antagonist is what creates the narrative tension of your story.

If you recall my article on narrative antagonists, this tension is an absolutely critical aspect of story-telling.

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Writing and Reading Symbolism in Literature: a How-To Guide

April 6, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

fiction, literature, meaning, reading, symbolic, symbolism, writing

In today’s article, we’ll talk about symbolism in literature. Worry not, it’s not an academic post. Conversely, it’s meant as a simple but revealing how-to guide, useful both to inexperienced and seasoned readers and writers. I wrote this article wanting to offer a better understanding of how symbolism in literature operates, and particularly how to read it or write it.

Motivation for this post arose from a review of one of my works. Through the text of the review, I realized that the reader had missed several key aspects of symbolism in the novel. What made the case interesting, however, was that this was not a case of an unsophisticated reader. It was obvious that the reader was fairly experienced, skilled, and read the book for what it was. And yet, s/he missed these symbolic, allegorical excerpts.

Symbolism, allegory, parable, allusion. There are subtle differences between these concepts, but they all coexist under the grand umbrella of “metaphorical meaning”, as opposed to “literal meaning”. To keep this article accessible, I use terms such as “symbolism” or “metaphor” interchangeably, that is, referring to any expression of non-literal meaning.

Virtually everyone knows what this symbolizes, to the extent that its literal meaning (a blindfolded woman holding a pair of scales and a sword) is entirely ignored. **Familiarity** exists in an *inversely proportional* relationship with **affective power**. In simpler words, symbolism in literature that is harder to grasp, is also more rewarding for the discoverer.

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“More than a Sum” – Short Story

March 25, 2019

Fiction

consciousness, dream, fiction, Kafka, perception, short story, symbolic

The text that follows, “More than a Sum”, is a short story I wrote after a particularly vivid dream. Many great stories begin this way, so my advice to fellow authors is to note down such dreams as soon as they wake up.

The story might remind you – at least in terms of style – of another short story published here. I think “More than a Sum” is less Kafkaesque than that one, but I do detect some similar topical traces.

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