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Author Archives: knlistman
What is the opposite of steam punk?
World building can be a challenge. Advice from someone well-versed in geology, history, or sociology will help when designing world differing from the one we inhabit. My desire was to create an alternate world in which civilization was advanced as … Continue reading
Posted in Literary devices, Story structure, Writer's resource, Writing trends
Tagged steam punk, world building
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Charming characters can’t be trusted
The character with charm, with the twinkle in the eye, who speaks noble words with the perfect voice, who makes the impassioned plea to turn the crowd around– the character with all the traits of charisma that we desire—that character … Continue reading
Literary devices and charisma
Originally posted on Write about what?:
“Edwin Escobar Luz” by Herbert Rouge – Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons – Most people determine a leader’s charisma using nonverbal characteristics, such as conveying emotional states, demonstrating passions…
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The real world of victims
Fictional adolescents that are able do anything they set their mind on tend to irritate readers with their unrealistic perfection. And, so do characters who cannot do anything to help themselves. In a reaction against the too perfect character there … Continue reading
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The appeal of the unlikable
In the search to construct a likable character, amateur authors often forget that the major character needs flaws. When authors want to escape this world by imagining themselves as the person that everyone adores, this adulation occurs only within the … Continue reading
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What’s in Style in Words?
Adolescents are known for following fads in fashion. Buying clothes which they wouldn’t dare be seen in the next year. Only, I’m seeing styles that keep coming back. The tendency towards fads has moved on into the world of books. … Continue reading
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Writing the car wreck
Imagine a movie scene from the seventies or eighties– a car veers out of control over the edge of a cliff and tumbles end-over-end finally exploding at the bottom of the ravine. We’ll never know who that unfortunate driver was. … Continue reading
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Mastering the ambiguous character
Recently I started reading two different stories with a peculiar similarity. In one the romantic male lead had olive skin, and dark hair and eyes. The other had tanned skin and raven black hair–both variations of tall, dark and handsome. … Continue reading
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Kick starting a story
Many writers believe that most readers will only read a novel that grabs their attention from the first page. A dramatic episode must unfold in the first paragraph. I witnessed a workshop in which writers were coached to do just … Continue reading
Present tense prose
Since the popularity of The Hunger Game series and the awards won by All the Light We Cannot See, a trend is fiction is the use of present tense. This style is touted as making the character’s actions more intimate … Continue reading
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