The AI author panic has overtaken writers’ conferences and podcasts since the start of the year. Endless experiments with ChatGPT and the current generation of Generative AI has the author community spooked.
Author Tiffany Yates Martin even asked ChatGPT to explain itself as a potential threat to authors.
So what’s the verdict? …
Because we all need more joy and more comic novels in the worlds, herewith, the conventions of the comedy genre in fiction. A funny thing happened on the way to the keyboard…
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One of the sessions of last year’s writers’ summits covered revision planning with Troy Lambert. At Daniel David Wallace’s Revising and Editing Workshop, Lambert presented a solid and concise approach to revising a novel.
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Navigating a path from start to finish of a novel can be hard for both plotters and free-writers; enter the Skeleton Draft.
The Skeleton Draft is an idea-dump. Maybe you outlined the novel using a story structure such as the Hero’s Journey or any of the five, seven, seventeen or twenty-four point methods. Or maybe you have a scant clue of your story without a real structure in mind. The Skeleton Draft is a means to dive into the story and explore characters, conflicts and events without getting hung up on prose before you really have the idea worked out.
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For all the world-building and lore, I realise Fantasy is no different from any other story structure. All genres contain world-building and lore. Except in other genres we call it setting and history. All stories have it, even contemporary ‘real-world’ stories. Because they’re not real. ‘Real worlds’ in stories are edited and highlighted fictional versions. The author decides what to include and what to leave out. …
13-19 March is Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2023. A worldwide initiative to challenge stereotypes and misconceptions about neurological differences, the aim is to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported. It’s an opportunity to recognise the talents and advantages of neurodiversity, creating more inclusive and equitable cultures. …
Explosive beginning, great ending, so why does your novel suffer from Sagging Middle Syndrome?
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It’s almost miraculous how a book can unlock the power of imagination.
Few things fire the imagination like a story. Whether you read it for yourself or someone else tells you a tale, humans are so hardwired for story we can’t help but imagine the people and events. The best stories unlock the power of imagination within the reader.
Now here’s the kicker: that power is unique and unpredictable within every reader.
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Thursday March 2nd; we’re celebrating World Book Day 2023. The World Book Day organisation is a charity whose mission is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child and young person the opportunity to have a book of their own. …
If there genuinely are no new stories, only new twists, then what counts as plot clichés to avoid? From Booktuber Alyssa Matesic’s short list comes a rich seam of super-clichés found in fiction.
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