Have you ever watched a television show or a movie and said “No Way!” to a sequence of events that were just too improbable?  Did the plot seem way too dependant on luck? Suspending belief is a key piece to enjoying some movies, but sometimes the creators simply take too many liberties with the audience.  As writers, we must be careful not to fall into that trap or we lose credibility. Does that mean that we should avoid the use of coincidence and luck in our writing?  Absolutely not, after all, what is life but a series of unexpected events?  It just means that we shouldn’t use them as a crutch; they should be used sparingly but with surgical precision to move the […]

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One of the (many) problems/headaches I’ve experienced in my writing is ensuring that I’m true to the story’s frame of reference.  You see, we all have our own set of experiences and cultural references that set our understanding of the world around us.  But should they also influence our characters? Take for example borsht.  I know that borsht is Beet soup.  I can describe what it looks like, how it tastes, how best to eat it, etc.  But would the word borsht mean anything to someone from South America (without having to go through the detailed explanation first)? Now, how about a more extreme example.  What about a peasant farmer living in a medieval-esque era in a fantasy setting who worships nature?  Would he (or she) […]

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Sometimes the toughest thing with being a writer is actually finding the time to write.  This post is case in point.  The only time I actually had any time to do any writing was at the cusp of a new day. So what the heck is the answer?  The biggest piece of the answer (because there certainly isn’t one definitive one) is to make your writing a priority.  Just like you would do for exercising, spending time with your family or going out for that quiet time that you so desperately need. So how do I tackle this problem (because with two children and a full-time job, it most certainly is a problem)?  The only answer I can give you […]

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Have you ever heard the saying “Give the horse his head?”.  If you haven’t, I just want to be very clear about one thing:  I am not suggesting you rip off a horse’s head and feed it to him (or her… whatever).  No, that might be something that you may (or may not) see in one of Aaron’s scene examples, but that’s another story. What it really means (to a rider anyway) is to let the horse run as hard and as fast as it wants (and let it pick its own path too).  OK, that’s kind of interesting, but so what?  What the heck is your point? My point is, sometimes, you have to give your characters the freedom to do things […]

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