The most recognizable and challenging topic in science fiction is, of course, the extraterrestrial. This bewildering mould for horror, comedy, and whatnot has been used and overused for bazillion times, which is why today we’re going to meddle with it some more. So what exactly is the purpose of creating credible alien stuff?
A Patient’s Testimony
What does it feel like, to awake on a crossroad, when the life you knew is gone? What if it hasn’t been stolen but removed with a scalpel? It was your dice to roll: live or die, and you chose to live. But in the end, do you?
Minimalist Poetry: a Merging of Genres?
Since the early 20th century, minimalist poetry proceeded from “Adam / Had ‘em” by Strickland Gillilan, to the letter you see on the right, written (or should I say designed?) by Aram Saroyan. The question is, when the poets start applying the very style of the written word, does it still count as pure literature? Are minimalist expanding the definition of this genre, and are we going see more of such pieces in the future?
Science Fiction Is Not Science Fiction?
Today I’ve decided to stir away from general writing advice, and try being genre-specific. Over the years science fiction has been critised as a nothing-to-do-with-science, second-rate fiction. Is that so, and if yes, can science fiction be anything better?
Write, Then Rewrite
Not a few days ago, a disaster occurred: almost all of my documents on the novel perished into digital nothingness. Since I’m not a sort of a person who would abandon a huge project because of a hardware problem, I resolved to rewrite all of it. Even so, you can imagine my despair.
However, as I started re-doing things I thought I’ve already done, some fun stuff happened.
Characters vs. Plot
These two driving elements of fiction have been arising debates between writers since the beginning of the twentieth century, if not earlier. Some claim a gripping plot attracts more readers; others seem keen to prove that it’s characters who cause the plot in the first place. As was promised in this entry, I will tell you why characters are more important than the plot.
Some Extremely Short Stories
Two first of those are the results of my Day 8 with “30 Days of Inspiration” (a free eBook I thoroughly recommend you to download here), which proposes to write a love story and a ghost story in less than 20 words. All of the following pieces present sheer experiments with form and meaning in no more than the said number of words. I leave the the outcomes to your judgment.
How to Be a Better Writer
Here’s a set of quotations for aspiring writers from accomplished ones.
A Nice Thing to Remember
Flesh Out Your Characters: Start Using the POV
Or soul out, in case you want a ghost.
Whatever is the nature of your creation, every single writing tutorial or article screams not to produce uniform armies of cardboard stickmen or better yet, numerous versions of yourself. How can you do that? Easy: combine the people you know, wash off clichés if any, add a flavour of quirks, season with flaws, cook uncovered for a day or two by completing a questionnaire—shazam! You’ve got a character. Could be tiresome but the recipe is not essentially difficult.
Except there is more to creating characters than that.
Writer's Ink 