In books, it's considered something of a taboo to have a female character who cries more than once. Especially if she is the protagonist. Especially if she is to be considered a 'strong' female character. This is for good reason -- there's nothing more annoying (or cliched) than a main character bursting into tears at the … Continue reading Is it OK for strong women to cry?
Four things I want my writing to accomplish
It seems I've finally gotten around to my promised post on "Why I Write" in response to Liv Rancourt's guest post in December. I should point out, though, that the focus is not so much on why I slave away for hours at the computer when I could be relaxing... it's rather on what's important about … Continue reading Four things I want my writing to accomplish
“It’s just a story”
Yesterday I was happily discussing with a friend the awesome book I'd just finished -- and which she'd read previously -- when I happened to mention a couple of things that didn't quite work for me. (I can't help it -- attempting to write novels has somewhat killed my ability to just read and enjoy... … Continue reading “It’s just a story”
Character and conflict in The Liveship Traders
I’m currently reliving Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy during my commute to and from work in the car. (Have I mentioned how much I love audiobooks?) I first read this amazing fantasy trilogy back in 2005 and it has since resided firmly near the top of my all-time favourite novels/series. Even so, I’ve previously read … Continue reading Character and conflict in The Liveship Traders
Why I write fantasy
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner recently ran a readership poll on her extremely popular blog and has now published the results. Of particular interest to me (and her, as it turns out) is that 26% of writerly survey respondents write science-fiction/fantasy (SFF), making it the most popular represented genre. The next most popular was general/'non-genre' fiction (21%), followed … Continue reading Why I write fantasy
Momentum
Just about every writer I know will endorse the philosophy of 'write every day'. One of the primary reasons is to foster habit (especially among those of us who are holding down full-time jobs -- which is most of us); another is to maintain momentum. I am a momentum writer. Time and again I've demonstrated … Continue reading Momentum
E V Gregory 