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What length should a story be? A short story?  A novella?  A novel?  A twenty-plus book series? Well, it depends on the story.  And, to a certain extent, on what you think you can sell if you plan on making money. Some stories just don't fit in short stories - I don't write many of them for just that reason.  Novellas are a bit better from that perspective, but are also harder to sell. Novels are my preferred medium - most stories can be told in a hundred thousand words or so.  Not ... Read more »

How much world building is the minimum necessary before you start writing? Well, it depends.  Two main factors: one, how different you want your story to be, and two, how much you're willing to make up as you go along. How different you want your story to be is important.  If you're writing another generic dwarves/elves/dragons fantasy, you don't need to do a lot of worldbuilding on your races etc (though the less generic you can make it, the better, but that's often something that can be ... Read more »

It is no longer possible to post on Faolan's Pen as an unregistered user. There have been approximately ten times as many spam comments as actual comments posted here, and this is the simplest way to reduce the number. If you wish to post comments, please feel free to create an account. ... Read more »

One of the best ways to draw readers into a book and draw the 'aww' factor is to include a romance.   For those intending to include more risque elements, it is far more organic to include sex scenes in the course of a romance than to find other ways to insert one.  (There are other ways to include one, and perhaps one day I'll write a piece on sex scenes and their uses.  Today's article is about romance though) The trick to this, of course, is to make it believable.  I recently watched the ... Read more »

So, motivation. Why is your character taking the MacGuffin to the MacGuffin Disposal system?  Why is his plucky sidekick along for the ride?   What is the love interest pursuing that puts her (or him, if the protagonist is, say, a female auto mechanic) on the same path as our intrepid hero? The answer to these questions is what motivates each character, drives them into the story and keeps them going when the chips are down.  Some characters motivations are weak, and if you know, you can ... Read more »

Sorry for the lack of posts the last couple of weeks, I've been quite sick and busy. Should be back posting this weekend. ... Read more »