Tag: Books

4 Annoying Story Tropes I Want to Kill

4 Annoying Story Tropes I Want to Kill

Our favorite pastimes are full of tropes and cliches. It’s inevitable. Stories fall into predicable patterns. Not all tropes are bad, but it takes skill to make them feel original. And since I’m a romantic sap at heart, there are plenty of tropes I’ll willingly follow. But there are a few that aren’t just eye-rolling, …

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Coming Soon – Sea of Twisted Souls

Coming Soon – Sea of Twisted Souls

On April 10th, my husband and I will be attending an Iron Maiden concert. (What!) It’s the first time we’ve bought big tickets for ourselves. Technically it’s to make up for all the anniversaries we’ve missed while moving (even though it’s nowhere near our anniversary), but for me it feels like the reward for something …

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Why We Need a Higher Bar

Why We Need a Higher Bar

Most advice for new writers includes references to the Bechdel test. Even veteran writers suggest new writers be familiar with and make certain their work passes the test. It isn’t bad advice, but I’m not sure it’s good advice either. The Bechdel test states simply that a story (no matter the media) should possess at …

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Let’s Get Plotting

Let’s Get Plotting

I’ve talked about world building and the basics you need to get started. In some cases, you can skip world building entirely (such as if you’re working in the real world, or a modified version of the real world). Even if you’ve decided to go fingers blazing, you need a few plot basics before you …

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SFFSat – A Grave Misunderstanding

SFFSat – A Grave Misunderstanding

Sorry about the space between snippets. It’s been a busy couple of weeks in the Cutler household. But we’re back with a final sequence continued from here. It comes from Crossroads of Frozen Eternity, the second book of the Mystic Island Trilogy. … Thunder rumbled in the distance as the island reacted to her anger, …

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