by Jan Bear | Oct 31, 2007 | Uncategorized
Writing a novel is like climbing stairs carrying a huge armload of laundry — socks, underwear, sheets and towels, clothes for children and adults — all the while wearing (among other things) high heels and tiara.Powered by ScribeFire.
by Jan Bear | Sep 22, 2007 | Uncategorized
A black man and a black woman stand on a street corner in inner but not Downtown Portland. She is talking with animated, but not wild gestures. (This is where her racial background is relevant; blacks tend to use bigger gestures than people of, for example, northern...
by Jan Bear | Sep 20, 2007 | Uncategorized
More thoughts on my most recent post about entering fictional worlds.When I — and probably a lot of people — am reading a book and not in the story’s world, I’m evaluating. It might be grammar, story structure, character, whether the...
by Jan Bear | Sep 18, 2007 | Uncategorized
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about stories about crossing over into other worlds. It’s a staple of the fantasy genre — if the character is not born in this alternative universe, he has to get there somehow, whether it’s by falling down a...
by Jan Bear | Sep 17, 2007 | Uncategorized
Populating a novel can be hard. After the top tier of characters have introduced themselves and then their closest associates, you’re left with “guy who sells papers” and “driver.” Which can be OK if that’s all they do, but if they...