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Tara Maya’s Quickie Check In
This week I’ve been working on Mirror, Book 8 in The Unfinished Song, and also on a section of Sworn, Book 10. (There’s a reason; technically the events of the storyline from Sworn antedate the events in Mirror. That’s one of the odd things that happens when the Story Order of events differs from the…
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What’s the Difference Between Romantic Fantasy and Fantasy Romance?
There are few stories that aren’t improved by a strong romance; but this does not make every story a Romance in the sense of belonging to the Romance Genre, i.e. a book that would be shelf-mates with Bodice Rippers and Regencies. The same distinction coheres to the difference between a Fantasy novel with a strong…
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Recommended for Writers: Characters & Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card
Since month we’ll be celebrating Fantasy Romance… and characters are at the heart of Romance, I wanted to recommend a good primer on creating believable and likable (or loathsome) characters. Orson Scott Card’s book, Characters & Viewpoint, is, in my opinion, the absolute best book on Character and Viewpoint out there. An experienced writer might read…
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Tara Maya’s Book Review: Enchantment by Orson Scott Card
Caveat—Reader Beware! My reviews are written from a writer’s perspective, with an eye to dissecting good novels to find out what makes them work. Although I try to avoid explicitly discussing book endings, I am not as careful about avoiding all spoilers as some reviewers. I find if I employ too much caution about giving…
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June Theme: Fantasy Romance
Upcoming Blog Candy Over the next year, I plan to kick up the voltage at the blog. I’ll be cooking up lots of candy posts for readers and writers. Whether you’re just browsing for your next fave read or whether you’re struggling to write someone’s fave read, I hope you’ll find some gems here in…
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How to Write Riveting Captivity Scenes (Guest Post by Rayne Hall)
WRITING CRAFT: CAPTIVITY SCENES by Rayne Hall If you’re writing a novel, is there a scene where the heroine is imprisoned or locked up against her will? Here are some techniques to make this scene powerful. If possible, make the room dark or semi-dark. Perhaps she’s locked up in a lightless cellar, in a dungeon…
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Tara Maya’s Writing Update
About a third of the work on a novel takes place before a single chapter is written. Another third happens after the draft is complete. At any one time, I usually have more than one novel (and more than one series) in progress at the same time, but in different stages of development. I have…
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Writing a Series With A Strong Middle…An Update
After I finished Blood, Book 6 of The Unfinished Song, I realized I’d hit the half-way point of the series. Not coincidentally, I began obsessing about how to write solid “middles.” First I looked at three problems that commonly sag or even sink a series in the middle books. I wrote: “My goal is to make every book…
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How to Keep Readers Updated?
I’ve been struggling with something. How can I keep readers updated about what I’m doing? The answer used to be easy: blog. I used to blog fairly regularly about my writing process and progress. Of course, that was before I had any readers. And that’s the problem. Once I became conscious—or rather, self-conscious—about pleasing my…
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