Much of the writing advice I’ve seen over the past few years has heavily discouraged the practice of head hopping–or jumping around between POV characters. There are many valid reasons why. For example, most information revealed via head hopping can be done via the main POV. The writer just has to… Continue reading Is Head Hopping Necessary?
Tag: writing
Lessons from Gravity: How to Fail the Bechdel Test (in a good way)
This Oscars 2014 post series didn’t go quite as planned, but even though I only managed to write about one Best Picture nom before Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizza for everyone, I’m still making my way through each of the films because they really are always worth seeing. As I noted in my post about… Continue reading Lessons from Gravity: How to Fail the Bechdel Test (in a good way)
Lessons from The Hunger Games: The Limits of First-Person Present Tense
By now, everyone has talked The Hunger Games to death. Though it largely deserves the hype, it seems that the conversation stops at praising what it does well. Certainly, The Hunger Games is a compelling book series that isn’t shy about its critique of contemporary society, but it falters enough to provide some… Continue reading Lessons from The Hunger Games: The Limits of First-Person Present Tense
Writing God in Genre Fiction
If I had a fancy suit for every time I’ve heard about the struggle of writing God in fantasy and science fiction stories, I would have a walk-in closet full of fancy suits. I’ve read many a blog post and forum thread hashing out this subject because some young writer is desperate to figure it… Continue reading Writing God in Genre Fiction
Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés
Oscar season is upon us and that means that deserving favorites won’t likely win in their categories. It also means that there’s a set list of movies from the past year that are definitely worth watching. I’ve never been bored with a Best Picture nom. As the awards ceremony approaches, I’m ticking off the nominated… Continue reading Lessons from Her: Sidestepping the Creepy Clichés
Don’t Travel Through Pants: How Dungeons and Dragons Helps Writers Solve World Problems
In the six months since I’ve started playing Dungeons and Dragons, I have learned to my delight how almost every aspect of the game fits perfectly into every weak point I have as a writer. As much as I can recommend playing the game for its own merits, I am continuously surprised by how each… Continue reading Don’t Travel Through Pants: How Dungeons and Dragons Helps Writers Solve World Problems
Obligatory NaNoWriMo 2012 Post
In the past, I’ve made NaNo posts after the event, but never before. This is my 3rd consecutive year participating and 4th year total. I have to say that NaNoWriMo is among the best tools for writers of all kinds. I say “tools” because you can use NaNoWriMo however you like. The beautiful thing about… Continue reading Obligatory NaNoWriMo 2012 Post