by admin | Jul 19, 2017 | Writing
Several of the QM staff were recently on a panel entitled “So You Want to be a Writer,” where we tried the old “scared straight” approach to save aspiring authors from this life. Not sure we did a very good job. Anyway, it made we think about why somebody would choose...
by admin | Jul 4, 2017 | Books, Writing
Our writing will always be shaped by our values, our opinions and our politics. That’s inevitable. It’s even more evident in fantasy or s/f where we are creating a world of our own, not just showing our current one through our lens. It’s very tempting to write a story...
by admin | May 18, 2017 | Books, publishing, Writing
Last month I talked about what makes a great hero. This month I decided to look at the other side of the coin. What makes a really memorable villain? If the hero’s job is to give you somebody to root for, to invest in, then the villains job is to provide the...
by admin | Apr 19, 2017 | publishing, Writing
What makes an effective hero? You know what, that word is too loaded. What makes an effective protagonist? Some people will insist that the protagonist be likable. I don’t think that’s really true. We have a stable full of what used to be called anti heroes running...
by admin | Mar 23, 2017 | Writing
Series are a double edged sword. If you are an author or publisher who depends on sales of your books, series are the way to go. Readers who like one book in a series will generally buy more, so once you land a reader, it’s much easier to sell to him or her again than...
