Real Life and Writing
Many times during my stressful day job, I find myself thinking about characters in books I’ve read or want to write. I think about how they handle stress and failure. Some of the most interesting characters may not face the biggest problems until their first attempts at solutions make them tougher. Right now, with the…
Making Time to Write
With recent changes in my day job, I’ve struggled to find or make the same amount of writing time as I used to. I’m still writing but at a slower pace. I’ve had to reevaluate what I do with my time and cut out some of the things that waste it. In some ways, it…
What do I Really Know?
As I wrote this week, I found myself thinking back to a saying of a person I used to work with. He loved to say “know what you know.” I’m sure he was quoting someone, even if he didn’t know it, but that saying has helped me with some of the interactions of my protagonist…
What’s Your Frame of Reference
Thinking about the obstacles in a story and how they affect the protagonist and other characters has been something I’ve done a bit of this week. In my current work in progress, my main character is jaded due to what he has already endured. That means that his thoughts are already skewed toward the negative.…
Missed Opportunities Drive a Story
While writing over the last week, I’ve been thinking a lot about missed opportunities. While writing my protagonists story in the current book I’m writing, the protagonist has missed several. Some of them, he intentionally missed, and some were thrust upon him, and he turned the other way. Those events needed to happen to show…
Just One Step Ahead
This week, I’ve been writing a couple chapters building to a conflict. The protagonist can tell things are getting worse, but if he does things well, it might not be as bad as he thinks. He just has to stay one step ahead. Looking at my life, with some new responsibilities I’ve taken on this…
Remembering to Make Time for Writing
Sometimes, life gets really busy. My writing this year has slowed a bit. Rather than writing twenty thousand words a week, I’ve been lucky to get one thousand words in a week. I’m still working on my next book and the chapters are coming along, but not at the pace I’ve had before. I’m reminded…
A Story’s Inciting Event
When I think of some of the stories I’ve enjoyed reading, one major thing stands out. In most of the stories, the protagonist begins in a situation that, no matter how ruinous or desperate it might be, they’ve figured it out enough to survive. They know the dangers, rewards, and challenges that affect their life.…
Making Time for the Fun of Writing
It’s the end of another week and this one has been busy. My day job keeps me quite busy, especially these last few months, but I manage to continue to make time in my day to write. With some of the other challenges of my life, my writing time is shorter and less than it…
Just When a Protagonist Figures it Out
Thinking about my next book as I write it, has got me thinking a bit about consequences. In life, every choice has a good or bad consequence and it can seem like life changes quickly. In my current story project, my protagonist has everything figured out. At least, he thought he did. When the inciting…
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DANIEL R. BURKHARD 