Tag Archives: challenges

My current work in process is currently going through the editorial process in preparation for me to upload it to Amazon by the end of April. If I need to make a lot of changes, it could delay that a little. But I have really worked to make this book better than the last book.Continue reading “Finding Growth Through Stories”

I’m still working on the finishing touches of my current book. I’ve written and rewritten the final chapters a couple of times. One thing I know for sure is that it can’t be easy for my protagonists to get through it. If it is too easy, the reader may not enjoy it. The struggles theyContinue reading “Is It Ever Easy?”

This week, I am almost done revising my current work in progress. The book is a science fiction story set in a future world crowded with people. The Moon, Mars, and Venus have been colonized, but those who leave Earth are not allowed to return, unless they use technology that allows them to ride alongContinue reading “Almost Finished”

I tend to read more science fiction and fantasy than other types of fiction. When I really enjoy a book, I usually find it is a book that involves good characters in a fantastic setting. But what makes a good character? In the good stories, with strong characters, they are stronger, it seems, if theyContinue reading “A Character’s Weaknesses are Important”

I’m reading through my next novel, my current work in progress. I have one protagonist, surrounded by many other characters. As I read through the story this time, I know what challenges are coming and what courage the protagonist will have to find. It got me thinking about courage and whether it is different forContinue reading “Courage Different for a Protagonist than Us?”

I’m nearing the end of writing my current novel, and my protagonist is facing some awful choices. It’s still my first draft. But I have made sure my protagonist has others that might help him. I’ve tried to make those other, supporting, characters have depth. Each one of them will face the challenges that comeContinue reading “When All Seems Lost for the Protagonist of a Story”

Every character has a reason for their actions, but we generally only know about the protagonist’s history and what drives them. The more we know about a character, the more we may be drawn into their story. Even if that story involves fantastical elements we would never experience. The history and the desires of theContinue reading “Every Character Has an Inner Motivation”

This week I’ve been thinking a bit about how characters in a story see each other. Not everyone shows their true self during a first impression, and it should be the same with characters. Just like people, they approach a new meeting with their own defenses raised. It’s only when another character is found trustworthyContinue reading “A Character’s True Self”

When I think of a good book, I often think of characters and setting first. Science fiction and fantasy stories are my favorites for the way those stories can show different aspects of society and technology that may not be right around me. The characters in these stories, while mostly relatable, have adapted to theContinue reading “Using Books to See the World Differently”