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 theContinue reading “Real Life and Writing”
Tag Archives: reading fantasy
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 protagonistContinue reading “What do I Really Know?”
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.Continue reading “What’s Your Frame of Reference”
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 showContinue reading “Missed Opportunities Drive a Story”
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 thisContinue reading “Just One Step Ahead”
It’s All in the Character’s Approach
In stories there are examples of all kinds of approaches taken by the protagonists and even supporting characters. Sometimes, the challenges or problems that confront the main characters seem too much for the characters. They may fall into a depression, or feel overwhelmed at first. We all do that sometimes in our lives. So, howContinue reading “It’s All in the Character’s Approach”
Consequences Make Our Life Story
Have you ever thought about all the choices made in a day, or even an hour? All the time, we make choices that build pieces of our life story. The choices and their consequences may not be as clear as they are in a novel, but good or bad, they’re always there. I’ve been thinkingContinue reading “Consequences Make Our Life Story”
Handling Characters’ Opposing Viewpoints
This week, as I continue to work on my next fantasy novel, I’ve been thinking a lot about my characters. My protagonist is haunted by a decision he made a few years earlier, and that decision set him up against a few of the other characters. While writing, I’ve enjoyed working through this character’s issuesContinue reading “Handling Characters’ Opposing Viewpoints”
Can Antagonists Have a Change of Heart?
I’m still working on my current work in progress, one page at a time. It’s going slower as I continue working to reorganize my writing time throughout each day. The story is progressing and I’m enjoying it, but it has me thinking about how people change. I have an antagonist, or at least I outlinedContinue reading “Can Antagonists Have a Change of Heart?”
Life Without the Boring Bits
As I write my current work in progress this time, I’ve found myself deviating more and more from the outline I had. One of the supporting characters turned out to be more important to the story than I first thought. With my new workload in my day job, I’ve slowed down how quickly I write,Continue reading “Life Without the Boring Bits”
DANIEL R. BURKHARD 