We all know jerks are selfish and obnoxious but what are they really thinking? We’re continuing our look at storytelling with fantasy and sci-fi author, Benjamin T Collier. Today Ben is talking about writing villains in your story, specifically Personal and Obstacle villains. “To be clear, when I say “villain” I do not exclusively mean… Read More Writing Villains 1 – Personal Villains and Obstacle Villains
We’re continuing our look at heroes in storytelling with author, Benjamin T Collier. Symbolic Heroes are a difficult bunch to portray, as Benjamin explains in part 3 of Writing Heroes from his book, ‘The Storyteller’s Handbook’. “Symbolic Heroes can be among the most difficult types of heroes to write, at least in a way that… Read More Writing Heroes 3 – Symbolic Heroes
Benjamin T. Collier is here with his next post on Storytelling. This week he’s giving us some insight into writing about reluctant heroes and anti-heroes in our stories. I don’t know about you but I had no idea there are so many different kinds of heroes! Have you given much thought to which type of… Read More Writing Heroes part 2 – Reluctant Heroes and Anti-Heroes
Benjamin T. Collier is back with us this week to talk about writing heroes into your story and he starts with Unlikely Heroes. Exactly what is an unlikely hero? “Unlikely heroes are among the most popular kinds of heroes because they tend to be the most relatable. Most of us don’t feel like we could… Read More Writing Heroes part 1 – Unlikely Heroes
Cause and Effect in Your Story We’re continuing our series on storytelling with author Benjamin T. Collier who’s talking about cause and effect in your story. What exactly is Cause and Effect and how does it affect your story? Ben explains it clearly in this example from his blog. “… You can determine the relevance… Read More Cause and Effect In Your Story
What exactly is tension in your story, how do you write it, how important is it to your story, and how do you keep it going? Benjamin T. Collier joins us again today to help us with these questions about great storytelling. “Simply put, tension is the only reason your reader will turn the page.… Read More Writing Tension In Your Story
Consistency We continue our series with Benjamin Collier as he discusses the art of storytelling, particularly the reasons for character consistency. Here is Ben’s post on The Message in your story – part 3. “Whatever your message, make sure the story you are creating (the world, the characters, the events) is actually compatible. I’ve seen writers completely… Read More The Message In Your Story – part 3
Have you ever watched a movie from the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s? What gets your knickers in a knot when you watch them? Chances are it’s something about the way we used to view life and how we treated each other. Personally, I get huffy when women are referred to as ‘the little lady’ in… Read More The Message In Your Story – part 2
So, you have an idea for your story but what’s the message you want to convey to your audience? What do you want them to know and how will you write your story so that your readers understand the meaning behind the words? We all want to make a difference in this world, right? As… Read More The Message in Your Story – part 1
We’re continuing our reposts from Benjamin T. Collier’s blog with the ‘What If’ factor of writing a story. What If? “Every work of fiction is a ‘What If’. With Science Fiction the What If is more obvious. “What if we had the ability to travel back in time?” “What if we could bring dinosaurs back?”… Read More The ‘What If’ Of Your Story by Benjamin T. Collier