Fiction Articles

Writing » Fiction | By Hugh Rosen @ Sunday, 25th June 2006 @ 2:49 AM

Much of good to great fiction is characterized by character transformation. Usually this occurs in the protagonist, although it may involve more than one person. One might add that much of creative living is similarly played out as the individual is transformed from one type of person to another. In either narrative, fiction or real life, the protagonist is effected by personal epiphanies, the influence of another, an openness to new experiences, the consequences of having committed an e... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Eric Penz @ Sunday, 25th June 2006 @ 1:28 AM

So you want to write a good story? The kind of fiction that resonates with its readers; the kind that lasts longer on the shelf than the milk at your grocer; the kind that keeps people up at night like a narcotic? Well, then here’s a little advice my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Pendergast, gave me: do your homework. But you don’t like research, you say. That’s why you write fiction and not non-fiction, you say. With fiction you can just make everything up. You don’t need to do any research. OK, so ... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Eric Penz @ Thursday, 1st June 2006 @ 6:56 AM

The image of King Kong standing tall and defiant atop the Empire State Building, futilely battling wave after wave of bi-planes with guns blazing is iconic, made even more so by Peter Jackson’s recent rendition. The idea of a giant ape, of a creature blending the carnal strength of animal and the intelligence and emotional instability of man, has captured our imaginations for over a hundred years, ever since the first rumors of the mountain gorilla began drifting back from the Dark Continent. Wh... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Diana Ennen @ Friday, 19th May 2006 @ 6:33 PM

In fiction, the writer’s job is to entertain, to draw an emotional response from the reader. The reader is often looking for suspense, action, and to go on a journey they have not been on before, one they will not easily forget. Readers want to get drawn into and experience the story for themselves. They want characters they can relate to and form a personal connection with. But most importantly, they want a good book. One that leaves them anxiously awaiting each turn of the page. Her... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Amanda Baker @ Thursday, 26th January 2006 @ 3:16 AM

You've always wanted to be the next big novelist, but you have no idea where to start. Very few people can just sit down in one sitting and write a full-length novel. We all have hectic lives and many things that pull us away from our writing. We have families, jobs, chores, school involvement - the list can go on forever. Yet, a writer must write. This is just a fact of life. Writers are creative personalities with the desire to write. A writer of fiction might speak of a spec... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Saleem Rana @ Wednesday, 25th January 2006 @ 8:17 AM

I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions. ~James Michener Writing has always been a highly pleasurable form of art for me. I find it surprising that many people view it as something to avoid as much as possible. The most baffling thing to me is how people complain of "writer's block." I've also heard of metaphors like "squeezing blood from a stone." Not only is it a delicious experience to read and to writ... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Steven Barnes @ Tuesday, 24th January 2006 @ 9:03 PM

There is a great deal of misunderstanding about what that particular branch of literature called “Science Fiction” actually consists of. Is it space-ships and monsters? Time machines? Galactic empires? Well, its all of those things, and often none of them. Science Fiction, broadly speaking, is story-telling that deals with the impact of organized knowledge on human beings. Usually, this means technology, and the way it changes us—and reveals about us. After all, most technology is a... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Steven Barnes @ Tuesday, 24th January 2006 @ 8:08 PM

During the twenty years I’ve taught writing, hundreds of students have expressed the belief that success and personal integrity are mutually exclusive. The Lifewriting™ approach to fiction suggests that not only do these two qualities overlap, but that the safest, surest, most satisfying path to discovering your true voice, your deepest creative flow, and ultimately crafting the most satisfying career, is to be true to yourself. It suggests that Aristotle’s famous debate concerning th... more...

Writing » Fiction | By Inglath Cooper @

So what does it actually take to make it as a selling writer? And beyond that, what does it take to ride out the tough spots in a highly competitive field? These are questions I get asked on a regular basis from readers, as well as people who are just plain curious about someone who chooses to sit alone for hours at a time, creating characters and whole lives out of thin air. Admittedly, they’re good questions. Following are nine qualities I believe are important in someone who wants t... more...