Last month, we started talking about what I think of as the Traits of the Working Writer. In case you missed that post, here’s a link . To quickly recap, these Traits are what I consider the cornerstones to being a successful writer; probably not absolutely essential… but still really great personality Traits for any... Continue Reading →
The Traits of the Working Writer – Part 1: Reverence and Respect
June has already been pretty interesting. It’s been rife with me hanging out and talking with other writers, which I suppose is normal for me now. As is my gleaning things from those conversations that I always want to bring back here. Things like that, hey, maybe my protagonist is emo (which, of course, led... Continue Reading →
3 More (Not as Great but Still Weirdly Common) Fiction Sins
So it’s finally that time. Since my first post about Fiction Sins, I’ve wanted to dish on three more, but I didn’t want to force it and manufacture another set just to get pithy about them on here. So, instead of doing that, I’ve waited and watched and read and kept an eye opened for... Continue Reading →
Games for Writers: The Walking Dead – Season One
Wow. I haven’t written one of these in a while. But as Season Two of The Walking Dead releases tomorrow and as I hit more scenes in my Outline that need to be completely overhauled, I felt now was a perfect time to get back to my Games for Writers series. Why The Walking Dead?... Continue Reading →
Louis Santiago’s Fantasy Story Stats – Week 5: A Conclusion & Using the Stats
Man, did this one take longer than it was supposed to. What you’ve found is the final part of a look at my Fantasy Story Stats. Because, after four solid weeks of looking at each in-depth, I think a serious refocus on how these should be used is in order. And the best way to... Continue Reading →
Louis Santiago’s Fantasy Story Stats – Week 4: Novelty and Concept
Disclaimer: If you’ve been following these posts from the start, then you’ll need a quick clarification; I’ve been figuring these Stats out every week as I've written these posts and, as a result, I absolutely wound up changing the name (only) of one of this week’s stats. It went from “Originality” to “Novelty,” a really... Continue Reading →
Louis Santiago’s Fantasy Story Stats – Week 3: Tone and Spirit
Welcome to Week 3 of my Fantasy Story Stats. This is another exciting Week as it’s another where I get to go on about one of my own Stats. And really, it’s the statiest of the Stats so far—Spirit. Spirit, which was actually the first of them and the reason these posts exist at all.... Continue Reading →
Louis Santiago’s Fantasy Story Stats – Week 2: Theme and Focus
Apologies for getting this one out so late; crazy week. Crazy enough that I’m writing this in a laundromat. Seriously. There’s a Marc Anthony video playing on the big TV they have here… Let’s do this! So, I’m excited about this week. This is the first time where a stat that I made up actually... Continue Reading →
Louis Santiago’s Fantasy Story Stats – Week 1: Genre and Subgenre
There’s not much I can tell you that you don’t already know about genre and subgenre. The former is a broader classification and the latter is more specific. Both are categories into which your book fits. But is that really all that they are? Are they the serious afterthought they generally seem to be? Or... Continue Reading →
RED Comics #2 – There and Back Again
Disclaimer: RED Comics are written and assembled by Louis Santiago using screen caps from DVD’s. All issues of RED are free; they are made as non-profit entertainment by a man who loves to distract himself from his writing. However, the RED name / logo and the Louis Santiago logo (aka my own face) are creative property of Louis Santiago. Enjoy!