Advice
More Time Travel, Less Silliness Part 2
Time travel is one of those things we all play with at one point or another but few of us really think the implications through when we sit down to write. Worse, some tropes have inherent issues when you think about them too much. Here are some thoughts on some popular tropes and how to have fun with them.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
More Time Travel, Less Silliness Part 1
People have been writing about men traveling back in time for so long that even Mark Twain wrote a book using it as a plot device. However, while there are a lot of things that make it interesting to read, especially in the hands of someone who loves it, there are also lots of ways to mess it up. Generally, the person who messes it up usually doesn't bother with the "science" part of science fiction; they actually hate science and/or just want to deal with philosophical aspects using the tropes as metaphors. However, by looking at time travel more analytically, more ways of exploring things may be uncovered.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Action is More Than the Verbs
The demon appeared before them in a pillar of fire. Douglas unsheathed his sword and adopted a defensive stance. The pillar disappeared in a cloud of embers. The demon charged him. He swung his steel down. The demon dodged. Douglas adjusted for the demon's new position. The demon smiled. Douglas lunged. The demon parried the blade. Douglas pulled it back. The demon clawed at him. Douglas parried the talon, then stepped into the strike. He brought his sword across the demon. The demon split into two. Each half fell to the ground and melted into lava. Douglas allowed himself a moment to breathe.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
How to Deal with Failure at Work and Keep Moving Forward
Failure. It's a word most of us dread, yet it's an experience everyone faces at some point—especially in the workplace. Whether missing a target, losing a client, or struggling with a project that didn't go as planned, failure feels like getting knocked down in a boxing ring.
By Malodia Business Coaching12 months ago in Writers
The Necessary Balance Between Light and Darkness
A Sailor and A Husband Consider if you will Odysseus and Darth Vader. Odysseus was a great person: He was loyal to his wife; he was able to maintain a love for his wife over 20 years. He was able to figure out clever solutions to hard problems, and there's no doubt that his crew was willing to follow him no matter where he would lead them. There's no question the guy was a hero.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Taking a Machine Gun to Your Darlings
Every so often, you're going to find yourself in a situation where you're going to write something you really, really love. And then realize that it really, really doesn't work for what you're writing. You're going to have to figure out what to do with it and no matter what you decide it's going to hurt: You're either going to have to put it away in a dungeon, possibly to never to see light again, or send it to oblivion. Neither choice is easy.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Eliminating Writer's Block the Easy Way
I don't care how good of a writer you think you are, but eventually, at some point in time you need to deal with a good old-fashioned writer's block. It's going to be a major frustration. and that frustration is actually going to cause you to be more blocked. That block is going to cause you to be more frustrated which will cause more blocking.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Classes Every Comic Book Writer Should Take
Few schools offer a comic book writing major. Sadly, this means that you're not really going to find an actual curriculum that's really going to help prepare you for the rigors of comic book writing. Instead, what you're going to have to do is take a basic English major writing major, and cobble together a lot of electives to get the education you need. So let's look at those electives.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
How to Find Inspiration
Here's the deal: I can tell you what inspires me or I can tell you a lot of inspirational sources. It's easy to tell you what has inspired me, but it's almost impossible to tell you what's going to inspire you; every writer is different and has their own different perspective and point of view on things. Because of that the stuff that you find really interesting won't be the same thing someone else finds interesting.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Recharging 101
One of the problems with being a writer is that we have a dysfunctional relationship with the Well of Ideas. Sometimes it will overflow and we'll get frustrated because we have no way of keeping up with the flow; we'll take as many notes as we can in hopes of having something in the dry times. And the well of ideas will run dry, driving us crazy because we can't figure out how to reconnect to the flow.
By Jamais Jochim12 months ago in Writers
Some Tips to Help with Ally-ship, Activism, and Advocacy as an Author Of The Resistance:
First, this one goes out to all of the people being oppressed: You are entitled to rest. Your exhaustion is valid, and the system is intent on suffocating you to wear you down.
By Sai Marie Johnson12 months ago in Writers
