by Gabrielle Pollack | Jan 21, 2019 | Articles |
Sometimes characters come to us in pieces. A whisper of dialogue, a murmur of a dream, or even a feeling can ignite a glimmer of inspiration that demands to become a person. But a character is more than a rushed scribble inside our notebooks. Although voice is one of...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Dec 28, 2018 | Articles |
Somewhere along the road, every fiction writer will be asked to participate in a critique. It’s practically a guarantee. Whether we’re new to critiquing or are already teamed up with an epic partner (who should probably read this article too), we should aim to...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Dec 7, 2018 | Stories |
Arron didn’t believe in panicking. The threat of imminent loss brought fear, but few would dare steal from him or his team. But there were some. And that knowledge, combined with the fact that his brother hadn’t yet returned, made his stomach coil. Arron...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Nov 26, 2018 | Articles |
Short stories remained cloaked in mystery for years. I hadn’t the slightest idea how to write one, let alone imbue theme into it. I stumbled in the dark, creating tales and hoping themes would magically appear. Shocker: that didn’t happen. But working on themes...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Nov 9, 2018 | Articles |
Characters with tragic backstories are as common as parentless Disney protagonists. Depressing pasts are widespread in the fantasy genre. Want to give a main character a rough edge and make readers feel sorry for her? Slap on some traumatic memories. Tragic...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Sep 17, 2018 | Articles |
“Be specific,” they say. “It will help your story,” they say. This is good advice, but it’s not always true. “Be specific” does not mean “be specific with every word you write.” The wrong kind of details won’t help, especially in action sequences....
by Gabrielle Pollack | Sep 3, 2018 | Articles |
It is a generally acknowledged fact that writing takes forever. We wish we could skip the blood, sweat, and ink part of the process to get to the shiny published product. Publication becomes a higher priority as we grow older and college, job, and life choices...
by Gabrielle Pollack | Aug 27, 2018 | Articles |
A unique setting isn’t about how you describe it, but about how a character perceives it. Everything in a story revolves around characters, including setting. Descriptions are not foreign elements that must be incorporated solely because characters need a place...
