Unmet Expectations
The idea that stories must have an exciting, action-packed beginning is false.
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J.J. Richardson
Oct 15, 20225 min read
Subtlety—Speaking the Real Truth
Subtlety allows readers to think something else is going on, something hiding, something faintly suggested.
4530
J.J. Richardson
Oct 10, 20228 min read
Description: Up-close and Personal
Beginning writers must learn that their readers can’t visualize what the author sees and feels unless the author tells them.
850
J.J. Richardson
May 2, 20224 min read
What's Wrong with Ideal Heroines?
If everything else is idealized in fiction, why can’t women be, also?
920
J.J. Richardson
Mar 13, 20225 min read
The Ubiquitous I
A common problem beginning authors have when writing in first person is to overuse the word, “I.”
971
J.J. Richardson
Dec 29, 20215 min read
Ideal Pace
To keep a steady pace, you must keep an unsteady pace.
640
J.J. Richardson
Jun 30, 20215 min read
Stop Asking Me Questions
It's your job as the author to answer questions, not the reader's.
890
J.J. Richardson
May 31, 20214 min read
How to Get My Characters to Act
Few articles are written about how to get fictional characters to act. This article explains how to do it.
720
J.J. Richardson
Jan 18, 20206 min read
What is Good Fiction?
When your prose is effective, your readers will become someone else in a different time and place.
730
J.J. Richardson
Sep 20, 20165 min read
What is Science Fiction?
If you asked fifty people if a story about monsters eating people's faces is science fiction, you will receive fifty yesses.
550
J.J. Richardson
Sep 12, 20165 min read
The Meander
I must be careful because this topic strikes a nerve with the great literary fiction types, the self-proclaimed wise-above-all pedagogues.
1010
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