A Princess of Mars was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, who also wrote Tarzan, and was originally published serially in 1912. It is the first book in his Barsoom trilogy. My…
Blog
The Number One to Improve Your Writing (Except Actually Writing)
There are many ways to improve your writing such as practice, starting a writing group, and specific exercises. But there is one way to improve your writing that most people…
5 Summer Beach Reads
Since it’s that time of year, I thought I would post some of my favorite summer beach reads. To me, a beach read is something that is fun, easy to…
One Thing to Think About Before You Kill a Character
So, I’m sitting in the theater watching Deadpool, and it’s just started. It’s pretty good so far. You know, it’s Deadpool. Violence. Hilarity. Inappropriate jokes. Then, (spoiler alert) they suddenly…
How to Create a Good Villain: Thanos
Spoilers ahead! You have been warned. I was beyond excited for Avengers: Infinity War, and it is amazing. Part of what makes Infinity War so good is its villain, Thanos….
Who Said That? – On (Not) Using Dialogue Tags
Have you ever seen a post on Tumblr or Pinterest that says something like “75 words to use instead of ‘said?'” Those posts can be helpful because the general premise is correct. Using “said” over and over is both boring and repetitive. It looks strange on paper. Also, some posts, like this one, can have some really helpful words that indicate emotion like “bellowed.” However, as writers, we should not be afraid of using standard words like “said,” “asked,” and “replied.” There is a reason why those words are the standard. They’re simple, and you can avoid clumsy verbs. You don’t want your work to read like a thesaurus. So, how do we avoid using “said” too much without using awkward words?