Monthly Archives: March 2016

Listen to the World

So when you are listening to somebody, completely, attentively, then you are listening not only to the words, but also to the feeling of what is being conveyed, to the whole of it, not part of it. ~Jiddu Krishnamurti Good dialog is essential to good storytelling. Characters need to express themselves, react to their environment, argue with each other, complain, cajole, compliment, question….  in other words: act human. Good dialog opens the story like a flower budding – everything expands, opening ideas and implications for the reader. Listen In order to write good dialog you have to listen to the …Read more »

DREADful Storytelling

Dread is a great role-playing game (RPG). Sharing similar roots to my beloved Dungeons and Dragons, Dread is a 21st Century twist on the RPG genre. I wanted to talk about it here because it’s one thing to be a player in a role-playing game; it is another beast entirely to be the Game Master. Running a role-playing game is equal parts writer, actor, and referee. I’ve talked about how Dungeons and Dragons inspired my writing journey, but this is a whole other level. Dread doesn’t have dice. No armor class. No stats. You give your players a character questionnaire …Read more »

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NaNoWriMo 2014

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