Tag Archives: horror
Writing: Character Reactions Can Make Or Break Suspension of Disbelief
Character reactions to and use of your make-believe elements can make or break your reader’s suspension of disbelief. I’m a huge Yankees fan. During baseball season—especially the final few weeks and the playoffs—I do whatever it takes to keep track … Continue reading
Writing: Using Imperfection to Make Fiction Feel Believable
Everything we experience will face the forces of failure, breakage, and decay. Your make-believe elements should be the same. Their imperfections can make them feel real and create the suspension of disbelief in the reader. For the past few weeks, … Continue reading
Writing: Make Fiction Feel Believable With Sensory Details
Sensory details can make the unbelievable elements in your story feel real. The trick is making sure you, as the author, know how your make-believe elements feel to begin with. In other words, sometimes this (below) is a necessary part … Continue reading
Writing: Make Your Make-Believe Elements Feel Believable
Getting your reader to suspend disbelief requires you to make your make-believe elements feel real. Fortunately, you have several techniques at your fingertips, which we will be discussing this week. It’s October! Tis the season for walking in brisk, cool … Continue reading
Writing Technique: Star Wars–an Example of How to Break the Rules
Almost any writing rule can be broken, as long as the author 1) earns the right to break it and 2) executes properly. For the past few weeks, we’ve been discussing how to create the suspension of disbelief in readers … Continue reading
Writing Technique: Prep the Reader for Your Plot Twist and/or Make-Believe Element
Using a few techniques to prepare your reader for you plot twist or your make-believe element can draw your reader into your story, increase suspense, and create a huge emotional reaction in your reader. I was probably three or four … Continue reading
Writing Technique: Creating Believable Worlds, Characters & Creatures
Even your make-believe worlds, characters, and creatures should still contain believable elements. Use what you know about human nature, history, economics, government, and science to make your world feel real. Movies are full of ostentatious stunts and explosions that most … Continue reading
Writing Technique: Creating a Believable Setting
Creating a believable setting can help your readers suspend their disbelief and accept the make-believe elements in your story. Author Lakin Konieczny (read her blog here) left a great comment on one of my blog posts, explaining how she creates … Continue reading
Writing Technique: Using Archetypes
Use familiar archetypes of known fantasy creatures, aliens, and paranormal beings to surround the unbelievable with the believable. If you are new to this blog, I’ve been writing a series of posts about writing speculative fiction, including fantasy, science … Continue reading
Sample Sunday: Part of Chapter 30 from The Elysian Chronicles: A Prophecy Forgotten
It turns out that several authors post samples of their books on Sunday. (It’s called #samplesunday in the twitter-verse.) I’ve decided to join in! My first sample comes from Chapter 30 in my first published book, The Elysian Chronicles: A … Continue reading
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