Tag: writing

The Gifted Wars – 32 Years of Bitter Feuds (Part II)

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As mentioned in Part I, the Gifted Wars was a period of time during the formative years of the settlements of the peninsula of Caelon during the early years of the Age of Kings. Before the conflicts started arising between the fledgling settlements and the Torian seat of power in the White Walled City, the country had seen a period of peaceful exploration and reclamation, thanks to the efforts of the First Son, his Ten Saints and the crusaders who vanquished the demons who prowled the land. Although the earliest conflict in the Gifted Wars happened as part of an uprising against the Torian command, many of the battles that were fought during these three bloody decades were not directly against the Torians at all. Perhaps one of the most famous cases involves a failed betrothal between two of the largest settlements of that time, known now as Ismar and Shalona.

The Dangers of Subverting Expectations

Andrew Michael MillerLeave a comment

Think about a book, movie or television show that has stuck with you over the years, but not for good reasons. What story left you speechless in a bad way when it was all told? Did the lighthearted book you picked up have a sudden graphic sex scene in it that made you uncomfortable? Did you go into the movie theater expecting Luke Skywalker to solve all of the main character's problems? Did your heroic dragon queen go insane and burn everyone alive at the end of the final season of your show? Let's talk about the modern trend of subverting expectations in storytelling, and why you, as a writer, should really consider the dangers of it before attempting to do so in your work.

What is an Antihero?

Andrew Michael MillerLeave a comment

The term antihero (or anti-hero) gets thrown around fairly often nowadays, sometimes incorrectly. The concept of an anti-hero is not technically new, but it certainly is prevalent in modern story-telling. The term itself was coined in the 18th Century, but examples of such a type of character are there in Greek drama, Roman satire and Renaissance literature. So what is an anti-hero, exactly? Simply put, an anti-hero is a main character of a story that does not have the typical qualities that are expected of a hero. This does not mean all antiheroes are bad people, just that they do not fit the traditional description of a hero.

Be Consistent With Your Writing Schedule

Andrew Michael MillerLeave a comment

Are you in a committed relationship with your writing, or are you in more of a "when I have time" kind of schedule with it? I'm willing to bet that if you are in the latter, you probably are not happy with how much you write, and it probably even causes you some amount of stress to think about how much you are not writing. You have to ask yourself: do I really want to write, or is it just something I'd like to do sometime, when I can get around to it? Once you decide what you want from your relationship with writing, then you should know how to proceed from there.

Be Thankful for Every Step You’ve Taken!

Andrew Michael Miller1 Comment

Sometimes it hurts to look back and see things of which you are not particularly proud. As a creative person, it can be so hard to appreciate the work done in an earlier stage in your development. You look upon that work with veteran eyes, nitpicking any elements you made that you would do differently now in retrospect. Sometimes you become ashamed of it and want to hide it. After all, it doesn't represent who you are now, right?