Think about a fiction book you’re reading. Tell me: what do you think about the main character? And how much information about that person did you have before forming that opinion? What qualities did you use? Gender? Age? Race? Appearance? Stereotyping occurs when we make assumptions about people based on the groups to which they belong. We…
I read a book review the other day, and it’s been irritating the crap out of me. The story that accompanied the review is set during the Napoleonic Wars, except the fighting countries have air forces comprised of talking dragons. I read the book, and I loved it (find it here). The dragons spoke eloquently in the…
I was tagged in a post on Facebook a couple days ago. I was supposed to list the top ten books that have stuck with me the most and tag other people. I don’t do that stuff on Facebook, but it did get me thinking about my favorite reads. So I’ll write about it here, and if you…
It’s a widely debated issue, I’ve learned. How much are readers willing to pay for a book? There doesn’t seem to be a solid answer, though there are trends. Popular books or books by popular authors generally cost more. Ebooks tend to be cheaper than the physical thing. The Bible is the most stolen book on…
On an average day, how often are you criticized? Did you recoil a bit at the question? It’s not a fun thing, being criticized. It’s basically giving someone else permission to tell you why they don’t like something about you or something you’ve done. Even if you think you’re ready for it, there’s still a…
Have you had days where you get on your own nerves? I’ve had three consecutive days of that. If only I could get away from me. It all started when I decided to participate in a Pitch Wars contest, which also required me to join Twitter. I thought it would be a good idea to…
I recently had the honor of guest posting for fellow author Jodie Llewellyn. The topic was what makes a great antagonist (see the post here). Today I want to broaden the scope. What makes a character – protag, antag, or secondary – interesting? Someone in my critique group started a forum thread by asking what to do…
I think my inner child is a 12-year-old boy, and the result of this is snickering at words that sound funny. Words I encounter in writing are no exception. I’ll start by giving the actual definition of these words as I understand them. Because, you know, learning. Then I’ll offer how people might describe the…
Last night, something occurred to me as I was trying to decide on a movie to watch. In the interest of not losing two hours browsing the On Demand listings and debating with the husband, I chose a favorite from our selection of DVDs, all of which we’ve seen. I found myself doing a little…
Thanks to a combination of Sudafed and Killer Queen running in an endless loop through my head, I couldn’t sleep last night. So I decided to whip out the ol’ Kindle and read a bit, comprehending an occasional paragraph when Freddie Mercury would stop singing long enough to allow it (notice I didn’t say shut up,…
Allison Maruska 