Ryan Lanz's Blog, page 12

How Upper and Lower Case Letters Changed the World

When I was studying European history at university, I had to write a paper about the Carolingian empire. You won’t be surprised to learn that I chose a language-related topic. These days, as my six-year-old learns to read and write, I’ve been thinking about that paper. Today, I’d like to revisit it. As you may know, […]

Pseudonyms: The What, Why, and How of Pen Names

Pseudonyms…pen names. I guess before I jump in, an explanation is in order. I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a pseudonym under which I’d like to publish a series of romance novels. No joke. So I figured I’d explore the idea of pseudonyms and take you along for the ride.   The What […]

The One-Trick Pony: Characters with Limited Growth

It’s the end of another semester of university, which means I’ve been inundated with marking and will likely remain inundated for the next fortnight. But I enjoy marking Creative Writing pieces–the sheer diversity of imagination never fails to impress me. I’ve been teaching Genre Fiction this semester, which means I get to enjoy some good […]

Something Worth Doing Is Worth Doing Badly

No-one ever sets out to fail miserably. On the other hand, a common expression is, “you can’t run before you can walk”. That’s one of the reasons editing was invented. No-one expects first drafts to be perfect, or even close to perfection. Likewise, no-one seriously expects early attempts at writing to be exceptionally good. I […]

The Case for NOT Describing your Character’s Appearance

When I read a good novel, I identify so strongly with the main female character that I picture her as looking a lot like me—not necessarily the plump, little, old lady I am today, but the idealized version of me at the character’s age (maybe a little more voluptuous, taller, and put-together than my actual […]

How to Create Complex Character Outlines

Creating a three-dimensional character in a story can be one of the more difficult aspects of storytelling. Even if you base a fictional character off of someone you personally know, human beings are incredibly complex, and translating from real life to page isn’t always easy. One method for cutting through all the confusion is to […]

4 Things I’ve Learned About Blogging

Happy one year anniversary to me! As of yesterday, I have been blogging for a year. A lot has happened in that year: I launched all of my social media/blogging efforts for my writing career, I saw the release of my first novel The Black Oracle and I shaped pieces for future releases. But during that […]

3 Tips For Writing When Overcome By Writer’s Block

When Maya Angelou spoke about her daily writing routines, she described how she rented a hotel downtown and arrived there at 6:30 in the morning. She would write, stay until about two in the afternoon, then go home and look over what she had written that morning. My question when I read that was: did […]

How to Sharpen the First Sentence in Every Chapter

We all know that the first sentence or two in a novel needs to, not only grab a reader’s attention, but flip them out of bed, melt them into their recliners, or make them forget the lasagna in the oven.Like you, I’ve written so many first lines for my novels, I could add them up and the […]

The Benefits of the Written Word Upon the Worried Mind

While my medical adventures drag on, slowed down by paperwork and the (un)availability of doctors, I am trying to take things easy, to eat healthy food, to go on enjoyable walks every day, to rest, and, of course, to read and write. You know already that writing about your life and problems can be cathartic […]