Steven R. Southard's Blog, page 67
August 10, 2014
The Story behind “The Cometeers”
As I mentioned in my News page, Gypsy Shadow Publishing has accepted my story, “The Cometeers” which will be published as part of the What Man Hath Wrought series. The intended launch date is in early September.
Sorry, the cover’s not ready yet. A team of about twenty GSP artists is working on the cover art now, brushes moving from palette to canvas with all deliberate speed. I’ll update this post with the real cover when it’s available.
Inquiries have been streaming in from every corner of the...
August 3, 2014
Keep Up the Pacing
Today we’ll tread through the topic of pacing in fiction. If you’d like readers to maintain interest in your stories, you might want to step along with me.
The term ‘pacing’ refers to how fast the reader is reading, and the speed at which the story’s events take place. A good writer not only controls the pace of reading, but also varies that pace throughout the story. Fast-paced scenes are followed by slow-paced ones, and then another fast scene, etc. Jamming too many fast scenes together leav...
July 27, 2014
Avoid the Dreaded POV Wobble
What’s a POV Wobble? Why should you dread it? What happens if you encounter it? How can you avoid it?
Four vital and weighty questions. An average blogger would shrink from the challenge of answering them all in one short post. But you’ve surfed to no ordinary website. I laugh at such challenges, or at least chuckle in a menacing way.
I’ll assume you understand Point of View (POV) already, perhaps by having read this, or some lesser source. The phenomenon of POV Wobble is when the writer shifts...
July 20, 2014
Who’s Telling This Story, Anyway?
As you plan your fiction stories, one important consideration is figuring out how they will be told. In other words, who is the narrator? You have several choices, each with benefits and drawbacks.
I’ve discussed Point of View (POV) before, but this is slightly different. Today I’m talking about Narrative Voice. Wikipedia’s article on Narrative Mode discusses POV and Narrative Voice as separate items.
You might invent your own new type of Narrative Voice, but for now, the main categories are St...
July 13, 2014
I, Spear-Carrier
Today I’ve invited a guest-blogger to my site. He’s a spear-carrier and his name is…um…
That’s the thing, Mr. Poseidon’s Scribe, I don’t even have a name. My author didn’t give me one. I appreciate you giving me a chance to have my say at your website, but most authors aren’t that nice to us spear-carriers.
I suppose I should back up a bit and explain what a spear-carrier is. We’re the minor characters in stories, the ones who remain mostly in the background. We sometimes get to say a few line...
July 6, 2014
I Dint Proofread This Blog Post
Yes, I should have proofread this blog post before publishing it, but you know how thyme gets away from you. It’s possible there may be errirs I didn’t catch.
Proofreading is impotent because readers get annoyed when they see mistakes left behind. They may conclude you’re not a competent writer. Worse, depending on the mistakes you make, you can convey a meaning counter to what you mint.
I’ve blogged about editing once or twice before, and I may have been lumping proofreading inn with that term...
June 29, 2014
The Story Behind “To Be First”
As the launch date for “To Be First” and “Wheels of Heaven” nears (this Tuesday, July 1st), and excitement builds, I think it’s time for me to reveal the story behind “To Be First.”
A few years ago, I watched an episode of the TV show Mythbusters where they replicated a feat supposedly performed by Lagâri Hasan Çelebi in the Ottoman Empire in 1633. Çelebi is said to have constructed a rocket chair, launched himself into the air, and flown down safely using a wing-like apparatus. The event was...
June 28, 2014
The Story behind “Wheels of Heaven”
With my story “Wheels of Heaven” about to launch on July 1st, I thought I’d tell you how I got the idea for the tale.
The series What Man Hath Wrought consists of alternate history stories involving technology. Basically, they’re “what if” stories that ask what would have happened if things had gone differently. While doing some research on interesting ancient technologies, I came across the Antikythera Mechanism. Or perhaps I saw a mention of it on a documentary on the Science Channel, Discov...
June 23, 2014
Launching July 1st
It’s the event anticipated all over the world and throughout the known universe, and it’s happening July 1st. For those not in the know, that’s the date of the launch of my newest ebook.
It’s part of the celebrated What Man Hath Wrought series published by Gypsy Shadow Publishing, and once again you’ll be getting two alternate history stories for the price of one.
“To Be First” follows two space voyagers from an alternate universe as they return from the moon, in 1933. In their timeline, manned...
June 22, 2014
Are You Fictional or Real?
Fictional characters differ from real people in interesting and important ways. Thinking you’re one when you’re really the other could have significant and disturbing consequences. Therefore, it’s vital to know which one you are. That’s why, as a public service, I offer the following easy quiz you can take to determine the answer.
If you think you’re fictional, but your answers to some of these questions tend to show you’re real, or vice versa, don’t despair. Fictional characters and real peop...
