Monthly Archives: March 2012

Talking with Imaginary Friends

By A. Lee Martinez | Published: March 29, 2012

It’s more important to be able to write a strong conversation than a strong plot. If you want to write a good story, you first need to be able to write solid dialogue. If you can do that, plot is relatively easy. NOTE: I said relatively. It still isn’t all that easy. But in my [...]

Posted in Blog, Writing | Tagged Aspiring Writers, Better Chance, Bugs Bunny, Emotional Baggage, Fictional Characters, Flair, Imaginary Friends, Indiana Jones, Jane Eyre, Karate Chop, Miss Piggy, Missing The Point, Optimus Prime, Predicaments, Predictability, Puppets, Real People, Real Person, Semblance, Stumbling Block | 3 Comments

Sunshine and Rainbows

By A. Lee Martinez | Published: March 23, 2012

I like happy endings. I like it when the guy gets the girl. Or the girl gets the guy. When the monster is killed and the day is saved. I like it when the bad guy gets his just desserts, and our heroes not only triumph, but they come out stronger for it. This is [...]

Posted in Blog | Tagged Bummer, Civilizations, Creators, Dissatisfaction, False Choice, Galaxy, Happy Endings, Just Desserts, Kick Ass, Mass Effect, New Era, Popcorn, Prosperity, Reapers, Saga, Shades, Space Operas, Target Audience, Two Games, Virtue | 6 Comments

Plans

By A. Lee Martinez | Published: March 20, 2012

I am not a planner. Not in my life. Not in novelology. As the saying goes: “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” It’s odd to realize something about yourself so spontaneously. It’s always been true, more or less, that I play it by ear. I didn’t start writing with some grand ambition. [...]

Posted in Blog, Writing | Tagged Character Studies, Complete Control, Destiny, Genius, Germ, Grand Ambition, Illusion, Journey, Life In A Day, Magic, Obscure Writer, Odd, Outlines, Personal Philosophy, Pessimist, Zen | 1 Comment

Finding Your Thark

By A. Lee Martinez | Published: March 15, 2012

There’s storytelling. There’s plotting. While they’re loosely related, they are not the same thing. Most books about writing I’ve glanced through tend to focus on plot, and there’s a reason for that. Plotting is a technical process. It’s definable elements like conflicts, goals, complications, and resolutions. It’s the blueprint of which many a story is [...]