World-building is one of the most important factors of a good story. You’re dropping your reader into a place they’ve never been before, so it’s imperative they have a firm grasp of the world around them. Unique details make this place its own universe filled with distinct (and oftentimes inhuman) characters, a government with unusual politics, and unfamiliar social constructs. … Read More
1920’s Lingo Part I: Are You Hip to the Jive?
The roaring 20’s. A time of flappers, gangsters, and speakeasies. Words were much more evocative then, weren’t they? They sparked just the right image and emotion. They captured just the right meaning. Why else would we still be stuck on them today? My current work in progress, FLUX, has an on the level character who lived through prohibition and loves to … Read More
Don’t Cry Alone in the Bathroom
April 19, 1995 – This was the first time in my few short years when I realized evil was real. It wasn’t reserved for storybook characters or fantasy lands. It existed in my world, and it was no respecter of persons. A newspaper with this image on the front page lay on the counter top. I vividly remember the profound … Read More