Characters on the Couch: Depression
Wars, gunfights, predatory monsters, alien invasions, displaced populations, doomed kingdoms – genre fiction’s strong themes lend themselves to strong emotion. But how do you keep characters’ depression realistic, nuanced, and above all, readable? Staff Writer AJ Grant continues her series of psychology primers for writers.
Characters on the Couch: Introduction
Are your characters depressed? Phobic? Hallucinating? As authors, we know we should understand our characters as well as possible, but the brain is a complicated organ, and psychology can be a forbiddingly complicated science. Staff writer AJ Grant tells you what you need to know in a new series about mental illnesses that commonly appear in genre fiction.
In addition, our Research section continues to expand, this time with a series of comparative religion links about Christianity. Need to pull up an ominous biblical quote for a horror story? Want to know how and why the Christian church—and its views toward sin and science—developed the way they did? Fantasy authors and historical fiction writers alike will find inspiration.
How Not To Be Turned Into a Frog
The wonderful thing about writing about religion is that you are guaranteed certain outcomes:
1) You will get something wrong, even if it’s just the spelling of your name.
2) You will [...]
They Stake Dead Guys, Don’t They?
Oh, to be a vampire. They have it all: money, looks, power, immortality. Considering that the only price seems to be one heck of a drinking problem, what’s not to [...]
When a Man Loves Another Man
Warning: This article necessarily uses sexually explicit (and sometimes vulgar) terms which may not be appropriate for younger readers.
If there’s anything that can improve on the idea of a handsome [...]
Writing Realistic Dialogue
Many stories are made or broken by their dialogue. Realistic dialogue is sloppy, informal, and often uninformative – the opposite of the way we are taught to write.
Speak to Me: Dialogue in Fiction
Many stories are made or broken by their dialogue. Realistic dialogue is sloppy, informal, and often uninformative – the opposite of the way we are taught to write.